//------------------------------// // Crystal Clarity // Story: Forged Anew // by Vermillion Prose //------------------------------// Hesperos stood stock still, locked in paced by the unexpected nature of the area in which he found himself. Memories long dormant slithered to the fore as recollection of a nearly sacred place fundamental to a planet he once called home seeped into his awareness in ghostly flashes of the past. His stance and fluctuating emotions and mentality went unnoticed by the alabaster unicorn trotting ahead. Rarity’s horn was alight and scanning her most recently discovered hunting grounds, and her geological prey was quite abundant here. She tutted slightly that intermixed with the more precious gem formations were an uncharacteristically high amount of quartz variations. Fortunately, amethyst was the most abundant and a stone she was more than comfortable working with. Hesperos strode forward as if in a daze, more so than his usual, and knelt closely to the ground. He placed a gauntlet to the dirt and traced around the precious stones hidden beneath, each alight and singing with resonant energy. He extended his faint psychic power out and felt it attune and flow smoothly, pure and free of the usual instability of power drawn from the Great Ocean. Rarity paused in her searches, several emeralds floating behind her in her grasp, to offer an inquiring glance to the unusual behavior he was displaying. It was ever so difficult to read the marine, his faceplate expressionless and his body language horridly subdued, but this was very different than any way he had acted around the castle or during his brief times in town. “Are you alright, darling?” She was almost certain he had not heard her as he stayed locked in place for a moment before his helmet shifted to her, then panned around the area once. He smoothly stood and walked over to her. She resisted the urge to shy away or cower, as imposing as he was, because it would have been terribly rude, but did not resist when he plucked one of the crystals from her mage-grasp. The emerald, even uncut and unpolished, shone nearly as cleanly and brightly as those few worked into his armor. In fact, once treated properly it would likely surpass any of the embedded stones in both beauty and purity. But more keenly, a handful of them would be a boon to any who practiced the great mysteries. He returned the stone and his gaze to Rarity, taking a knee to better meet her eye to eye. He extended a hand to rest upon her shoulder. “Lady Rarity, your talents are most wondrous,” his voice rumbled smoothly. As he stood and turned to return to the cart they had brought with them to retrieve digging tools, Rarity stood and blinked in mild bemusement before getting to work at marking dig locations. She was taken by slight surprise when he started to dig up crystal growths she had yet to mark, and he offered a short explanation that he could clearly see all the stones her magic had touched as they reflected it through the aether. Thus together they hauled away an impressive collection of precious minerals that even Spike may have struggled to aid her in acquiring. The unearthly strength of the rubricae made such tasks nearly beneath him. Upon returning to the castle that evening, Hesperos brought with him a small pouch loaded with gems Rarity had insisted he be allowed to select and take with as repayment for an unusually bountiful afternoon. Included were several that were ill-attuned or improperly formed for either of their uses, but that would serve as an excellent treat for a certain little drake. Once those had been delivered, Hesperos retired to the spartan chamber he had grudgingly accepted from Twilight as his personal room. At his insistence, there was no bed, but there was a massive and reinforced steel-frame couch with what amounted to sandbags for cushions. Anything less would not endure his armored presence. A simple but refined mahogany desk was the only vanity he had allowed, the sturdy yet gorgeous wood enough to bear the weight of tomes and magical artifacts and add a scholarly touch. Fine tools for a variety of crafts sat in ordered racks, and a magnifying lens hovered over the center, suspended on an adjustable and multi-jointed armature. A steel chair to match the couch was drawn back and awaiting. A crystal bookshelf beside it held dozens of tomes, most copies of Equestrian works that had intrigued him, while several massive volumes contained the research conducted with the resident princess. He had insisted on a room within the castle, so there were no windows, but a scorched and tattered banner hung from the wall, crimson and ivory bound by the energies of a magical stasis spell Twilight had perfected during their studies. His first act was to take a small sheet of parchment, scrawled with a task list, and add the desire to research the local cave structures. After, he emptied the gemstones onto the table, sorting them as he pleased. After ponderously taking a seat, he retrieved his tools, a polishing cloth, and a text regarding both the trade of gemcutting and the nature of Equestrian crystal formation. As the day outside wound to a close, the faint ping of chisel on crystal rang through a secluded hall of the Ponyville castle.