The Crystal Prize

by Calden

5 The Empress

Flashes of coloured light filled Cadance’s solar as the Equestrian Triarchs teleported in. Immediately Twilight rushed forward and hugged her old friend.

“Oh Cadance we came as fast as we could. Is she alright” Twilight asked. When Cadance nodded Twilight leaned back to get a better look at her. “Are you alright for that matter? You look awful.” Cadance’s mane was disheveled and it was obvious that she had not slept properly in days. “You look just like you did when I first came to Cristamera. When you were holding the shield up to stop Sombra.”

“Is there anybody else we’re waiting for?” Celestia asked, she and Luna shared the same look of concern as Twilight. None of them knew exactly what had happened, only that it included Dawning Song and the Crystal Heart. Cadance lifted two mirrors from a chest of drawers and leaned them against the wall, so that they would be at head height when the four ponies sat down to talk.

“Zecora and Remeta will contact us through these shortly.” Cadance explained, leaving the the other ponies wide-eyed in shock. “Remeta is not Chrysalis. Things have changed, you should trust me on this one. I even housed her eldest, Espera, as a ward for some time. Anyway, it’s comforting to have another mother to speak to.” The reflection in the left mirror shimmered and, where once the four ponies had been, the image of Zecora appeared.

“Empress, I apologise for the delay. I hope everything is okay.” The Zebra said as the other mirror also shimmered and within appeared the Image of a tall changeling. Surprisingly it was only when Remeta appeared that Cadance began to relax and rested upon the cushions on the floor of the solar, with Luna, Celestia and Twilight following suit. All of the ponies sat quietly, waiting patiently as Cadance shut her eyes and gained her composure. It was obvious that there was a lot she needed to get off of her chest. For five minutes they sat, not saying a word.

“Well Cadance. Whenever you are ready we will listen to whatever you have to say.” Luna whispered, breaking the silence. Cadance opened her eyes again, all of a sudden remembering she was not alone. She took a deep breath and began to tell the story of what had happened.

Dawning Song is a special filly. In more respects than any of us realised. She astounds Shining Armor and I and makes us so proud and, at the same time, she scares us. She is different to other foals, She was the first child to be born in the Empire since it resurfaced; the first of the new generation of crystal ponies. Plus she’s a unicorn in a family known for powerful magic on both sides. Her lineage and natural crystal body this has given her incredible magical ability, not to the level of Twilight, but she would definitely be a contender for another bearer of the Element of Magic, in terms of ability at least, her focus is on the empire so she can't afford to have the extensive magical education Twilight had. Being a crystal pony means that her magic is amplified and concentrated by her body but she has more than just a unicorn’s power amplified by crystal, Trust me, at times she seems to hold more power than even I do.

For years we tried to figure out what gave her this power without her knowing we were doing it, and on top of that I need to prepare her for our eventual succession. Shining Armor and I wanted her to have the best possible childhood, and we still do. I am not immortal like Celestia and Luna, eventually I will die. When I do, it will be Dawning Song’s time to be empress, we want her to be able to live as close to how a normal filly does before that responsibility is thrust upon her.

When she visited, Twilight, joined me in quietly assessing her. We believe that we found the source of her increased power, somehow, she can tap into the energy within the Crystal Heart, or maybe it taps into her. It is vital thing for an empress of the Crystal Empire to know - no, something any citizen of the empire should know about. There are parallels to the Changeling Hivemind in that it connects all of our people but it instead connects our emotions, not our consciousness. The light - or during our bleakest hour, darkness - within the hearts of the crystal ponies powers the heart and it projects that light across the world. However, like magic in crystal ponies, magic within the Crystal Heart is amplified and, over the centuries, it has become one of the largest stores of magical energy, projecting only a fraction of the energy within it. We can barely comprehend the power inside of it! I doubt anypony alive could harness that energy, even Starswirl the Bearded would be completely overwhelmed. Dawn would be destroyed.

When I took Dawn to the tower of the Heart she said she felt something strange. Twilight and I can confirm that, when near to it, one does feel the connection to the light within it. Dawn, on the other hand described a much more powerful connection, she said she felt as if it was trying to communicate with her. This worried me enough not to take her up the tower again. I was scared of what else might happen. Nopony understands the Heart, even Celestia and Luna have no idea know where it came from. I refused to risk any dark magic from Cristamera’s last ruler touching my daughter.

A few months later we held the Reunification Fair, and you all remember what happened. It couldn’t have been the best end to the fair for my guests: being ushered out as their host was coaxed out of the room, sobbing with the unconscious body of the most important pony in the world in her hooves. She slept until late the next day, and had a fever for that entire week. Shining Armor and I barely left the room. We swore then that as long as it was within our power we would never let her near the Crystal Heart. That was half a year ago now. A week and a half ago we finally let our guard down, just by a fraction. We still refused to let her even enter the tower it is kept in but she was allowed to roam the palace without chaperone again. I will protect Dawn with my life, but I shall not make her a prisoner in her own home.

Our mistake was that we underestimated Dawn’s tenacity. We never imagined she would pick the locks to the three doors between her and the Heart. All the way up the tallest tower in Cristamera. We heard the scream and Shining Armor and I raced across the palace, he ripped the door to the tower off its hinges and then the one to the chamber it is kept in as well. She only just regained consciousness. This time she remembers going near it, she remembers hearing something. She said she heard a voice say “Soon”. What if it was Sombra? What if a part of him is still in the Heart. He understood it more than anypony else, he bent it to his will. What if that is what he plans to do to Dawn? I can not lose her! I will not lose my Dawning Song, my perfect little filly, to him!

Finally Cadance could say no more. The tears were too much. Twilight draped a wing over Cadance, not knowing what else to do as the other mares sat in silence.

“I am sorry, I just don't know what to do. I don't know what I can do.” Cadance managed to say between her sobs. They remained silent. This was the strong and compassionate Empress Cadance at her weakest point.

“It is not obvious how we must start? We must remove the Crystal Heart. Also while the filly has not done wrong, we must protect young Dawning Song.” Zecora suggested, the others nodded in assent.

“We know you need the Heart for the crystal fair but that is not for another eight months. Luna and I could hold the it for safekeeping in Canterlot. The pair of us along with Twilight can investigate it in more detail and try and figure out why Dawning Song is being affected like this. There are plenty of ponies we can send to keep an eye on her too, any of the element bearers would be happy to help, wouldn't they Twilight?” Celestia asked. Twilight nodded without hesitation. Before Celestia could continue she was interrupted by Remeta.

“May I put forward my own suggestion for a guardian for Dawn?” she interjected. She stepped backward and revealed a royal changeling resting beside her. The second changeling was a fully grown Royal Changeling, sharing the height and slender build of the princesses but she obviously younger than Remeta. She had probably only reached maturity within the last year or two. Her mane hung over one of her bright eyes, both the same dull gold as her mother’s. “My daughter, Espera, knows her way around Cristamera after she lived there for a year or two with Cadance to learn the intricacies of love magic. She loves Cadance much like how Dawning Song loves Twilight’s friends as well as Luna and Celestia as ‘aunts’ and she sees Dawning Song as a little sister. Most importantly Dawning Song can be protected by a powerful, trustworthy guardian without her knowing.” Suddenly Espera smiled and a wave of golden fire washed over her. Espera vanished and in her place stood a white crystal unicorn with a light blue mane. She winked at the ponies on the other side of the mirror. “I promise Espera will do everything in her power to protect Dawning Song and she can help her develop her magic.” Everybody turned to Cadance to see how she would reply. Cadance had finally stopped crying a wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Thank you girls. Thank you so much for the help. If you could take care of the Crystal Heart Celestia I would be extremely grateful but I could never take any of the elements of harmony from you, they are far too important to your defence.” Cadance said as a smile began to form on her face. The diarchs nodded and Cadance turned to the mirror with the Changelings looking back at her, ”Although I would love to have you around again Espera, we have missed you, and I know I can trust Dawning Song in your hooves.”

Espera grinned back at Cadance, “I’ll get ready to travel tonight. I’ll be there as soon as I can. expect me in three days, tops!” The mirror shimmered again as Remeta and Espera severed the magic allowing them to communicate with Cadance. Zecora said goodnight to Cadance and her mirror shimmered and became reflective once again. The three Equestrian Princesses similarly said goodnight to Cadance and teleported away, telling her they would return if ever she needed them again.

Once they had gone Cadance trotted out of the solar and down the hall. The hall bore paintings of major events in the Crystal Empire’s history but the oldest were those from Sombra’s reign. The paintings were magic and the very palace itself produced them to chronicle the Empire's history much like the stained-glass windows in Canterlot. For a great deal of the hall there were rectangles where the wall's colours were more vibrant. Paintings had been removed in Sombra’s reign. It was a shame that nothing was known of the Empire before Sombra, his reign of tyranny lasted over 150 years thanks to the dark magic extending his life.

One painting always caught Cadance's eye. Probably because it dwarfed all of the others. In the Centre stood Sombra, his robes flowing behind him and a cutlass suspended with dark magic above his head. Behind him stood an army of crystal ponies and floating above, in the background, was the Crystal Heart. Along the left hand side of the painting was a tear; somepony had clearly removed the other half of the canvas centuries ago. Upon the frame was a golden plaque reading 'The Price Paid For Victory'. Along with everypony else, Cadance assumed that this was in reference to Sombra’s defeat at the hooves of Luna and Celestia and the ‘Price’ paid was Luna’s fall to darkness following the attack on Sombra. Cadance had always wondered if Luna's corruption really was the 'Price', it seemed odd that the magic of the castle would choose to focus on Luna over the removal of Sombra.

Cadance sighed. She had far more important things to worry about than the an ancient tyrant and his portrait. She continued down the hall and through the palace.

Eventually Cadance reached the door, it was a basic wooden door painted light pink. Written on the door were the words ‘Dawning Song’s room. No Crowns!’ painted in light blue. If one looked closely they would be able to make out a faint pencil outline where Shining Armor had written the words for a very young Dawning Song topaint over. She still managed to trail off at the end and do a few rudimentary swirls, at least everypony believed they were swirls and not just dollops of paint on the door. Below the words were three drawings that would have been interpreted as splashes of colour to any other pony, but Cadance could understand them. She could clearly see herself, her husband and that special filly between them. Cadance pushed open the door and trotted in.

Dawning Song’s room had a light blue four poster bed in the centre and had the walls were painted the same light pink as the door. Passed out on top of a story book was Dawning Song. Cadance stopped and watched her sleep for a moment. The filly was primarily the same colour as Cadance but she had the same blue mane as her father but cut in a similar style as her mother’s, with highlights of the light blue of her bed. She had tried to get up and read but she just did not have the strength at the moment. She needed to spend some time and rest. With her magic Cadance lifted her daughter, the book and the covers of the bed. In a silent fluid motion Cadance placed the book back in its place on the bookshelf, folding over Dawning Song’s page, gently lowered the filly into bed and tucked her under the covers. Then Cadance trotted over to her husband sleeping on the sofa that had been moved into the room and lightly nudged him. Shining Armor’s eyes shot open in a moment of panic but he softened when he saw Cadance. He got up off of the sofa, lightly kissed Cadance and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Cadance then walked over to Dawning Song, kissed her forehead and settled down on the sofa.

“I’m sorry mummy. I didn’t mean to get hurt.” Cadance heard Dawning Song say in an almost inaudible whisper.

“That’s okay Dawnie. Mummy knows, now try and get some sleep and you’ll feel better soon.” she replied. Cadance waited until she was completely sure that Dawning Song was asleep, as she always did, and then closed her eyes and let herself rest.

Author's Note:

Hmmm... It's almost as if we're building up to something

Comments

[djthomp]

Cadance sighed. She had far more important things to worry about than the an ancient tyrant and his portrait.

Well that feels like the exact wrong conclusion to come to. My current guess is that Sombra and his tyranny was a reaction to the threat of this currently unknown group of diamond dogs.