Though the weather outside howled with wind and snow, the bitter elements were unable to penetrate the warmth of the Crystal Empire. One household, sitting on the outskirts of the empire’s capitol, sat on the edge of the protective, magical dome that encompassed the land. As such, snow and ice surrounded the home, just enough that it was styled as though t’was Hearthswarming Eve.
Two young crystal pony colts, one of the brightest amethyst and the other a sparkling peridot, played underneath their mother’s hooves. Their hoopla interrupted the brewing of what was sure to be a wonderful supper… for the fifteenth time that hour. The question of whether it would ever be brewed at all was coming into sharp relief.
“I’m gonna be Spike the Dragon, and vanquish you to the dark!” one colt proclaimed.
“No way!” the other declared. “You got to be Spike the Dragon last time! It’s my turn!”
In an effort to settle their differences in a mature fashion, the former tackled his peridot brother to the ground. Their mother, an onyx-coated paragon of patience, tripped over the shining tail of her amethyst son. Her mixing bowl full of food flew into the air and landed upside down on the stove.
“Out! Out! Out of the kitchen!” she said, her face shining with love. “I swear, if either of you get chipped I’m going to buff it out with sandpaper!”
The boys, suitably cowed, fled the scene.
A hoof to the floor sent her innate magic flowing through the crystalline ground and to the cupboards. A drawer swooshed open and produced a washcloth. She took the cloth in her teeth and set about cleaning up the mess her darling children had wrought.
Silence entered the kitchen for the first time that day. The mother’s ears twitched. A glance around told her that she was alone in the room, though the quiet pervaded every corner of the house. She shrugged and turned back to her work.
A shriek escaped her as she found the stove covered in a thick, gray cloud of smoke. A moment’s consideration revealed that the smell of burned food was not rolling through the kitchen, and the stove had not even been lit. A closer look told her of the magic shimmering from the cloud, swaying and warping in an arcane dance.
The cloud lifted, and the food she had been cleaning up was gone.
It hung in the air, flowing around as if studying her. The cloud glowed from within, three distinct openings revealing purple light. Two of the openings shut and opened back up, as if they were blinking eyes. A crackling chuckle met her ears as the third opening oscillated.
“Thanks for the meal,” the cloud said.
The mother stuttered out a reply. “Wh-what are you?”
The cloud became angled, drawing to a point as it neared her. Its “mouth” resembled the beak of a bird, and its “eyes” squinted. “Just a bad dream,” it said.
She lowered her head and pawed at the ground. “Well… well you can just get out. We don’t have any room for… for creepy monsters!”
A loud crash blasted through the air alongside the sound of crystal shattering. The mother whirled around and screamed at the sight. Two piles of crystal shards, one purple and the other green, lay just outside the kitchen. She ran over to them, her mouth wide and her breath shaky.
She gathered the gems to her breast, hot tears collecting behind her eyes. Tiny fragments clinked to the ground as the dark cloud loomed behind her.
A window flew open, blasting the icy cold of the Northern Equestria winter through the house. The cloud swirled in the breeze, allowing itself to be sucked outside. Its shape shifted once more, into that of a large, gray, smoky bird. Cackling split the air as it disappeared into the distance, leaving the mother weeping over her sons.
“What’s wrong, Mom?” an amethyst colt asked.
The mother looked down at the shattered remains of her sons to find them alive and well. They looked up at her with wide, wet eyes that shimmered in the light that poured from the open window. Without another word, she gathered them up in her forelegs, planting a kiss on each of their heads.
“Just a bad dream, boys,” she whispered. “Just a bad dream.”