//------------------------------// // Returning to the Empire and more // Story: Gems of Power // by WezzaHD //------------------------------// They all stood there in utter silence. Celestia was asking them to return to the Crystal Empire. They all had looks of anger, sadness but the strongest emotion they felt, was fear. "I know that you may not want to return, but this is a matter of the utmost impor-" "You're crazy!" Peridot cut her off. "You're crazy if you think we'll set foot anywhere near that place! All it is is a lost cause!" The three were all immediately agitated. "Hold o-" "No!" Jasper screamed. "We'll never go back there!" She turned to Lapis and Peridot. "Let's get out of here!" The two nodded as she spin- dashed through the door, with Lapis and Peridot following. As they flew through the halls, they found their exit blocked off by regular guards. Jasper formed her helmet and knocked them all out of their way. As more came from behind, Lapis gathered water form the plumbing in the house and made an ice wall between them and the guards. They shot down the stairs and knocked through more guards. Lapis made an ice shield and knocked through all of the guards. Just before they exited, they turned into ponies and bolted out. Once out, they turned a corner and hid. "That was close." Peridot sighed. "Yeah, but we'd never go back there, not when there's a chance that he might be back." Lapis said. Meanwhile, Jasper was considering something. "You okay Jasper?" "... Maybe we should go." What?!" Peridot nearly yelled "That's a horrible idea; Sombra would probably be waiting for us." "Yeah." She agreed at first. "But the Crystal Gems are here somewhere, and we owe it to them to help the Empire. They saved us, so we have to save them. What do you think Lapis?" "I think that we're in over our heads, but Jasper is still right." "Ugh, I hate it when Jasper's right." Peridot groaned. "Let's just get this over with so we never have to see King Sombra again." "You wanted to see me? To give me a test?" Twilight trotted past Princess Luna with her bag full of quills and notes. "I brought my own quills and plenty of paper to show my work." As she spoke, she dropped an extremely long rolled- up sheet of paper that unrolled in front of Celestia. "Sorry, sorry." She sheepishly smiled as Celestia, who smiled back. "This is a different kind of test." the alicorn said as she rolled the paper back up and returned it to Twilight's bag with her magic. "The Crystal Empire has returned." "The Crystal Empire?" Twilight gained a worried look on her face and went through her books. "I'm sorry, I- I thought I'd studied. Ooh, I don't think there's anything in any of my books th–" "There wouldn't be." Celestia levitated the books away before turning around. "Few remember it ever existed at all. Even my knowledge of the Empire is limited. But what I do know is that it contains a powerful magic." She used a crystal to make a projection of the Crystal Empire. "One thousand years ago, King Sombra, a unicorn whose heart was black as night, took over the Crystal Empire." At the top of the tower in the middle of the empire, the head of a dark grey unicorn with a flowing mane as well as red eyes appeared. The next image showed Sombra standing on a balcony on top of the tower looking down on the crystal ponies, all of which were walking in chains. "He was also able to find three enforcers." The image shifted to three bipedal beings with Sombra looking over them. "There was Peridot." She highlighted the green figure with her magic. "Jasper." The muscular orange one was highlighted this time. "And Lapis Lazuli." Finally, she showed the blue one that was the smallest of the three. "They were three powerful beings who would assist Sombra in enforcing his regime." A new image showed them all glaring down at the crystal ponies. "We had tried many times to defeat them and free the Crystal Empire. However, we would always fail, and the Empire would remain under Sombra's rule. This continued on for years. We could not defeat Sombra when he had the help of the gems on his side. They would usually weaken us before we could get to Sombra or they would beat us with their combined efforts until we found help of our own or rather... it found us." The projection changed to Celestia and Luna as well as three other beings. "These are the Crystal Gems: Garnet." It showed a tall being with a square- shaped afro whose eyes were covered by sunglasses. She wore a red and black bodysuit. "Amethyst." After someone really tall, Twilight saw someone considerably shorter. She had purple skin and long white hair like Jasper's but without the orange tint. "And Pearl." The final figure was in the middle of the two height- wise with skin that was tinted blue and looked like she was dressed for ballet. "These three evened the playing field for us, and we had more of a chance against Sombra and his enforcers." Images showed the two forces clashing in the empire. "Until finally, we were able to stop Sombra and end his reign. He was overthrown, turned to shadow and banished to the ice of the Arctic north. But not before he was able to put a curse upon the Empire. A curse that caused it to vanish into thin air... they, and the Crystal Gems were both gone, but Sombra's gems were able to escape. They've been in hiding ever since, but we've recently found them. If the Empire is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected across all of Equestria. If hatred and fear take hold... This is why I need your help finding a way to protect it." Once she finished, Twilight was left staring in awe. Jasper, Peridot and Lapis anxiously got off the train.Their eyes each darted from left to right as they walked off of the platform. Peridot was in her pony form, as well as Lapis and Jasper. While Peridot had taken the form of a unicorn, Jasper had become an earth pony while Lapis was a pegasus. They shivered as they felt the familiar strong wind push against them, but not because of the cold. They slowly made their way off of the platform, before stopping at the last step. They took it all together and immediately regretted it. When they each placed their hooves in the snow, they saw his face all too clearly. His face, mane, fangs and those... eyes. They stared at them, but the eyes stared right back at them. When the vision disappeared, they were simply standing there like statues in the Canterlot Gardens. They shifted back into their true forms. "Are you three okay? Come on, we need to get moving." Shining tried to urge them along, but they didn't budge. "He's here." Jasper's voice was barely above a whisper. "He knows we're here." Peridot continued. "And he's coming." Lapis finished, before looking at Shining. "We need to move." "Finally" Shining sighed. "Let's go." "We know the way to the empire." Jasper informed him, and they began walking. "Ugh, I hate the cold." Peridot groaned. "Why? You can barely feel it." Jasper was right; they had all transformed their clothing into thick coats and trousers. "We can also barely see." Peridot retorted. "Stupid blizzards..." "Ugh, who cares?" Lapis rolled her eyes. "I do!" Peridot yelled. "What if we never find anything? What if we're stuck out here forever?" "Peridot, I'm almost certain that we won't find anything here, and I see little to no point in going on." Lapis explained. "Regardless, the ponies didn't exactly respond well to us, so we have no other choice. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to keep the blizzard away from all of you." She continued using her powers to shield them from the blizzard, but could not do anything about the wind blowing against them. They continued their aimless walking for another few hours or so, before Jasper stopped them. "Do you girls see that?" She narrowed her eyes to try and get a closer look at what was in front of them. "What is it, Jasper?" I see something in the distance, can't you?" "Jasper, are sure the cold isn't getting to you?" Peridot asked. "Peri's right, it might just be your mind." Lapis added. "Shut up you two, and look closer." Peridot sighed at Jasper's request, and morphed her eyes into binoculars. She was prepared to dismiss what her friend was saying, but she was right, there were buildings and streets and a gate. "Hurry Lapis, let's go." Peridot changed her eyes back and ran with Jasper. Lapis sighed and activated her wings to keep up with them. They got closer and closer and went past the pony guards stationed outside They had put all of their energy into that dash, and were nearly unconscious. Once they were in the city, they fell to the ground. They each panted heavily as if timberwolves had been nipping at their heels, not that timberwolves would be an actual threat to them. When they got up, they found themselves surrounded by guards; every spear and sword was pointed in their direction. "What's going on here?" They heard a deep voice and the guards immediately moved to make a path. They saw a pony walk past them. He was taller than the average pony, and had fur that was a dark shade of grey, while his mane was pitch black. While he was walking, no one dared move unless they were ordered to do so. He turned to the nearest guard on his right, expecting his answer. "They showed up here and collapsed on the ground together, my king." The guard stated. He raised his eyebrow at the explanation, before setting his gaze back on the three gems. He could sense the great power within each of them; a power that he had never felt in the likes of Equestria. "And who are you three?" "This is Jasper, that's Peridot and I'm Lapis Lazuli." Sombra stared at them once again. "Come with me." Sombra began to lead them to his throne room. While he did, they looked around. Nearly everything was made out of crystal. The buildings, the floor, the seats, they were all crystal. It looked quite beautiful, but Lapis got a feeling that was quite familiar to her. They made it to his throne room where he cleared all the other ponies out. He was very curious about these three. "I know your names so allow me to tell you mine. I am King Sombra and I rule this land. What are you three?" He asked. "You've told me who you all are, but not what you are." The three looked at each other anxiously, before replying. "We're Gems." Peridot spoke for them. "That's not a species that I've heard of." Sombra began before clearing this throat. "Alright, before I ask more about gems, I would like to know what you are all doing here." "We're lost, we were looking for a home." Peridot continued. "We don't know how long we've been wandering in the blizzards, but we thought that we'd maybe like to live here in the..." "Crystal Empire." "The Crystal Empire." Sombra stared at them. He could still feel that power within them. "Well, I would like to, but I'm afraid that I do not know what 'Gems' would be able to offer. Tell me, what can your species do?" "We can... make our own weapons." Jasper stood up and summoned her crash helmet. "Our bodies are very durable and we can also shapeshift." Jasper once again demonstrated by changing her form into that of a cat. Sombra watched them with eyes of analysis and deduction, while inside he was amazed at these mysterious creatures. "Very well, you may reside in the Crystal Empire." Sombra smiled. "I also have the perfect jobs for you all. As you can tell, the Crystal Empire is not in the best of shapes; I feel that the best jobs for you all would be the jobs of guards. You will be tested personally by me tomorrow. Now come, allow me to get rooms arranged for you." The Gems smiled widely at what the King was offering them. They had more questions for him, but were currently more concerned with getting rooms, all the while Sombra smiled as he led the way." They walked with Shining Armour. Their eyes were still darting everywhere. Every little movement around them made them alert. The snow felt exactly as it did before, and Lapis used her powers to shield them from the snow like before. Eventually, it began to get darker. Yet it wasn't night. They couldn't see the familiar gleam of the Empire yet. Soon, a dark most surrounded them. They heard a bellowing howl, before all the dark mist gathered into one large cloud, with eyes that glared down at them. They were too scared to move as Sombra advanced. They got out of their daze as Jasper activated her helmet, Peridot formed her blaster, Lapis spread her wings and Shining flared his horn. Sombra laughed at them, and floated back a couple of metres. Three figures could be seen walking out from underneath him. As soon as they got closer, all their eyes widened as they saw the rivals that had saved them 1,000 years ago stood before them once again. They saw the Crystal Gems.