//------------------------------// // Mending the broken heart. // Story: Triple Threat // by Dostoron //------------------------------// Blueblood was not happy with what he had seen, and especially not with how his slip up had changed things. It was not his place to tell, but he had told them about the third danger from inside regardless... now the way things played out could cost yet more lives than he had seen originally. "how could i be so irresponsible, my dear in law is needed in the empire and now he´s on a train south! please... please let me see how this changed things." soon he was afloat again, his eyes once more filled with the infinity that showed him what would happen. ____________________________________ The days in the Crystal empire were bright, the ponies kind and friendly and the hearts of all who visit it are lightened by the beauty of the place and its inhabitants, none knew of the dark past of the empire... except for a trio of Unicorns, by itself already rare, but these were rarer still, descendants from the founders, they were the last scions of the imperial Family. Their eldest was the first to remember the full history of what happened to her parents and her brothers, twins, followed soon after. Now that they had completely unraveled the past of the empire they were talking about their findings. "So, the Crystal heart is still incomplete. do the two of you have any idea how to fix it? Steel?" "Sombra was part of an equestrian occupation force once and broke a Piece off to break the resistance of the Crystal ponies, it stands to reason that he hid it somewhere separate so that even if the heart itself was returned we´d remain weak. don´t worry Opal, Silver has something you might like to see." the other Crystal unicorn grinned. "our good luck that the princess made the archives accessible to everypony, i found the missing endpiece in a hollowed book about the history of crystals." he Held up what looked like a triangle Piece. "how we ever fell under that guy shall forever elude me..." Opal smiled at her younger Brothers. "have you prepared what we Need? Steel?" "I emptied out half the armory, good Thing i´m in Charge of it, no one noticed." "very good, Silver?" "the Crystal crafts that we rediscovered yield some very interesting results, particularly with a come to life spell." "excellent, time to restore our feared Name and become the real Crystal empire again. As i just learned Shining Armor and his trusted lieutenant Sentry are leaving tomorrow, that´s when we strike" _______________________________________ Blueblood snapped awake. "it seems the changed circumstances encouraged them... this could turn ugly... Butler, please invite my sister over, it is Long overdue her and i get to spend some time as a Family." The aptly named stallion raised an eyebrow but complied. As he left Blueblood turned to his reflection. "...i´m too involved by now anyways, might as well make my best effort to prevent the worst." ___________________________ The next day at the empire, three ponies were Boarding the Train to the mainland. "And he invited you just like that?" shining armor still couldn´t believe his ever reclusive brother in law had invited someone, even if it was his sister." "He is like that sometimes, he makes unorthodox decisions out of the blue and they always turn out right. actually i´m hoping my relation with him might get as good as yours and Twilight´s." "and right when i have an assignment in the far south, something feels odd about all this." "sir, it is hardly something supposed to Keep us busy for Long, a single creature that doesn´t belong there shouldn´t be too difficult to spot." Flash sentry finally chimed in. "I´m actually almost certain we´ll be back before the princess." "Ever the Optimist, huh?" "the best way to get through the week, sir... i think the conductor would like to get going, we should get aboard now." Soon after all three ponies were seated, Shining spoke up again. "It´s strange though, a whole lot of things happen out of the blue lately, a dangerous animal in the souther jungle, Celestia going for a diplomatic visit..." "not to Forget that the Crystal ponies seem to rediscover ancient Technology that beats modern equestrian machinery out of the ballpark." Flash sentry piped up. Cadence smiled. "they´re waking up, i´m honestly proud that they´ll make the Crystal Empire great again." Shining Armor´s expression darkened. "not sure if that´s a good Thing, if they weren´t so happy and kind i´d honestly be scared of them, according to their own reports they were formidable in their prime..." "Don´t worry, shiny, they´re good ponies." __________________________ "Well that´s about as convenient as it gets... the princess left too." Steel reported his findings to his siblings "no time like the present Boys, i´ll get the heart, you get the constructs and troops." Opal instructed them. Silver and Steel mirrored each other in their smirk. "For the empress." "hold on... you want me to take the throne? isn´t it firstborn colt?" "no law saying that and dad is in no Position to object, besides being prince is more fun anyways. I´m an artisan and mage, not an accountant." "and i´m a soldier, i know how to maintain an army, not a Nation." they then spoke in unison. "now lets get you seated where you belong and then put the empire where it belongs, on top of the world."