It was night-time over the Crystal Empire. Shackled ponies roamed the street, magically animated equine soldiers composed completely of black crystal keeping them in line, as they slowly returned to their squalid homes. A grey aura surrounded the area as the crescent moon dimly shone above, an energy field preventing long-range scouting via magic. The bright green eyes of the crystal automatons scanned the crowds, searching for stray slaves.
Meanwhile, dashing over the quartz rooftops, a black figure fluidly sped towards the north-eastern corner of the city. The figure paused for a moment, the black latex bodysuit coupled with the dull green of night vision goggles allowing the figure a low profile, as they watched the masses stream into their crystal abodes. The goggles surveyed the scene, locating an elderly crystal pony making an escape attempt before being spotted by a crystal guard. The elder stallion made a dash for it but was hit by a blast of sickly green energy from the guard's horn, disintegrating into crystal dust with a startled cry that echoed into the night.
The stealthy figure on the rooftop hesitated before again disappearing out of sight.
In an abandoned wood cellar, two ponies were sitting at a small table, the room lit only by a single candle on the table. One was a unicorn mare with a pale green coat and a poofy, royal blue mane. The stallion was a gruff-looking earth pony with a dark brown coat and a white mane cut almost down to nothing. The mare was twirling a playing card on her hoof, while the stallion was writing on a piece of paper.
Suddenly, there were 4 short taps on the door of the cellar. The ponies tensed, then relaxed again as the stealthy black figure dropped in through the door, closing it quietly behind them.
"We were starting to think you'd gotten lost, rookie! Did you see a pretty crystal slave mare you liked, again?" The mare grinned mischievously, carefully placing the card on the table.
"Don't be so hard on him, Invisible Sword; he's still new at this." The gruff stallion sat up to look at the figure, who was struggling with his goggles. "What's your report, Glint?"
The figure finally removed the goggles, and pulled off the bodysuit, revealing a smaller than average stallion, with a sky blue coat and a steely grey mane. His cutie mark was a pair of night vision goggles. "Nothing to report, sir. The citizens are leaving the crystal mines for their homes, no crystal soldiers were seen near our HQ." he paused, and looked down. The mare raised an eyebrow.
"What is it, Sugarplum? Tell us, or I'll be forced to pin you down and interrogate you." She said with a sly giggle.
"Well... The soldiers killed another guy today, and I could've saved him if I-"
"No, none of that talk. We're here to destroy and spy, not save civilians." The larger stallion grunted, scribbling on the paper.
"I-I know, but I could've saved his life-"
"Shut up, Goggles."
"But-"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" The stallion yelled, slamming his hooves on the table, sending the other two ponies into quiet submission.
"We are here to gather intelligence and disrupt the government. We are not - and I repeat NOT! - here to save civilians. They will blow our position at the promise of a few extra rations or a day off from the mines.”
"You don't know tha-" Glint started.
"Yes, I do know that. Now, forget it." The stallion sighed, and picked up his pen.
"Roll call. Invisible Sword?"
"Here." The mare kicked her hind hooves up on the table, and closed her eyes.
"Glinting Goggles?"
"Here." Glint grumbled, and flopped onto his bunk.
"Savage Shadow? Here." The stallion ticked his own name off the list, rolling it up and hoofing it to Sword. "Light it up."
Sword nodded and cast a spell on the paper, teleporting it to an underground crate, far out in the snowy wastes. A few minutes later, midnight struck and the paper disappeared in a flash of navy magic, appearing in front of a certain moon-ruling princess who started to read the report.
Back in the wood cellar, Sword nodded. "She'll have got it by now, dears. We can rest easy."
Savage placed a new piece of paper on the table.
"Now then, tomorrow's mission. You might wanna come take a look, rookie." Glint sighed and slowly trudged over, sitting on a stool similar to Sword's and Savage's, peering at the piece of paper.
"What is it?"
"This is the crystal palace, Glint. This will be - excuse the pun - our crowning jewel operation. We are going to steal-" Savage leaned in close. "-the Crystal Heart."
Both Sword and Glint looked at each other, then back at Savage. "The crystal what?" They said in unison, earning a facehoof from Savage.
"Am I the only one who reads the history of an operation’s area?” He sighed heavily. “Fine. The Crystal Heart is a magical artefact, supposedly used by the past rulers of the Crystal Empire to ensure peace in their land. It's part of several rituals concerning childbirth, friendship, you know, that kind of thing. Anyway, the Crystal Heart is also supposed to banish evil from the Crystal Empire. When old Sombra came to power, he turned it off somehow and allowed the evil creatures of the frozen north to further corrupt his mind, and then he enslaved his people... You know the rest. Basically, if the Crystal Heart can be reactivated, it will flush King Sombra and his evil aura down the magical toilet." He finished.
"Sounds good to me!" Glint grinned, interested in saving the ponies from their evil master.
"What's the catch, hon?" Sword seemed less impressed, looking over the map.
"Well, our intelligence on the tower itself is minimal. We only have the most basic idea of the layout, much less where the actual heart is." Savage frowned.
"Which is where our newest recruit comes in. Glinting, you'll be doing a recon mission, exploring the tower as best you can and hopefully locating the heart. Then I can give Sword the activation spell, you two can sneak in while I create a distraction, secure (and, if possible, activate) the Crystal Heart and Sombra will be blown away!" Savage grinned.
"What if we can't activate it?" Glint asked.
"If the spell doesn't work, then you'll have to steal it and escape the Empire. The observation outpost is in the small mountain north of here, they'll see you and help you. Any more questions?"
"No, sir!"
"Then I suggest you get some sleep."
----------------------
As the sun travelled across the sky, the trio went through the plan over and over again, checking equipment and prepping themselves for the mission. As night fell, a dark shape sped towards the tower at lightning speed. Using his wings to gain some air, Glint made the jump from a house to the frontal balcony. Landing silently, he moved like a cat, slipping across the balcony and into a large, empty room. Flying up some stairs, he glanced inside every doorway, making a mental map of the place and categorising the contents of each room. Suddenly, he could hear the chunky clanking of some Crystal Soldiers headed his way. Ducking into the nearest doorway, he quickly closed it behind him and hid behind a desk. After the heavy steps of the soldiers had faded, he stood up and looked around. This room seemed to be some form of laboratory, walls lined with crystal beakers holding colourful liquids, and assorted gizmos on the tables. He pondered taking some as he unclipped his night vision goggles. He wouldn't need them now that he was in the brightly-lit palace. Looking over the different equipment, his eyes fell upon what looked like a large grey earpiece with a visor that fits over one eye. He shrugged and picked it up. There didn't seem to be an “on” button but opening a hatch on the side revealed an assortment of hundreds of minuscule crystals, each almost too small for his eyes to discern as different pieces. He closed the hatch, and placed it on the left side of his head, with the transparent pink visor (likely also made out of crystal) over his left eye. Nothing happened at first but then the metal casing clicked and his head suddenly started to hurt, badly. He groaned in pain as he clutched his skull, unable to remove the offending piece of equipment. After a few minutes, the pain subsided, and he stood up dizzily.
[HELLO]
"Ack!" He stumbled backwards, and fell onto his rump.
[CAREFUL]
"Err..."
His vision suddenly had text in front of him. Supposedly projected by the visor. Surprisingly, he felt he could see right through it at the same time as he registered it. He shook his head, confused.
"What are you?"
[I AM THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THAT HAS BEEN PROGRAMMED INTO THIS OPTICAL COMPUTER]
"Wha?"
[I AM A PROGRAM INSIDE THE HEADSET YOU ARE WEARING]
"O-oh. Uhh, how do I get you off?"
[RUDE]
"Hey, you hurt my head!" He shushed himself as he heard more clanking down the hall.
[IT WAS NECESSARY FOR THE INTEGRATION PROCEDURE]
"The what?"
[YOU ARE NOT VERY SMART, ARE YOU]
"Shut up."
[WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU WEARING ME?]
"I-I'm Glinting Goggles, I'm a spy-" Glint stuck his hoof in his mouth.
[OH MY MOTHERBOARD, THE FIRST PERSON TO BE LINKED TO ME IS A MORON]
Glint growled and tried to remove the device, his efforts in vain.
[NICE TRY. WHAT NOW?]
"What's your purpose? Do you have a name?"
[MY NAME IS CAISU-484T22. CRYSTALLINE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND SCANNING UTENSIL, MODEL CODE 484T22]
"That's quite a mouthful." Glint though for a minute, and remembered a board game he used to play with his friends back in Canterlot.
"How about Arclight?"
[SOUNDS TACKY, BUT IF YOU'D PREFER TO CALL ME THAT, FINE]
"You're rude."
[NEVER GOT MY MANNERS DOWNLOADED]
Glint rolled his eyes.
"Why haven't you alerted anyone to my presence?"
[I'M PROGRAMMED TO PROTECT WHOMEVER WEARS ME]
"Convenient. Do you have a voice?"
[WHAT, SUBTITLES NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU?]
"I prefer the spoken word."
[TOO BAD]
"Fine. Well, since we're stuck together, you can help me. Do your... systems include a map of this place?"
[THEY DO INDEED]
An overhead map of the tower flicked before Glint's vision, showing him labelled rooms and statistics, even where the guards were stationed.
"Dear Celestia, that's amazing."
[IF I HAD CHEEKS, I'D BE BLUSHING]
"Again with the sarcasm? Where's the Crystal Heart room?"
[THAT'LL TAKE A MOMENT]
"Uhh, cool, thanks."
[YOU'RE WELCOME. NICE TO BE APPRECIATED]
"Didn't the ponies who built you appreciate you?"
[NAH, BORING OLD BOFFINS]
"What do you use for power?"
[I USE A MICRO BLACK HOLE, DRAWING POWER FROM OTHER REALITIES]
"Got that heart yet?"
[ALRIGHT ALRIGHT, LET ME FINISH THE SCAN. SHEESH, YOU'RE IMPATIENT]
"The heart, please?"
[HEART LOCATED, ROUTE PLANNED]
"Thanks."
[NO PROBLEM. FANCY A TRIP TO YAKYAKISTAN? I CAN PROGRAM THAT TOO]
Glint rolled his eyes and snuck out of the lab. "Don't suppose you have night vision?"
[WELL DUH, I FIT OVER YOUR EYE, OF COURSE I HAVE NIGHT VISION]
The display went a purple-green colour, showing the now dark hallways in an almost perfect light.
[I ALSO COME WITH THERMAL VISION, IN CASE YOU COULDN'T GUESS]
"Just... Shush while I make my way back to..." Standing stop the balcony, Glinting could see a column of crystal soldiers making their way in the direction of the hideout.
"No... They can't have found us, surely."
Glint jumped from the balcony to a rooftop, and followed the soldiers.
[WHERE ARE WE GOING?]
"They're heading towards the hideout." Glint whispered, silently leaping between the roofs, keeping pace with the deadly crystalline force. His heart was beating incredibly fast, he didn't have time to warn his friends about the death that was marching their way.
As the soldiers halted outside the wood cellar, the sense of crushing despair held Glint in place as the soldiers pulled off the wood cellar's doors with their magic.
He watched, helplessly as his comrades were blown away with green waves of light, their panicked screams filling the night air. He was still hiding on the rooftop, pressed flat against it to conceal his silhouette as the hot tears streamed down his cheeks.
[GLINT, YOU ALRIGHT?]
Glint sniffled and shook his head. "How did they get discovered?"
[PROBABLY A LEAK FROM A SLAVE]
"Was it you?"
[NO, PUTTING YOU AND YOUR CHUMS IN DANGER WOULD ENDANGER ME TOO, EVEN IF I WASN'T PROGRAMMED TO PROTECT YOU]
"True, I guess..." Glint sighed.
[HEY, YOU MORTALS ARE ALL ABOUT REVENGE, RIGHT?]
"Uhh, no? What did you have in mind?"
[YOU COULD COMPLETE THE MISSION]
"Stealing the Crystal Heart?"
[IF YOU CAN STEAL IT, THEN THEIR LIVES WON'T HAVE BEEN SACRIFICED IN VAIN]
"Thanks, Arc."
[DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT]
"Wait, why do you care? Shouldn't you be like, valuing us 'mortals' as worthless?"
[HOW MANY SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS ABOUT TERRIBLE DYSTOPIAN FUTURES DO YOU READ?]
"N-never mind. Let's get back to the tower." Glint looked at the hideout again, and wiped his eyes.
"I'll do this for you, Sword and Savage."
[ENOUGH WITH THE SAPPY STUFF, WE SHOULD GET GOING]
"On it!" Glint donned his stealth suit, and started his run towards the tower.
--------------------
"Are we there yet?"
[YOU CAN SEE THE DISPLAY, SO YOU CAN SEE HOW FAR WE HAVE TO GO]
"You mean how far I have to go."
[YES, KEEPING GOING EQUINE SLAVE, BE GLAD YOU CAN SERVE SUCH A WORTHY MACHINE]
"Enough already."
Glint glided downwards, descending much faster down the vertical, stair-filled tunnel than any unicorn or earth pony could have. As his hooves touched the bottom, he looked up.
"Wow. Flying back up there is gonna be a treat."
[QUIT YOUR WHINING, THERE'S A DOOR BEHIND YOU]
Glint span around, and opened the door. Inside was a large, cylindrical chamber with the Crystal Heart resting on a pedestal in the middle.
"That's it?"
[YEP]
"You sure?"
[ITS A HEART-SHAPED CRYSTAL SITTING ON A PEDESTAL. I THINK WE CAN SAFELY ASSUME IT'S THE CRYSTAL HEART]
"Fine."
Glint reached out for the heart.
[STOP]
Jumping back, Glint's eyes searched the room for enemies.
[KNEW YOU'D FALL FOR THAT]
"Why, you!"
Glint growled, and snatched up the heart, placing it in his secured saddlebag.
[BEEP BOOP. LIFE SIGN DETECTED. EVASIVE ACTION SUGGESTED. FIRE PHASERS]
Glint hid behind the pedestal, listening for the intruder.
[THIS PEDESTAL DOES NOT FUNCTION AS AN ADEQUATE HIDING PLACE]
"Cryyysstaaallssssss..."
Glint gulped.
[OH, DEAR. WHERE'S THE ESCAPE PLAN?]
Too late. Glinting was lifted up by a dark black aura, and pulled from behind the pedestal, suddenly face-to-face with King Sombra himself.
"Err.. Hi?"
[SMOOTH]
"Cryyystalsss..." The Crystal Heart was pulled out of Glint's saddlebag.
"Er, don't suppose you could let us go?" Glint laughed nervously, sweat trailing down the side of his head. The evil unicorn shook his head, and opened a crack in the crystal wall with his magic, placing Glint inside.
"P-please don't crush me..."
[HE'S NOT GOING TO CRUSH US, HE'S SEALING US IN UNTIL I CAN BE REMOVED]
"Why?"
[BECAUSE I'M VALUABLE?]
"Oh, right..."
The crystal slowly started to grow around Glinting's hooves, making their way up towards his body.
[LOOK AT IT THIS WAY. YOU GET TO BE FROZEN IN CRYSTAL! HOW MANY PONIES CAN SAY THAT THEY'VE DONE THAT?]
"I didn't peg you as an optimist."
[I'M NOT]
Sombra turned to leave, closing the door to the circular chamber behind him.
"Then why're you-"
[SHUT UP AND ENJOY THE FREEZING PROCESS]
"That's not enjoyable!"
[REALLY? I WOULDN'T KNOW AS I DON'T HAVE THE SENSE OF TOUCH]
"There's a lot of questions I'd like to ask you."
[CAN IT WAIT UNTIL YOU CAN TAKE ME ON A ROMANTIC EVENING DINNER?]
"You don't eat." Glint was struggling to speak, the crystal was growing around his throat.
[IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS]
"See you on the other side, Arc."
[YEAH, SEE YOU THEN]
[WAIT, AM I GOING TO BE STILL FUNCTIONING WHILE YOU'RE FRO-
The crystal covered Glint and Arc, sealing them inside the wall. Above ground, things were going no better. The ground was shaking and, to Sombra's astonishment, the heart was glowing.
"Whaat iss thisss?" He growled in anger, before the heart released a blinding white light that encircled the whole city, before it disappeared out of thin air, leaving only an imprint on the ground behind.
In the nearby mountain outpost, Sargent Sharpened Pencil was stunned. The entire city had vanished before his eyes. He quickly grabbed a scroll and quill to report the incident to his commanding officer.