//------------------------------// // Crystalline Mustard of Doom // Story: Rearranging Perspectives // by The Dimension Traveler //------------------------------// Rearranging Perspectives Chapter 6: Crystalline Mustard of Doom _______________________________________________________________ “We sure do seem to be spending a lot of time on trains,” Sam remarked as their trained barreled through the arctic tundra, which was currently howling with the winds of a snowstorm. “Well it’s not like we could’ve taken my hot air balloon or any other form of air travel. Look at the weather out there!” Twilight exclaimed “He knows that silly, he’s just saying how much of this story has taken place on a train!” Pinkie Pie remarked and everyone was familiar enough with Pinkie’s brutality towards any fourth wall that might exist that they knew better than to question her. Eventually, they made it to their destination and walked out into the freezing cold. “Hey Sam, aren’t y’all cold?” Applejack asked when she noticed the human’s distinct lack of shivering. “I will never have to worry about a cold winter’s day again! I’m using my fire magic to keep me nice and toasty,” Sam answered with a grin. “Twilight!” Shouted a familiar male voice, whose owner eventually appeared through the falling snow. “Shining Armor!” Twilight exclaimed “Wait a second, icy climate, an empire, an older male figure walking out of the blizzard? HOTH! We’ve fallen into the world of bad Star Wars parodies!” Sam cried, but no one paid him any mind. “We’d better get moving, there are things we really don’t want to run into after dark,” Shining Armor warned and the group followed him. Eventually, Sombra appeared, as evil villains are wont to do. “RUN!” Someone shouted, and everyone ran as fast as they could, but Sombra was faster. “Keep going, I’ll buy you some time!” Sam shouted and turned to face the shadowy form of Sombra while drawing Solaris. “I’ll help!” Shining Armor declared “Oh no you won’t! You’re the fall-back if I fail, NOW GO!” Sam shouted and while Shining Armor hesitated for a second, he ran after his sister and her friends. Sombra caught up to Sam and paused, looking him over with his glowing red and green eyes. “What are yooou?” Sombra droned “Does it really matter? Because in a moment you shall be feasting on the mustard OF YOUR DOOM! Now feast your eyes!” Sam shouted and channeled a little bit of fire magic into Solaris, which resulted in a flash-bang effect that stunned Sombra long enough for Sam to flee. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long enough for Sam to get to safety. Sombra was right on his tail as Sam dove through the barrier of the Crystal Empire. Sam crashed into Pinkie, which sent them rolling into Fluttershy, which caused them to bowl over Twilight, which made them run over Rarity, that caused them to collide with Rainbow Dash, which brought the whole thing crashing down on Applejack. “We are the seven great generals of the Equestrian Nation. Fear us!” Sam snarked from somewhere in the mass of limbs he currently found himself tangled up in. After they managed to get themselves untangled, they followed Shining Armor to where Cadance was. “It’s gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous!” Rarity squealed as she looked at all the crystals, “There are no words!” “Focus Rarity, we’re here on a mission,” Applejack reminded the gem loving mare. “Eh, I don’t see what the big deal is,” Rainbow Dash remarked, “Just looks like another old castle to me.” This remark sent Rarity into a tizzy, until she realized that Rainbow Dash was just teasing her. When the group entered the throne room, they discovered a tired-looking Cadance channeling magic through her horn. Of course, Twilight and Cadance did their little rhyme. “One of these days, we need to get together when the fate of entire kingdoms aren’t at stake,” Cadance quipped and Shining Armor explained what the current situation was. “Cadance is using her magic to spread love and light, and that seems to be keeping Sombra out. Unfortunately, it’s not keeping out certain other unwelcome guests,” Shining Armor remarked “The Sun Eaters?” Twilight asked “We think so, but according to the reports, they don’t look like the ones that were in Canterlot,” Shining Armor reported “It’s only to be expected. Different Sun Eaters for different tasks, form follows function, after all. The Sun Eaters we saw in Canterlot were most likely the basic troops and cannon fodder. The ones you’re getting up here are probably designed for movement in snowbound environments and are likely stronger than the basic ones,” Sam remarked “How’d you figure that out?” Shining Armor asked “It’s Video Game Logic 101 as well as Basic Battle Tactics 101. You don’t compose your army with only archers or only mages,” Sam answered “Good point, but if that’s the case, then who knows how many different kinds of Sun Eaters there are?” Shining Armor wondered “There could be thousands of different types. We need to find these new Sun Eaters and start giving classifications to them,” Sam stated “Sounds like a plan. As for dealing with King Sombra, we need you to try and find out how the Crystal Empire protected itself from outside threats. Between Cadance keeping up the shield and my surveillance in the arctic, we haven’t had much time for research,” Shining Armor said “Dealing with Sombra takes top priority. We should start looking for information now,” Twilight remarked “Try talking to the Crystal Ponies, they might know something,” Shining Armor remarked “CRYSTAL PONIES?!” Rarity shrieked, “There are Crystal Ponies?!” Rarity managed to calm herself down after that little outburst, but everyone gave her weird looks. The group spread out to collect as much information as possible, but they all were met with dead ends. They guessed that Sombra had cast some sort of mass amnesia spell on the Empire. Further, all the Crystal Ponies were lethargic and their coats were extremely dull. “So none of us were able to find anything about any defenses?” Twilight asked as Fluttershy walked up, who turned out to be Pinkie Pie in disguise. “My cover has been blown! I repeat my cover has been blown!” With that, Pinkie Pie bolted away. “Are we sure she’s not a Unicorn? Absolutely sure and that she’s not using some sort of illusion spell to hide it?” Sam asked “I wouldn’t put anything past Pinkie Pie,” Twilight quipped “Anyway, Ah wasn’t able to get anythin’ outta these Crystal Ponies ‘cept something about a library,” Applejack remarked and those were the magic words for Twilight. She immediately shepherded everyone to the library. It was a very big library. The group talked to the librarian, but she seemed to be suffering amnesia as well, particularly pertaining to the location of any book in the library. Therefore, the group had to search every nook and cranny for any history books. Eventually, after over an hour of searching, Twilight discovered one. According to it, every year a Crystal Fair was held to renew friendship and love in the Empire. After running the info past Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, the seven generals began putting together the Fair, all the while singing this song. Once the set up was done, Twilight announced the fair and all the Crystal Ponies came, their coats suddenly much shinier. While the fair was underway, Rainbow Dash and Applejack inadvertently discovered that some kind of Crystal Heart was supposed to be filled with light during the fair. Twilight’s little carving wasn’t going to cut it. Upon closer examination of the history book, Twilight discovered there was a page missing. Worse, Cadance was on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion. The shield even fell for a few moments. With everything at stake, Twilight and Sam went searching for the Crystal Heart while the others kept the fair going and the Crystal Ponies happy. Along the way, Spike ended up joining the two in their hunt. “If I were an evil dictator, where would I place the only instrument of my destruction?” Sam wondered aloud as the search continued. “That’s it! He’d place it somewhere where he’d always have his eye on it!” Twilight exclaimed and then rushed to the throne room. Once she was there, she managed to cast Dark Magic on the throne and it revealed a long spiral staircase. Sam, Spike, and Twilight began the long trek downward. Eventually, they made it safely to the bottom. They found a door, but it wouldn’t stay in one place. After a few tries, Twilight got fed up and shot it with a bolt of Dark Magic. Twilight then suffered from a terrible illusion of her deepest fears. After a few minutes, Spike and Sam managed to snap Twilight out of it. Then Spike fell prey to the wicked illusions before Sam and Twilight snapped him out of it. “I’m going to try something for curiosity’s sake,” Sam said and then stepped in front of the door. While Twilight and Spike had fell victim to illusions, the Dark Magic imbued in the door physically lashed out at Sam, who spun around to take the bolt with The Shield of Infinity on his back before jumping clear of the attacking range. “Well that was different,” Spike remarked “That’s the second time our magic has reacted differently for you. Why isn’t it consistent?” Twilight wondered “We can worry about that later, right now we have a Crystal Heart to retrieve,” Sam remarked and Twilight hit the door with Light Magic. It opened to another spiraling staircase. After what seemed like hours of climbing, Spike suggested that maybe Sombra had enchanted the staircase to go on forever. Twilight responded to that by reversing gravity and have them all slide along the underside of the stairs. Not long after that, they made it to the top of the stairs and found the Crystal Heart. “Now to get this back to Cadance and the others,” Twilight remarked and went to get the Crystal Heart, but she inadvertently sprung a trap. Twilight tried to teleport out, but the trap wouldn’t let her. “What should we do?!” Spike shouted “Get the Crystal Heart out of here! Once Sombra is taken care of, then you can come back for me!” Twilight instructed, but then an ear piercing caw split the air. Out of nowhere, a giant bird-like monstrosity stuck its giant beak in the room and swallowed the Crystal Heart! It then made its escape, but not before Sam could hit it with lightning. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to do much. The Sun Eater, for that’s what it was, was primarily blue, with wings that seemed to be made of ice and a tail made up of an Aurora Borealis. Its head was a more streamlined and birdlike version of those the basic Sun Eaters had and its beak was long and sharp, but not as sharp as its icicle talons. “We don’t have time for this!” Twilight cried from her crystalline prison and then instruments from nowhere started up. “We’ll have to make time, because from the sound of the mysterious music, it’s boss battle time,” Sam remarked and then started using wind magic to fly. En route to the Sun Eater, he spotted Rainbow Dash charge at it with her Lucerne Hammer; a type of pole-arm with a stabbing point and hammer head. The hammer itself had four spikes sticking out of it for extra damage. Dash’s speed and strength in flight had been a perfect match for the percussion weapon and she had fallen in love with it. She had even named it Sonic Crusher or S.C. for short. “Hey Sam, finally come to join the party?” Dash asked as she dodged an icy blast from the Sun Eater’s mouth. “That thing’s eaten the Crystal Heart; we need to take it out fast so we can defeat Sombra!” Sam informed Rainbow Dash “What?! That thing’s going down!” Rainbow Dash then charged in and her Lucerne Hammer came crashing down on the Sun Eater’s skull. Sam quickly followed up with a fiery discharge that caused the Sun Eater to melt slightly. Rainbow Dash saw an opportunity and quickly smashed off both sets of talons before it could refreeze. The Sun Eater roared in pain and rage. In its rage, the Sun Eater let loose a powerful icy aura that immediately froze anything around it. Sam and Rainbow Dash backed off to a safe distance before Sam cloaked himself in a fire spell and charged at the Sun Eater. The opposite energies clashed and Sam fed more and more energy into his flames until finally, the icy aura broke and Sam crashed into the bird-like Sun Eater like a meteor. The Sun Eater fell to the ground. As it tried to get up, Rainbow Dash flew down, gathering speed until she pulled off a Sonic Rainboom right above the Sun Eater and drove S.C. right into the ‘heart’ of the beast. Defeated, the Sun Eater dissipated in a shadowy cloud and the Crystal Heart was intact. Tired from the fight, Dash and Sam landed. Unfortunately, there was no rest for the weary. “Rainbow Dash, take the Crystal Heart to Princess Cadance. It looks like Sombra’s already in the Empire!” Sam instructed and Rainbow Dash grabbed the Crystal Heart and flew off. On her way, Sombra spotted Dash and gave chase. Somehow, the light from the Crystal Heart restored Sombra’s body. He then used his Dark Magic to create black crystals to fling at Rainbow Dash. She dodged like a champ, but the rain of black crystals eventually caused Rainbow to start falling while Sombra made like he was going to eat the Crystal Heart! “RAINBOW DASH!” All of her friends shouted as she fell. Then, at the last possible second, Shining Armor threw Princess Cadance and she caught both Rainbow Dash and the Crystal Heart with her magic. She touched down and placed the Crystal Heart back where it belonged. The Crystal Ponies then charged it with their love and unity and it dispelled all of the Dark Magic and destroyed Sombra himself. It also had the side effect of turning everypony crystalline. Just as everypony was about to celebrate, the generals noticed one of their number was missing. Therefore, they went to track down Sam. They found him on the ground, shivering violently. “SAM!” They cried and they rushed to his side. Twilight placed a hoof to his forehead. “He’s burning up with fever,” She informed the others “I’m fine,” Sam groaned from the ground, fooling no one. He tried to get up, but couldn’t find the strength. “What happened?” Twilight asked urgently “When that wall of light hit me, I suddenly felt sick. I don’t know why,” Sam answered through his shivers. Upon hearing this, Twilight formulated a theory, but it would have to wait. Sam’s wellbeing came first. They quickly took him to a bed and Fluttershy broke out some herbs and medicines to try and break the fever. An hour later, she succeeded in doing so and after a more thorough examination; Sam was cleared as being perfectly fine. “I guess it was like some sort of allergic reaction. Sudden and harsh when it first hits, but quickly fades,” Fluttershy concluded “Thanks Fluttershy, I’ll try and remember to stay out of the way of the next Crystal Heart Light Blast,” Sam quipped “He’s definitely all better,” Rainbow Dash remarked and they all shared a small chuckle in relief. About two hours later, the crystallizing effect had faded and all non-Crystal Ponies had revered to normal, much to Rarity’s displeasure. With their mission successful, they said goodbye to Cadance, Shining Armor, and the Crystal Ponies. After another long train ride back to Canterlot, the generals gave a full report as to what had happened in the Crystal Empire. “Very good, my generals; we now no longer need to worry about the Crystal Empire or Sombra coming against us. Further, you can finally get started in training the troops,” Celestia remarked “The sooner the better,” Sam agreed, “They threw a boss at us, which means they’re getting stronger. It might not be long before the first full scale assault.” “Indeed. I better not keep you any longer, tired generals won’t win a war you know,” With that dismissal, the generals left. Sam was about to head to his own room, when suddenly he felt Twilight’s magic tugging him in another direction. “Help meeee!” He cried as he was dragged towards Twilight’s lab. The other Elements ignored their antics. They knew better than to get between Twilight and scientific discovery. “Do you mind telling me why you feel the need to abduct me?!” Sam shouted when they arrived at Twilight’s lab. “I think I know why certain magic affects you differently. In every case thus far, it has either been with Light based or Dark based magic,” Twilight said “What about Cadance’s shield?” Sam asked “That was Love based with a Light sub-element,” Twilight quickly responded, “Now I’m going to test you and record your reactions with proper gear!” “Can’t this wait until morning?! We did just get back,” Sam remarked and then yawned “Fine, but report here at 4:30 sharp or I’ll dump ice water on you!” Twilight threatened “4:30 got it,” Temporarily safe from Twilight, Sam slipped into bed for a good night’s sleep before the torture.