//------------------------------// // Applejack/Luna/Cadence - Chapter 25 // Story: Dawn of Crystal Empire // by TopWanted //------------------------------// Applejack poured some lemonade into a glass and handed it to Wit. The two had pardoned themselves from the lab, giving Rainbow Dash and Luna some privacy with Fluttershy. Wit still rubbed his sore head that had been cut during his toss early this morning. “I’m really sorry about that,” she apologized for the tenth time. Wit accepted the lemonade. “I keep telling you, it’s fine.” He smiled half-heartedly as the two sat side by side in the kitchen. Silence dominated the room. Wit turned and opened his mouth to speak but noticed a stone statue of a chef standing in front of an oven just past Applejack. Applejack noticed his mood and turned as well letting out a short gasp. Applejack grit her teeth in frustration. “It just makes me so darn frustrated! All this is happening and I feel like I can’t do anything to help!” Wit lowered his glass onto the counter and talked to Applejack without looking at her. “I know what you mean,” he sighed. “Quill and Princess Twilight are deciphering that book. Princess Luna is helping Miss Fluttershy. I feel so helpless right now.” Applejack continued with her own rant, not looking at Wit. “I’m probably the strongest pony here and yet I’ve never felt so weak.” “I trained my whole life. Studied to be like my brother, but that never worked. The only thing I ever truly had that was mine was the academy and my strength. What’s that got me now?” “Sometimes I wish that I was more like my friends.” “Sometimes I wish I was more like my brother.” “I just feel so…” “Useless.” They both spoke in unison. The two looked at each other for a moment and chuckled. “I really think we got off on the wrong hoof,” Wit said. “I agree,” Applejack replied. They raised hooves and lightly shook. “I’m Applejack.” “Wit.” The two shared a smile. When the moment passed another wave of melancholy washed over the two. Applejack turned to stare at the petrified chef. “Gaaaaah!” she screamed frustratedly. “There’s got to be something we can do here? We can’t just sit around while ponies are in danger.” Wit furrowed his brow in thought. “You guys mentioned something about the library beginning to fall apart right?” Applejack raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah?” Wit stood up and slowly paced back and forth in thought. “Well, why just the library? From what you described, that earthquake could have toppled down and entire section of the castle, maybe more.” Applejack stood up, beginning to see where Wit was going with this. “You’re saying you want to investigate?” “It wouldn’t hurt.” Wit shrugged. ---------- Luna completed her umpteenth scan of Fluttershy. While the petrification had halted for now, the extent of the damage was already severe enough for Luna to apply a small wind spell to bring oxygen to her lungs. She showed Rainbow Dash the basics of the spell and allowed the Pegasus to take over. “Now you’re sure you’ve got this handled?” Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, I got it, Princess. You go get some sleep. You look like you really need it.” Capper, always at Fluttershy’s side, mewed in agreement. Luna gave a small smile and headed to the corner of the room. “I’ll just be in a light meditative state. If anything goes wrong, wake me up immediately.” Rainbow saluted and Luna proceeded to sit herself in the corner of the room. She closed her eyes and within the span of a breath opened them once more. She was in the Dream World. Her first action, as she always did was to look at the sky for changes. The purple hue that had worried her so much before had receded, but that did not fill her with confidence. She noticed less and less dream wisps rising into the sky. This made the sky less melancholy, but also told her that more and more crystal ponies were becoming trapped in stone, unable to dream or even think. She also noticed something that struck fear into her. A small trail of black rose from beneath the castle and into the sky, dyeing it dark. Black was the worst color of all. It meant jealousy, anger and frustration. Black led to nightmares. “Luna!” a small voice brought her attention back to the castle. Before her was the filly spirit she had tried to help the night previous. The spirit was still marble white with blank eyes, though its demeanor seemed to have changed. A small smile on its face. “You came back!” It wrapped it hooves around her in a hug. Luna returned the affection. “Yes,” she said. “I’m sorry I had to leave, but my friends were in danger.” The filly let go and turned to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, still in the waking world but visible. “Are those your friends?” Luna walked over to them. Though they couldn’t see her, she still kept her distance. “Yes. My friend is in dire need of help and I’m finding myself completely useless in this situation. Again.” She muttered that last part under her breath. The filly put a hoof on her leg reassuringly and looked up at her. “Don’t be sad, Luna. When you’re sad, I’m sad.” Luna looked down and gave the filly a melancholic smile. At this the filly smiled broadly and laughed as it ran toward Rainbow and Fluttershy. It proceeded to jump through them like the ghost it was and make spooky silly noises. Luna almost laughed at the attempt to cheer her up. During one of its jumps the filly landed next to the ethereal form of Capper who jumped in surprise. Capper let out an unearthly hissing sound that echoed through the room, causing Rainbow Dash to hold her ears shut. Luna also was forced to shut her ears. The filly backed away in fright and ran to Luna’s embrace. When Capper finally settled down, he began to float aimlessly around the room as if searching for something unseen. “Geez! What was that for!?” Rainbow shouted at the blue flame. Luna rubbed the back of the filly’s head as it cried into her chest. Did Capper just notice the spirit? Did that mean that Capper was some kind of spirit as well? Perhaps he too had some connection to the Dream World. Regardless, it seemed that Capper had lost track of the filly or Luna for that matter, returning to his post. The filly shook in Luna’s hooves and Luna let it cry for a while. “Sh. It’s alright,” she whispered sweetly. When the filly stopped shaking Luna lifted it onto her back and they began to walk through the castle. “Let’s start looking for clues again,” she mused. The filly sniffled but nodded in agreement. The previous night, Luna had been through almost the entire castle except for one place. She stayed silent as they made their way to the library. The filly was the first to speak. “Luna, tell me a story.” Luna smiled and looked up. “A story?” “Yeah!” the filly replied happily. “Story!” “Why do you want a story?” she asked. The filly grew silent and Luna could feel it grab a tighter hold on her mane. “There’s… there’s some things I don’t want to think about right now.” Luna stopped moving. “You remember something?” The filly buried its face in her mane. “Please just tell me a story, Luna,” it said in a muffled voice. Luna sighed and gave a small smile as began to walk again. “Alright, I know a good one. It’s about redemption.” The filly lifted its head. “What’s redemption?” Luna gave a small laugh. “Redemption is a new beginning for somepony who has done something bad in the past.” The filly seemed to straighten up at this. “I want to hear this story, Luna!” Luna smiled. “Alright. It begins over a thousand of years ago. Two sisters were born with abilities beyond what anypony had ever seen. By day, one would rise and lower the Sun. By night, the other would rise and lower the Moon. The ponies loved these two sisters very much and all was peaceful.” Luna stopped, a little hesitant to continue her story. “However, one of the sisters became jealous of the other. While the ponies of the land loved them and thought of both as princesses, their lives had not been as beautiful as one would believe. It was from this tragic past and the echoes it rang through the younger sister that drove her down a path of jealousy and envy. Her sister had a blessed life with all the ponies lauding her during the day, while at night the younger sister was ever alone. Nopony to talk to. Nopony to care.” A silence pervaded the hallway as they walked and Luna could feel the filly grab her mane tighter in anticipation. “The younger sister had an ability, one that even her own sister was not aware of. She could reach into the world of dreams and see into the fantasies and hopes of others. In her loneliness, the younger sister found herself going to this realm both night and day. Eventually shutting herself off from the world. It was by doing this that the younger sister engaged the attention of an evil spirit. An ancient nightmare given form in this realm of dreams. The nightmare approached the younger sister, offering her power and prestige. In her jealousy, the younger sister succumbed to desire and gave herself willingly to the nightmare, giving the being a physical form. As the Nightmare, the younger sister brought suffering and misery to the ponies that once loved her. Finally in a desperate act, when all else had failed, the sister of the Sun was forced to lock her only sister away in the moon. Banishing the evil she had become, but also taking away the only thing in the world she truly loved. One sister locked away on the moon, only nightmares to comfort her. The other locked away on the earth, only guilt and loneliness by her side.” The filly’s grip seemed to falter at the sad story. Luna found herself also becoming melancholy at it. But a small smile began to spread across her face. “However, that’s not the end of our story.” “It’s not?” the filly asked. “No,” Luna chuckled. “I told you. This is a story of redemption.” She waited for the filly to once again grip her mane with excitement and she continued. “You see, the younger sister’s banishment was not permanent. A thousand years later, she was freed from her prison. However, the Nightmare had stayed with her all that time, the older sister never being able to find a way to free her sister from its grasp. Once again the Nightmare spread its darkness across the land. But this is where the story diverges. For after all those years something had changed in the land that the sisters called home. There were ponies that understood the magic one could have in simple gestures of kindness, generosity, laughter, honesty, and loyalty. All of that together brought forth a new kind of magic, one strong enough to separate the sister from the Nightmare. It was by these elements and the magic of friendship that the sister was once again free, reunited with her older sister. And they lived happily ever after. The end.” “But did she change?” the filly asked. Luna froze. “What?” “Did the younger sister change?” the filly asked again. Luna grinned. “Of course she changed. She was freed from the Nightmare by the power of friendship.” The filly seemed to consider this. “But you said she was jealous before the Nightmare came to her. She wasn’t still jealous anymore?” Luna pondered the question. “No. Of course she wasn’t,” she answered. But her mind had begun to think. All those years trapped in the moon. Alone with her nightmares and insecurities. It had certainly done a number on her. But she was better now. She loved Celestia and the Elements. Her sister and her friends were the best things to ever happen to her. Yet… “You don’t believe somepony can change?” she asked the filly. The filly shrugged. “Change is in the eye of the beholder. If it is in a pony’s nature then it will always be a part of them.” Luna frowned at the wise words coming from the filly. However, they did make her think. She was a changed pony, right? Those feelings of inadequacy and jealousy were gone. Right? A few silent minutes later they had made it to the library. Luna’s astral body simply passed through the fallen debris and columns. “This is the only place we haven’t looked for clues,” she stated. She looked up at the filly on her head. “Bring back any memories?” The filly looked around and shook its head. Luna sighed as she turned to leave. Just then two ponies walked into the doorway to the ruined library. Luna walked closer to see and found it to be Applejack and the pony called Wit. They walked by the princess, unaware of her presence. “So you really think we can find something to help everypony out here?” Applejack asked. Wit lifted a fallen column that was standing in their way with one hoof and waved Applejack to pass first. “I don’t know but don’t you think it’s weird that this place started to crumble first?” Luna watched the two carry on, smirking a little at Applejack’s blush when she saw Wit’s feat of strength. They continued to a room where a large pillar stood, its enormous mass the only thing keeping the ceiling above from falling. Wit went closer to inspect it. “Y’know, I’ve been wondering about that house outside the courtyard.” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, what about it?” “For something made of crystal it fell apart way too easily don’t you think?” Wit examined the pillar closer and saw a slight crack in the base. “So?” Applejack asked with a smirk. “Maybe I just don’t know my own strength?” Wit chuckled and turned to her. “Or what’s happening to the crystal ponies could also be happening with the structures. Come take a look at this.” Applejack walked over and looked at the crack Wit was pointing to. “I think maybe all the crystal in the kingdom is turning into stone.” Just as he said that, the crack suddenly widened and an ominous creak could be heard above them. The two ponies looked up wearily as the top of the pillar began to crack as well, raining tiny debris over them. The roof was the next thing to follow. Luna gasped as she watched the roof begin to crash down on the two. She tried to use her magic, but in her astral form she could not access it. She couldn’t do anything to help them like this. Gritting her teeth in shame she grabbed the filly from her head and turned herself and it away from the carnage, shielding its eyes. However, the inevitable crash did not come. She turned slowly around and saw something unbelievable. ---------- “You need to get some rest,” Shining Armor told his wife as they retired from their room. Cadence trotted slightly faster than her husband, not wanting to be asleep when so many ponies needed her. “I can’t! Don’t you see? I’m the Princess of the Crystal Empire! I’m supposed to protect them!” She was beginning to get hysterical as tears welled up in her eyes. “I just… I don’t know what to do anymore.” Shining sighed as he thought about how to help his wife. Nothing came to mind. Sensing his awkwardness, Cadence began to trot away again. Shining tried to catch up. “Cadence, wait!” he shouted. But Cadence’s horn lit up and she disappeared in a blink. Shining stopped midflight and looked wearily at the ground. Cadence reappeared just outside the library. She tried to hold in her tears but the sniffling overpowered her and it turned into a full on bawl. She pressed her head against the wall as she slid down to the floor. Her tears wetting the crystal floors. Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound. Cadence shot her eyes open as she looked into the abandoned library. Far off in the distance she could see Applejack and Wit looking up stupefied at an oncoming hail of debris and masonry. Cadence pumped her legs hard to get to them. When the ceiling was merely a few hooves away, she knew she would not make it. “NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” Cadence shouted. A beam of light, the likes of which she’d never seen, flashed from her horn. She stopped in surprise as pure white energy encompassed the falling mass. Wit and Applejack looked on as well, their mouths agape. The white energy pulsated through the debris and even into the struggling column and down into the floor. The ponies watched in stunned silence as the debris began to freeze into a crystalline substance that flowed from the ceiling like a waterfall. The column as well, righted itself and was fully restored to its crystal beauty. The floors were bathed in the energy as they changed to a brilliant sheen in a pulse of color and vitality. When it had finally dissipated Cadence walked over to the two, her own mouth agape. Applejack turned to Cadence, too surprised by what she’d seen to be surprised to see her. “Cadence,” Applejack whispered softly. “What did you just do?” Cadence stared at the brilliantly vibrant crystal shower and muttered, “I don’t know.”