//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Last Crystal Unicorn // by TheMyth //------------------------------// “Oh my! This is so tiring!” A lone white unicorn mare with a pristine purple mane was using her magic to lift rocks from the ground and cracking them open, some of them rewarding her with the treasures they held within. Rarity was well known for being a fashionista and beautician for other ponies and herself, though few actually knew that her talent relied on finding gems and crystals with her unique magic. “This one looks good,” she said as she cracked the rock and out came tiny diamonds. Rarity’s eyes glistened and she rubbed her hooves together in glee. “This is absolutely fabulous!” Little did she know, her horn started sparkling out magic with each rock she was cracking. With her tenth rock, her ears perked to an unusual sound. “Huh?” she turned her head in all directions, she could have sworn she heard a foal’s voice. Crying? “Hello? Is there anypony there?” She was met with the wind blowing through her mane and the sound of dirt traveling across the ground. Rarity shrugged and went back to her work. “I must be going out of my mind...” she told herself as focused on the rocks again. “A shame I can’t dig as well as Spike could... not that I want to get my hooves dirty,” she laughed at this and sighed. Spike wasn’t much of a digger ever since he became a pony. Not having any form of help with her was proving to be very hard on her work, and lonesome for her. The sun was starting to set on the horizon as she looked up and she finished cracking the last rock she held. “Hmmm...” Rarity inspected her haul and gave a nod as she smiled broadly. “This will do. A shame Spike isn’t here to help me anymore...” she lamented when she levitated the gems in a bag she brought, a rather exquisite bag studded with diamonds. She was walking to the direction of Ponyville, until she stopped and tapped her chin in thought. “I suppose I can find a little bit more. A lady can never have enough gems!” she said to herself as she focused her magic, and her horn shined brightly. “There seems to be something here, something hu-” she was cut off when she was suddenly dragged by her magic, something that has not happened to her since she was very young. “Oh my! What is this!?” she shouted as she couldn’t stop and her magic kept on dragging her further and further away. She was being lead to a trench, and she was becoming sore as her hooves collided with rocks on the ground she was skidding on thanks to her sudden magical surge. She looked on to the side of the trench she was in right now, fearing that the Diamond Dogs might target her again. “Magic, please listen to me and just stop!” She yelled out and stopped abruptly, catapulted forward and somersaulting once until she landed on her haunches. She groaned as she rubbed her flank when she got up and her eyes fell upon what was before her. Her eyes widened as she looked from bottom to top at the size of the boulder that lay before her. Memories of her childhood came flooding to her as she remembered how she found her first gems inside a large rock. A grin formed slowly on her muzzle and she stood closer to the boulder, touching it lightly. She took a step back and looked behind her as she heard the same noise again. Her brow arched slightly until there was nothing but silence. She turned back to the boulder and concentrated on her magic again. “Alright, let’s see what we got here.” Her magic covered the boulder and tried to crack it. The boulder began to rock in place, and gave off slight tremors. Her eyes never left it and she poured more magic in it, until the boulder started cracking and the covers of the boulder began to peel off as though it were old paint from a building. Where once a boulder stood, a giant crystal was now before Rarity. Her eyes went as wide as saucers and her mouth agape. She placed her hooves to her mouth and let out a high pitch scream. “Oh my word! This is so precious!” she got a closer inspection of the crystal and tapped it once, feeling it to be real. Rarity started jumping around in joy and pulling her own hair as though she was mad, mad from ecstasy. She stopped and cleared her throat, walking closer to the crystal. “Now... since that’s over, how will I get this back home?” she asked herself and began to feel the crystal again. “What?” she squinted her eyes and in the middle of the crystal, she saw something. Something that had no earthly business inside a crystal. “A pony?!” As she exclaimed, white lines began to form from her hoof and started covering the entire crystal. Rarity stepped back and saw the white enveloping the crystal that was before her. The crystal was now white as though it were a giant egg, and before she could react to the changes, it shattered into a million pieces of crystal debris. She covered her eyes as crystal dust came flying to her, and once the smoke cleared, she gazed in awe at what lay before her. Where the crystal once was, a pony lay motionless in its place. By what Rarity could tell, the body was that of a foal’s. The body color was silver and the mane was aquamarine blue. She walked in closer and saw that it was a colt, but what she saw made her eyes nearly pop out. “A crystal pony!?” she shouted out, immediately covering her mouth as she saw the body moving slightly. She also got a look at his head, revealing it to have a horn. A crystal unicorn? Weren’t all crystal ponies like earth ponies? The colt’s eyes opened warily, revealing it to be sky-blue. He saw white hooves before him and looked up to whom they belonged to. His eyes landed on Rarity’s face, though his vision was a blur. He could see her moving her mouth but he could only hear a buzz, follow by “alright”. His vision became clearer and when he could see Rarity clearly, his eyes released tears before falling unconscious. Rarity gasped and rushed towards him. “Oh no! Are you alright?!” she asked, but no answer came seeing as he was not awake. She lifted him up to her back and started rushing out of the trench, until her ears perked again to the sound of laughter. She turned her head sharply and saw three familiar figures standing right behind her. The three Diamond Dogs, leering at Rarity as they came in closer for a better look. “Well, well, well... what’s wees gots here?” A slender Diamond Dog in the middle asked as he walked forward to Rarity, licking his lips slightly. “Uh, lost pony in our home.” They stopped and grinned maliciously. “We remembers yous, how yous makes us miserable and take our gems!” The smallest one looked at Rarity’s back and started chuckling. “What a shiny pony! Looks like it made of gem!” The leader looked to the colt and nodded. “He will be a fine slave, that one!” Rarity glared as her brow furrowed and she clenched her teeth. “You ruffians! Haven’t you learned your lesson yet!?” The three dogs began snicker as they marched on forward to Rarity. “Oh wees learn, learns that wees must do one thing to ponies.” The largest dog smashed his fists together growling. “Smash!” Rarity grimaced as she jerked her head back, scrunching her lips. “You wouldn’t dare hurt a lady!” “Wees would. Then we can have that little pony as slave!” The three dogs slowly marched forward, snickering in glee at the Rarity’s scared face. They licked their lips, and whilst the large one pounded his fists, the other two retracted the claws from their paws. Rarity’s eyes darted from every corner, desperately looking for a way out. She turned back to the foal on her back, noticing his weaken state. Her eyes landed on her bag of gems, and her eyes widened as an idea popped in her mind. A second later, she bit her lower lip and started crying a little. I can’t do it... I can’t do it! But I must! She grabbed hold of the bag and held it before her, shaking it roughly to the dogs before her. She saw their eyes staring awe at the bag, and their short tails started wagging wildly as they jumped around with their mouths drooling. “Who wants the gems!?” Rarity shouted out, and heard a chorus of ‘me’ from all the dogs. She shaked it some before before bracing her hooves slightly. “Then go get it!” With much force, she threw the bag into the distance, and the dogs scurried after it. Her lips began to quiver and she sniffed slightly as a tear fell from her eye, waving goodbye to her diamond bag. Rarity checked to see that the colt on her back and noticed he was not awake. She ran towards Ponyville, not paying attention to the blisters that were forming on her hooves. So soft... That was the first thought that entered the little colt’s mind when he opened his weary blue eyes. His vision was a blur until he blinked, finding himself in a rather large room on a queen-sized bed. In front of him were three pony mannequins and a work station, with a knitting apparatus and materials of different colours. The colt pushed away the large red duvet cover that was covering him and found his body cleaned, save for a few patches of band-aid here and there. He reached for the side of the bed, wanting to stand on his four hooves. Once his hooves touched the ground, he found his legs shaking a little before getting a sense of balance again. He walked over to the window and looked out to see the sun shining in midday, with ponies outside walking by and socializing. His eyes dilated as confusion ran through his head, as he looked outside again. As he turned around, he saw the door left open and he trotted towards it slowly. Opening it slightly, he heard a melodious hum coming from downstairs. He walked out of the room he was in, only to gasp when he heard the angry spit of a cat that crossed his way. The cat looked at him with venomous eyes, showing off its claws as it waved a paw at the colt. He stepped away cautiously, giving the cat enough space to walk away. He blinked and shook his head slightly, turning back to the stairs that lead downstairs. Every step he took, the humming could be heard clearer. The colt felt a sense of nostalgia as the voice became clearer. He reached the ground floor, and found himself in a circular room that was covered in lavish colours. A boutique? His thoughts were cut off when he heard the humming again, this time it was nearer and was clear as crystal. He walked up to the corner and stood behind the one who was singing it, and he froze in place. “I hope that he is ok when he wakes up...” Rarity sighed, as she took a sip of her tea whilst she was sitting in the kitchen thinking. Why was a crystal pony all the way here? Why was the colt a crystal unicorn? Why was he crying? Her thoughts were cut of when she felt fur on her hind leg, and the sound of purring caught her attention. “Oh Opal,” she mused as she picked up her cat and stroked the feline affectionately. “Are you hungry?” she asked the cat and received a single nod from it. She placed the cat on the floor and made her way to the cupboard, reaching out for the cat food and pouring in a bowl for Opal. Once she placed the bowl on the ground, the cat immediately went on to devour all of it rather quickly. With its task done, Opal merely walked away leaving Rarity alone again. Rarity blinked and went back to her cup of tea, finishing it slowly as she was still thinking of the colt who was asleep upstairs in her bed. She tapped her hoof to the table, feeling anxiety and nervousness collide in her mind as she scrunched her lips and stared at the cup of cold tea. Her eyes widened and a smile spread her face as she finished the tea in one go. “Idea!~” she sang to herself and made her way to the second workstation near her three life-sized mirrors. She took a dress that was hanging from one of the other mannequins and unveiled it before her, flinching at the hole that was torn into it. “Oh no! Such a crime it is to tear something so magnificent!” she shouted out to herself and immediately began to work on it, humming a melody that she knew since she was young. As she was busy working on the dress, she continued the melody for the duration of the stitching. She was, in her own words, in the zone. Nothing could disturb her from her zen when she was in it. “And... done!” she shouted out and hovered the dress before her, placing it on the mannequin again. She gave a thorough look at it, smiling proudly at the work she had accomplished. Rarity turned around and was surprised to find the colt behind her. “Oh my! You gave me a fright there!” she told the colt, who only stood still as though he was frozen. Rarity smiled softly as she calmed herself down. “I hope you are feeling better? I took the liberty of treating your wounds and-” Her words came to a halt when she saw the foal’s eyes releasing a river of tears, though he stood still in place looking directly in Rarity’s eyes. “Oh no! Are you alright!?” she rushed over to the colt, who never stopped crying. “Please, tell me what’s wrong?” she begged him as she took hold of him, holding him close to her being. She felt his body going limp, causing her to look at his face. He was out cold. “So yer sayin’ ya found this here colt inside a giant bona fide crystal?” “Yes, Applejack,” Rarity replied dryly,sighing as she repeated the story to her friends who had arrived. “I know this sounds crazy, but that’s what happened.” Twilight was busy taking down notes on Rarity’s story. “Where is he?” she asked curiously, wanting to see him with her own eyes. “In my bedroom, sleeping. But please don’t-” she couldn’t finish her sentence, with Pinkie rushing off to the bedroom. “Pinkie Pie!” Rarity hissed and galloped to catch up with her friend. The others shrugged and followed the two friends. When Pinkie opened the door, she saw the form of a foal in the bed. A broad smile presented itself on her muzzle, and she pulled out a cannon out of nowhere. Before she could do anything else though, a magical aura surrounded her and dragged her away from the bed. She was about to protest, but was silenced by a stern look on Rarity. “None of that now, you hear!?” Rarity ordered Pinkie, who vigorously nodded keeping her mouth shut. “Good,” she dropped her unceremoniously to the floor. The others walked inside the room and gasped at the colt. Rainbow, floating just above him, looked down upon the little colt in awe. “Woah... what’s a crystal pony doing all the way here?” Twilight’s studious eye gazed upon the little colt, and she saw something that caught her attention. “A necklace?” She said out loud, and took hold of it with her magic. When she tugged on it, the owner of the necklace began to stir into awakeness. The foal opened his eyes warily and saw six figures overshadowing him, one of them pulling on his possession. He opened his eyes wide and gasped, taking a hold of the locket and shying away from the mares as far he could on the bed. Rarity pulled Twilight aside with a stern look and turned her attention to the little colt. “Please, don’t be afraid. We’re not going to hurt you,” she whispered as softly as she could, surprised as she was in control of not going ballistic on how shining his coat was. The blue eyes of the colt turned moist as he continued to stare into Rarity’s, but returned to normal when he blinked. He removed the blanket shielding his face, and started to breath normally as Rarity backed away from him. Pinkie’s lips pursed, as it looked like she was about to burst. She so wanted to know who the colt was and wanted to throw a party f or him. The look on Applejack’s face however told her to be as quiet as she could. “My name is Rarity,” Rarity pointed out, with a warm smile. “What is your name, dear?” she asked the colt politely. “M-my name is…” The colt began to speak, in a soft voice that would rival Fluttershy’s. “Amethyst…” The colt named Amethyst gulped as he finished his sentence. “Amethyst Craft.”