Keeper of the Crystal Heart

by Cerulean Voice

The Weakness Of Love

Fresh air at last. It feels like forever since I felt the wind on my face.

Celestia raised her head above the darkened canopy of the wood. Alas, it made little difference, for the moon was high in the night sky. She scanned her surroundings and could see nothing vastly different about them. The wood seemed to be endless. What could have caused this?

Many times already, since exiting the cavern of the tree, Celestia and Luna had come close to dangerous creatures baying for their blood. Although it had not taken a significant effort to repel their oppressors, the sisters knew it would still be foalish to let their guards down. Luna appeared to have the greater power of the two, owing no doubt to the new tiara she wore. The Element of Magic, Celestia marveled. Did Mother's weapon choose us based on our values? Our strengths? Or some deeper reason?

She heard a beat of wings. Luna flew up to join her sister, having finished minimising the danger of their immediate surroundings. She hung in mid-air, next to Celestia. The two stared out over the darkened wood.

After a moment, Luna broke the silence. "Celestia, what do we do? Where do we start?" She scanned the forest with her keen night vision.

Luna always was better at seeing in the dark, Celestia remembered.

"All I can see is tainted canopy." The moon glinted down from its cradle in the sky, bathing the sisters in its gentle light.

As Celestia continued scanning the horizon, she noticed the way the moon shone off of her sister. Luna positively radiated in the night, the moon's glow complimenting her mane and coat. The moon would seem to favour her, if I'm not mistaken. It shines from within her, as well as in the night. Luna had always been beautiful in her eyes, but the way the glow emanated from her...

"I do not know, sister. Honestly, I think it would be a good idea to retire for the night. Your vision may be superior in these conditions, yet I find myself unable to make anything out over the canopy. Let us try again in the morning, when—"

It was in that moment when distant flashes of light caught their attention. The horizon was suddenly full of miniature explosions. A faint booming sound reached the sisters' ears a few moments later. Celestia stared at the lights, scrutinising their origin. The flashes appeared to be illuminating a distant mountain range, whereas the direction they came from seemed to originate from the other side of the range. Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, wonder gracing each of their features. Luna smiled.

"What were you saying about retiring for the night?"

* * * * *

"All right, we're done here. Great job, everypony—we've filled the cloud. Now there's more than enough water to go around for Equestria!"

Hurricane shot his forelegs into the air, much to the exuberance of his centurions.

"Now, everypony rest up—you're gonna need it tomorrow. The return trip will require all of your efforts and no less than all of your dedication. On the plus side, everypony will be pushing this time, so there will be no collecting of any stray clouds."

Hurricane lowered himself to the ground and saluted his troops. A sigh of relief escaped him. We did it. We actually did it.

Cumulus was exhausted, but he didn't care about that. They had accomplished a great feat, but he didn't particularly care about that. Equestria would have enough water again for a while, but he didn't really care about that either. What he did care about was finding his brother. So far, it had slipped anypony else's attention that Cirrus wasn't among their number, but that would not last. The sun had set and the moon had taken its place, yet neither Cirrus or his escort were anywhere in sight.

Cumulus flew around the perimeter of the falls, searching. As his vision attempted to pierce through the gloom, he caught sight of a different pair of ponies. One was a small pink-and-blonde filly, the other a slightly larger purple mare with a green mane. Yet they had no wings. Instead, a stub protruded from each of their heads, the purple mare's much more pronounced. Unicorns? What are they doing here?

Examining the pair from a distance, he glided silently around them. Better leave them be. As he flew off in another direction to continue his search, a beam of magical power shot past his face and impacted a nearby tree, where the wood smoked ever-so-slightly. With a small cry and a jolt of his wings, Cumulus turned back to see the unicorns had gotten to their feet and were standing at attention, facing him. The horn of the purple mare still glowed with residual magic output.

"Oh gosh, I am so sorry! I thought you were a vampire bat or something. Please forgive me!"

The mare extinguished her horn and bowed low, encouraging the filly to do the same. While Cumulus was still shocked that this mare had attacked him without provocation, she had sunk down to her knees and apologised immediately. Relaxing a little, he descended to the ground and slowly approached them.

"Well, er, all right then. I guess that's a fair reason to shoot at something unknown flying nearby. Gotta keep the filly safe, right?"

Cumulus gave them another look-over. The mare seemed to be a little older than him, perhaps half a generation or so. The filly was small, and trying to appear smaller.

"What are your names? I'm Cumulus, a Cloudsdale pegasus from that group a while away over there. We just finished pulling off an extraordinary feat. Oh..." Were they here when we did that? Oh dear, they could have been seriously hurt! Cumulus ceased his introduction and grew quiet.

"Yes, we had a most... buffeting experience. Not to worry, though."

The mare stood taller, her horn's light dissipating. "Cumulus, was it? I suppose I'd better introduce us as well. I'm Clover, sometimes known as Clover the Clever. This—" she placed a hoof on the filly's shoulder "—is my student, Aura. We were out here doing some research on sage and—"

That was as far as she got before Cumulus' eyes grew wide and he interrupted her.

"You're Clover? As in, the Clover? One of the windigo vanquishers? Wow, it's such an honour to meet a member of the group responsible for saving us all. Thank you so much for what you did. I've wanted to meet you and Smart Cookie ever since word of your deeds..."

Cumulus trailed off, remembering what he was supposed to be doing. "Oh, sorry. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I'm out here searching for my brother. He fell away from our herd a while ago and he said he'd catch up, but I've not seen head or tail of him. You wouldn't happen to have come across him at all, would you? He was traveling with an orange Earth pony mare."

Clover's eyes glinted.

"Yes, we stumbled upon him and another older mare travelling together. He was pretty out of it, but she was just fine. You must be the older brother she mentioned. An Earth pony and a pegasus traveling together on hoof—who'd have ever thought?" She chuckled briefly to herself, then straightened and pointed behind her. "They're over yonder, sleeping in that clearing behind us. I'd probably advise not waking the mare—she seemed pretty exhausted when she got here—but your brother might be well-rested enough by now?"

Cumulus thanked Clover and headed off in the direction she'd pointed out. As he neared the clearing, he caught sight of two familiar shapes in the gloom of the evening. One was the larger silhouette that could only belong to Valencia, and the other... Cumulus touched down next to his brother and lightly shook him. "Hey, Cirrus, wake up. It's me." He shook Cirrus a little more and the colt's eyes opened. He blinked a couple of times, then a mischievous grin spread across his face.

"Hello, Cume. Yeah, Valencia and I just got here not too long ago. We managed to catch the last bits of the tornado, though. That was really something! Wish I could have been a part of it. But I was just so ti-iired." Cirrus stifled a yawn. "The good news is my wings are better now, so we can go back with the others. How are you?"

"A little tired, but otherwise fine." Cumulus exhaled deeply and sagged his shoulders. "Most of us are thoroughly exhausted, but we have a long sleep ahead of us before tomorrow, so that's something. Hey, don't you want to say goodbye to Valencia or anything? We should probably thank her again for helping you out."

"Oh. Yeah, I suppose I should, huh? Okay, hold on a moment." Cirrus floated back over to where Clover and Aura were settling down to begin their own rest. "Um, sorry to disturb you guys, but would you be able to write out a thank you note for me to leave behind with Valencia? It's just that we have to get going back to our camp now." Clover nodded and levitated a scroll of parchment and a quill out of her saddlebag. With Cirrus dictating, she scrawled a short note.

Dear Valencia,

Sorry to leave you alone like this but my brother found me and insisted I go back with him. We didn't want to just up and leave, though, so here's a big thank you from both of us. I hope we meet again someday so we can make it up to you!
Cirrus Spectrum and Cumulus Stormbane

"I'll leave it over there next to her for you. I'm sure she'll be fine with it." Clover levitated the letter over toward Valencia's general direction. "Hope you colts have a safe flight back. Don't stress yourselves out too much; it's not every day you run into somepony generous like Valencia willing to help you. Or us, for that matter."

As Clover finished her advisement, she settled down around the shy filly. Aura had not said a word at all. Until now, when Clover gave her a little nudge.

"Oh... um, yes, have a good time getting back home," she blurted out.

Cirrus responded with a wing-up. "No problem. I'm sure everything will be just perfect soon." He glinted his eyes at Aura. "Maybe we'll meet you again sometime! And thanks again for the help, Clover. Guess we'd better fly now, hey, bro?"

Before Cumulus could hold him down, Cirrus took off rapidly, heading for the others. Cumulus shook his head.

That colt. I swear, someday he's gonna get me in a world of trouble.

* * * * *

Celestia had never seen anything like it before. Flying toward the mountain range in the distance, she and Luna had observed the explosions of colourful light grow larger, lighting up the land—a land that seemed vastly different to the one she'd grown up in. They had finally left the boundaries of the forest, but not without difficulty. A small herd of a mutant race of ponies, with large webbed wings, had intercepted the sisters upon their attempted exit. Supposedly, the sisters had invaded their territory. Thestrals. What else did Vorjhan create while he remained beyond our knowledge? Although they'd appeared vicious at first, Celestia managed to play the diplomat well and convince the herd that she and Luna were not threatening in any way.

After the 'bat-ponies' had allowed them passage—provided that their departure was immediate—the sisters had observed the new land that lay before them. It was mostly flat, with a few rolling hills in the distance; plains and smaller sections of bushland, spreading out near the river that flowed from a distant range, beyond the one that the lights emanated from. The fields also appeared to have been cultivated, though what was growing in them, Celestia couldn't tell in the darkness.

While she and Luna continued to fly north toward the mountain, the booming grew louder. She began to pick up other sounds among the cacophony of bangs and explosions. They sounded like screams. Or perhaps cheers? Finally rounding the mountain, the sisters gasped in wonder.

A city. A huge city, carved into the side of the mountain. It dwarfed the fortress that they had fought against Vorjhan in. This was beyond comprehension. As the bangs were much louder now, Celestia observed that the flashes were originating from the city itself. A particularly large building, a grand castle, was cheerfully illuminated by each new multi-coloured flash. But what Luna noticed before the flashes—it hurt her to look at them up close—was what exactly generated them.

Unicorns. Many, many unicorns. Luna nudged Celestia with a wingtip, drawing her attention. "Sister, I believe we've found our family."

She could hardly believe it herself. They were clearly unicorns, one of which she seemed to recognise. Though if I do, he would have to be a lot older than my memory of him. "But where are all of the pegasi and the Earth ponies? I only see our unicorn brethren. Come, Celestia—let us take a closer look."

Luna began descending to the castle grounds, but Celestia halted her with a magic field.

"Not yet, sister. For all we know, there are no other races in this city. I don't particularly feel like having their magic aimed our way, particularly if we frighten them with our appearance. Just be patient—we'll visit them when this hubbub dies down." Celestia released her barrier, allowing Luna to return to her side.

"Alas, you are correct, Celly. How could I have been so silly?" Luna clapped a hoof to her mouth and giggled. "I'm just so excited! Too long has it been since we saw anypony. I wonder if that stallion down there is our cousin Starshine?" she wondered aloud. "They seem to be celebrating something. I can feel an immense outpouring of love and affection coming from the city."

Celestia nodded. "I feel it too, Luna."

* * * * *

"Owwww..."

Clover's first sense of consciousness returned to her in the form of a splitting headache. Never had she felt such pain in her entire life. There was a phenomenally loud drum pounding behind her eyes—at least, it felt that way. The next thing to come to mind after the pain was the memory of the dream she'd just had. She'd been for a wander down by the river below the kingdom. Aura was there, examining sage plants, positively delighted at their plumage. She remembered feeling an enormous sense of pride in her student, and... love? Moaning again, Clover opened her eyes. Green. Everything's green. What's going on?

A moment later, Clover realised she was contained.

In a viscous, green substance.

In some form of pod.

Upside down.

This certainly can't be good. Glancing around—the pain in her head rising to a crescendo as she did so—she observed many other pods just like hers, in a cavern that was dimly lit at best. She was unsure if the green glow that emanated from the walls was due to a natural phosphorescent substance growing on them, or simply the tinge of her pod distorting her vision. The cavern seemed to be part of some form of network, for there were many tunnels running in several different directions. Clover also noted how warm and comfortable she felt. Were it not for the creepy factor and the pain, she might have enjoyed her encasing somewhat.

Clover studied the pods closer. Some of them appeared to have occupants like herself. She could make out the silhouettes of an Earth pony mare and a pegasus who looked like a colt no older than—

Aura.

With renewed vigor, Clover examined the other pods for a sign of life. With a great twist of her back, she saw the filly In the pod behind her. Small, pink, asleep as she had been. Breathing a sigh of relief that she had at least located Aura, Clover set about searching for a way to break her own confinement. Her hooves were fastened to the ceiling of the pod with some form of green goop, rendering her immobile. She checked her horn mentally. It ached as much as her head, but she wasn't magically disabled at all.

What did this to us? I remember a sharp knock to the head, then Aura's face...

Activating her magic, Clover concentrated on a teleportation spell. Still an incredibly recent breakthrough in magic, only Queen Portia had ever achieved it. Not long earlier, at that. Well, I have to try.

Concentrating as hard as she could, Clover pictured herself vanishing from her pod and appearing on the ground facing the right way up. Straining against the pain in her head and horn, she let loose a magical burst—and reappeared still inside her pod. Head now pounding worse than ever from the effort, Clover analysed her results. She'd managed to move herself within the pod so her hooves were no longer trapped, but she hadn't escaped.

At least I'm slightly more free now.

The echo of hoofsteps reached her ears, as well as the excited buzzing of wings. Thinking quickly, Clover levitated herself back upside down, feigning sleep and appearing to still be trapped by the goop. A pair of strange creatures appeared from the gloom of a nearby tunnel, buzzing between themselves in a strange dialect.

"The orange mare is mine. She has an enormous family she treasures more than anything."

"Ha, you can keep her—I've got the pegasus' emotions. He cares about his brother, his hero and his ambitions."

Clover sensed the two creatures come within viewing range and chanced a peek at them. At first glance, they were shaped like ponies, but that was where the similarities ended. They were covered in some form of incomplete-looking black shell. Their wings were just like those of a dragonfly. And their eyes... never had Clover seen such an iridescent blue before. There were no pupils swimming in those facial oceans.

As if sensing her gaze, one of the creatures turned her way. She closed her eyes and remained motionless. Despite her effort, a raspy voice confirmed her fears. "Don't even pretend to still be asleep, unicorn. I can feel that the love pouring out of you has been cut off."

Oh, horse-apples.

Comments

[Mysterious Stranger]

I was starting to wonder after they seemed completely fine at the beginning. It seems Cumulus has encountered some imposters.

Clover, Aura, Cumulus, Cirrus, Valencia. That makes five, which is one short of six. The expected plotline would be for them to become the Bearers of Harmony. However, it seems Luna and Celestia manage just fine wielding the six elements themselves. I guess I'll just have to keep going and see what develops.

[Jioplip]

This review is brought to you on behalf of the group: Authors Helping Authors.
Name of Story: Keeper of the Crystal Heart- The Weakness of Love
Grammar Score: 9
Pros: - Changelings! ...Again!
- Celestia and Luna's Excellent Adventure! (Epic air-guitar time!)
- Outpouring of love- Normally heartwarming, but we're dealing with... Changelings! So it instead becomes creepy foreshadowing.
Cons: - '...much to the exuberance of her centurion...' I'm pretty sure centurion is a single, while this sentence seems to call for a plural.
- You know, I've been wondering for a while now, but I guess Aura's coat is pink? That's something I should have been aware of already...
- Pfffffffffffff.....
Notes:
On pro1- The Changelings! seem to be a legitimate threat, and I'm looking forward to the resolution of their plot.

On pro2- But seriously, the parts with Celly and Lulu are awesome.

On con2- Was it mentioned before? Because I don't remember it being mentioned before.

Now then, it's time to pretend that no purple unicorns were mentioned, nope, not at all, toootally a grey one right there.

My coat-colour headcanons are impervious to assault! (Why do I care so much about this?)

Chyyyyapter five, REVIEWED!

This is Type Cast, Changelings!

[Cerulean Voice]

3519847
Pro 3) YES! He gets it!
Con 1) Nope, it's definitely singular, I mentioned a total of one-hundred pegasi were involved (not including Hurricane). Remember, there has only been a total of sixty years since the First Ponies. I put the amount of ponies in Equestria at a paltry 500-or-so right now, they just haven't had the time to populate any more extensively.
Con 2) I'm sure I mentioned it at least once, in the earlier chapters somewhere. Maybe. I think? Anyway, it's hardly mentioned because I've been trying to avoid "Lavender Unicorn Syndrome"

ALL YOUR HEAD CANON ARE BELONG TO ME

[Albi]

Well... crap, this isn't good.

[maxxxxxx]

here i am for my next mini review!

first i got to say... my mind was BLOWN! I was all like, wait? how did they end up there? I thought they were just talking to.... Holy crap changlings!

Anyway, again grammar score :9 (one thing)

They had finally left the boundaries of the forest, but not without ease

wouldn't that mean they made it through without a problem?

okay, now i got to say i really like Valenica and Cume and hope i get to see more of those two's interactions.
Also, I'm starting to like Clover more now.

I'm still ever so confused about Celestia and Luna.... what do they have to do with what's going on?
How did they build the castle in old Canterlot in such a short time? Also, how would earth ponies have a hard time going up it during the embittered winter if that winter happened in the old country where there was no Canterlot? Okay so this chapter is really eating up my interest and I can't wait to see what happens next!

[JustAnotherTimeLord]

Hmm, why did you have a flashback before going forward? What I mean is that you had Clover be knocked out before you had Cume go and meet them. That is a little out of order and for no reason.

Also, why would Clover have a nickname now? That "the Clever" stuff is the advent of historians, not actual people during the time. Unless you are a ruler, which means some honoraries come with the job. And things still seem to be happening so fast.

[PaulAsaran]

Ah, changelings, the race that scares me more than any other. You've entered into one of the only concepts in MLP that legitimately terrifies me. I'm looking forward to what may happen from this... but at the same time, I'm not looking forward to what may happen from this.

On a related note, your dialogue and reactions definitely could use some work. Clover wakes up trapped in an unnatural prison and her reaction is "This certainly can't be good?" Come on, man, does that reaction really seem natural to you? The only way to make her more blase about her entire situation would be to have her go back to sleep and assume the problem will solve itself.