//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: The Crystal Heart // Story: My Little Senshi // by sister_mike //------------------------------// Chapter 12 The Crystal Heart "I don't know it was an actual relic, an actual thing! The book doesn't mention anything about the ponies powering the heart!" Twilight said to Shining Armor and Cadance. She and Rainbow Dash stood on the balcony were the princess and prince had been watching over the fair. Twilight frantically flipped through the history book and gasped as she reached the end. "There's a page missing! How did I not notice this earlier!?" "It's alright, Twilight," Cadance said. Whatever health that had come back to her that morning at breakfast was gone. She looked worse than when they had announced the Crystal Fair and that had just been an hour earlier. Cadance wobbled and collapsed on the ground. Her horn fizzled and the magic stopped flowing. The barrier around the kingdom slowly began to disappear. "Twily..." Shining Armor said in panic. Black cloud from beyond the kingdom slowly began to creep closer. "The empire is under attack!" Shining Armor nuzzled Cadance. She smiled at him and stood up. She took a deep breath and a look of determination came over her face. Her horn blazed again and the barrier came back to life. "We have to find that heart," Shining Armor said. "Do you remember anything about it? Is it the seventh element?" Twilight asked. Cadance looked between Twilight and Shining Armor. Shining Armor nodded and Cadance sighed heavily. "More secrets?" Rainbow Dash asked. Tears sprang in Cadance's eyes as she nodded. "Yes, I am sorry. More secrets. But this one is my own. Nobody else but my sweet Helios knows the shame that I have bestowed upon Equestria and my Crystal Empire. Luna and Celestia do not know... They can never know. I have already disappointed them once, a long time ago, when I had joined the enemy's team. They cannot know that I have lost my element as well." Twilight's mouth fell open. Silent tears ran down Cadance's face. "You've lost your element?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash smacked her hoof to her forehead. "What happened? When did this happen?" "It happened many years ago, when the Crystal Empire had briefly reappeared. I rushed to the empire, in hopes of freeing the crystal ponies and reclaiming my kingdom. It was stupid, and I rushed in without thinking. I was just so overjoyed that my kingdom had reappeared. I did not think much of the danger. These poor people—now ponies—have been mysteriously trapped by this evil king for centuries upon centuries. These are the subjects that I was meant to rule, to protect. And I had failed. I was not going to let the opportunity pass by. "Luna and Celestia objected, but I did not listen. I arrived at the empire the minute it reappeared. Helios had followed me, and together we tried to battle King Sombra. But he was too powerful. He overthrew my element, and nearly killed Helios. And before Luna or Celestia could show up and aid us, the empire disappeared again. I nearly went with it, but Helios pulled me out just in time. But, unfortunately, my element went with it." "I swore that I would not tell Celestia and Luna what had happened," Shining Armor said. "I would never betray my wife." "And thankfully, we haven't had need to use the seventh element, as the Elements of Harmony have been holding up on their own. But I fear for this battle we will need it," Cadance said. "This 'crystal heart' that the ponies talk about must be it. It has to be." "The librarian said that King Sombra hid it somewhere they would never find it," Twilight said, trying not to let the panic seep into her voice. "How did the crystal ponies protect themselves against King Sombra before the seventh element was left behind here?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You've all been saying that they've been fighting against him the whole time right?" "Yes. For the majority of the time, they have been his slaves. But there was a brief moment, before the empire reappeared, that it was being protected against him, even though it was still absent from Equestria," Cadance said. "But how was it being protected if it was before the time of the crystal heart?" Rainbow Dash asked again. Cadance winced as the magic from her horn fizzled and faded again briefly. Shining Armor rubbed her back and Cadance took a few moments to breathe deeply. "My scouts were protecting it. My four guardians. Like you four had for Crystal Tokyo, they erected a barrier around the Crystal Empire," Cadance explained. "But King Sombra quickly put them into an eternal sleep and the crystal ponies became his slaves once more." An idea began to form in Twilight's head. She began to talk fast and excitedly. "I've got a plan!" she said. "All we need to do is find your four guardians, awaken them, get them to take over with the barrier, and then we all set out to find the crystal heart!" "Oh, is that all," Rainbow Dash said sarcastically. "And if something bad happens to occur during our search, we can battle King Sombra using the Elements of Harmony while you and Shining Armor continue to look for the crystal heart!" Twilight said. She clapped her hooves together and smiled. She ignored Rainbow Dash's skepticism. Yes, it was a lot to do, but it was doable and it was a plan. A damned good one, if Twilight did say so herself. "While that is a brilliant and lovely plan, Twily, there's just one problem; we don't know where the four guardians are," Shining Armor said. "What? What do you mean!?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash slapped her hoof to her forehead again. "When the empire first reappeared, that was the first thing I did," Shining Armor explained. "Cadance put up the barrier around the kingdom and watched for trouble up here, while I scoured the empire for the four guardians. We don't know where they are. King Sombra seems to have hidden them as well." "And they're not likely to be sleeping next to the crystal heart," Rainbow Dash said. She sighed and groaned in frustration. "It's ok, it's ok, it's ok," Twilight said, more to herself than to the others. She tried to keep her panic down. "We'll find them." "What if they're dead?" Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight shot her a look. "Rainbow Dash, don't be so insensitive!" Twilight snapped. "No, it's ok Twilight, it's a valid question," Cadance said. "They're not dead. I would have felt it." "What if they're being kept out of the empire?" Twilight asked. "I've already looked far and wide outside of the empire in the frozen outskirts. There's nothing but darkness out there," Shining Armor said. "How would King Sombra have hid them outside of the empire?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What if when he grabbed the seventh element, he kicked out the four guardians? What if they're living in Equestria somewhere?" Twilight asked slowly. Cadance looked at Shining Armor. Shining Armor shrugged. "It could be possible, I guess..." he said. "Wouldn't Princess Luna and Princess Celestia have noticed them? Or Princess Cadance for that matter?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I mean, they all knew who we were." "It'd be different," Cadance said slowly. "I only saw them briefly in their pony shells. I never told Luna and Celestia about them, because then I would have had to explain about losing the seventh element. But I think I would have known. I mean, I was right there when it happened. There is no way that King Sombra would have been able to shoot them across the country or something, without me noticing. They have to be hidden within the empire, just as hidden as the crystal heart is." "Ok," Twilight said. "We need to go find them then. And the crystal heart." "You're right," Shining Armor said. "You stay here, Shining Armor. Cadance needs you," Twilight said. "Rainbow Dash and I will look for the crystal heart and the guardians. The other four will keep the fair running and the crystal ponies away from the fake crystal heart I made." "What are their names? I need to know them if I want to reawaken then," Rainbow Dash said. "They are Sailor Ceres, Sailor Juno, Sailor Pallas and Sailor Vesta. CereCere, JunJun, PalaPala and VesVes."