//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: The Crystal Empress // Story: Crystalline: Her Destiny // by Ice Star //------------------------------// Darkness… Darkness everywhere. Where was I? Had Sombra won? Although the spire was gone, and I was still injured, there was no pain. I shakily stood up, even though I wasn't sure where I was. Everything could have been an abyss for all I knew, if only there was light that could show me. “Hellooooooo….?” Nopony answered my call. Suddenly, a light. A light appeared about thirty feet in front of me, hovering in the air. I went closer to it. The light seemed to respond; it folded and writhed around before expanding to reveal a magnificent door with a Crystal Heart keystone. I drew in a sharp breath. I was on the adventure of a lifetime. Who says I can’t have the death of a lifetime? I think I was bloody ready for what was on the other side. So I opened it. I will never forget this moment and what came next. ... An entire rounded crystal chamber, decorated in the Empire's fashion was inside. In the center was a round table, while three large, polished doors on the far end with words carved into their crystal surfaces. They read: Paradise, Tartarus, and The Empire. “May we help you?” A regal voice demanded. Nopony was here when I came in. Despite my physical state, I whirled around almost nimbly. The table was surrounded by six swirling lights, which settled down and changed into the some of most magnificent ponies I had ever seen. Five of them were Alicorns: sapphire blue, metalic silver, ruby red, emerald green, and peridot yellow. Also amongst them was a young opalescent crystal pony mare. But these Alicorns, with their flowing and elaborately styled manes and tails, were they made of gems, simply wearing them... or were they... Crystalline Alicorns? How was this possible? If I were still alive, somepony would have told me that my mouth looked as big as a flugel horn as I tried to find the words to describe their translucent forms. One of the Alicorns, a tall green female, with a mane and tail in ringlets that looked like tendrils of mist, stood up. Her cutie mark was a wide-open stylized gold eye of sorts. Although she was shorter than Celestia, she was taller than Luna. The other Alicorns' manes and tails appeared to be a middle ground of crystal pony styles and looks and traditional Alicorn manes. This mare leaned more toward the Alicorn half, the misty shades of green waving like grass. I heard a strange sound somewhere in the background, not far from where I was, but I ignored it in case these strangers chose to leave. She looked down at the ground, and then reeled away in disgust. “Your left wing just fell off.” I pretended not to notice. The blue mare, whose almost titanic height surpassed Auntie Celestia's, rose. This caused her mane, which was mostly piled on her head, to sway. It was the color of the lights unleashed by the heart: yellow, pale blue, and vibrant pink. Sapphire ornaments jingled. “Queen Ezmeralda, please seat yourself once more,” she intoned, voice noble and superior to the other mare's with a frosty calmness. She must have been the one who spoke first. Was this ‘Ezmeralda’ the blue mare's daughter? It certainly felt like that when they looked at each other, and by the tones they used. She obeyed, and sat among the other ponies who stayed silent, allowing the sapphire pony to continue. “Greetings, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.” She paused daintily and I glimpsed her cutie mark, a sapphire with familiar tricolor auras pouring out of it as they took on the shape of the object the lights embraced. That object was a Crystal Heart. The Crystal Heart. This must be the first Crystal Queen, the one who created the Heart and started the Crystal Faire. She noted my expression. “I am the former Queen Sapp'ra, Creator of the Heart among other mysteries.” Former? But she was an Alicorn… “What do you mean ‘former’? I thought Alicorns never die or fade. So aren't you supposed to be eternal?” Sapp’ra pursed her lips. “Alicorn life as a whole… will reveal itself to you in due time. But in our case? We could not stand eternal life, so we cursed ourselves to attach to the Heart when we could no longer stand our endless lifespans. We wanted the next in line to get a chance to shine, and an era all their own. Where did you think its power came from, a ewe running on a wheel?” She chuckled warmly, indicating it was a joke, not an insult. “Although, in Opal Charm's case-” she nodded towards the crystal pony, whose eyes clouded - part of me thought I saw her silent form flicker. Maybe her spirit wasn't as strong as theirs? “-blood was spilled.” I quieted down. None of the books in the Crystal Library mentioned an Alicorn ruling before Sombra, and I'm sure Sombra could outwit an Alicorn - but he couldn't dispose of one, or at least he probably didn't know any ways to, if they exist. “You must think you are here because you are a dead monarch, correct?” I nodded. Her gaze nitpicked me for a moment. “Newly dead, to be exact.” I gazed at my left wing, the once colorful feathers now marred and crimson-stained, as it sat cold and lonely on the floor, the once-pretty pink now garish and out of place as it longed for its mate. “As you can see none of us bear the marks of death, not even Opal.” That was true. “Are you saying I will be restored, in appearance? Or that Opal Charm died painlessly?” “No. Opal did not die painlessly. Far from it.” “I still don't understand why I am here. Am I really dead or is this a dream?” “Yes, you are dead.” She turned over to the other ponies, who inclined their heads as one. I wished I could see Sapp'ra's eyes, but they were obscured by her mane. “But you will not stay dead, Crystal Empress.” I made a choking sound. An Empress? Empresses outrank Queens. She chuckled again, but in a reassuring way. “This surprises you, hmm?” I nodded once more. “You see,” she gestured to my flank “that your mark, a representation of you and so much more, marks you for this everlasting role as the head of us all.” I thought it meant that I had a pure heart. She went on. “You allied with the Empire's sole greatest enemy-” “Wait, you said I wouldn’t stay dead. Does this mean I will never die? Or see Shiny? Or-“ Ezmeralda cleared her throat implying she would now speak. “Empress, you have an entire council to guide you and there is still much to learn. You will die one day; demigods cannot become Alicorns. Even when you die, you will gain powers that we do not have in our ‘death’. Although they have their limitations they will include: access to the other Dead Worlds, Paradise and Tartarus, and of course rare visits to the Midgard where you reside. Particularly the Empire. You will not be as confined.” Opal Charm softly added: “In a sense, you are now and forever immortal, beyond the immortality of the soul, but not a true Alicorn.” Slowly, I accepted this, with a bow of my head. When I looked up again the room started to fade, and I began to glow like a beacon. I watched in wonder as my body began to heal and the Crystal Heart's magic did its work, making my coat crystalline and styling my mane into the Ceremonial Headdress, only crystalized. “Good luck, Empress,” said Sapp’ra smiling. I blinked once. When I opened my eyes the Crystal Queen was gone and I knew that I was just as important, just as meaningful, and just as Crystalline as my subjects.