Crystal Ballerina

by BlueSkyHeadLeft010

The Crystal Empire: Part 2

"Pearl?"

How does he know that name?! How? HOW!?
I briefly panicked before I realized that wherever he came from 'Pearl', my doppelganger if you will, may have been there at one point in time too. Hmm... This could explain why the cube was here in the first place.
I realized I had spaced out for the brief moment Wade was trying to get his barrings. I snapped back to my usual friendly mood and tried to play off my panic with him knowing about Pearl...
I sighed tired and face palmed, "Why does everyone think I'm her?!" I grumbled slightly annoyed, but not enough to let anyone know what was up.
Twilight was busily taking notes about Wade using her magic, while she and Fluttershy helped him up off the ground as his legs finally stopped wobbling. His blue cube thing was laying beside Wade as he got up to put it in his pack. Whatever the object was, it was clearly his by right and I had no intention of taking from someone who could use it better than me...

"Ah, so you are the shapeshifter." I mused as he patted remnant dust off his jeans. I smiled sheepishly, "Sorry to summon you abruptly. Were you in the middle of something? Oh gosh, I hate that I interrupted anything!" I panicked as I realized the poor dude may have been practicing an advanced spell or something while I summoned him.
In case the man actually thought I was Pearl, I wanted to clear the air before he got really mad if I did actually bother him. "I guess introductions are in order. I'm Crystal Gem, not Pearl." I smiled as I extended my hand towards the man.

"A Crystal Gem named Crystal Gem, eh?" He said as he briefly looked like he was contemplating something, but the look soon faded as he reached out and shook my hand. "My names Wade Jallecks, pleasure to meet you. And no, I wasn't in the middle of something, The universe just loves causing me physical discomfort." He chuckled as he let go of my hand and put it in his jeans as he looked around for a moment and then back to me. "So...Steven Universe?" He asked me, and I just laughed.

(A few days ago, I had actually recalled the old cartoon show which made me proceed to shut myself in Twilight's guest room for the whole day until I calmed down... I shivered at the memory. It was a dark day... Let's just say I sorta went coo-coo for coco puffs with Pinkie Pie. Don't ask.)
"Yea. I'd be laughing a month ago if I knew one day I was going to actually be her." I admitted as I sighed and pondered once again if the real Pearl was out there somewhere looking for me, or if I had somehow replaced her and was thrown throughout time and space wandering aimlessly.
Were there even Crystal gems and Beach City? Was Steven real?? Was Garnet, Amethyst, or even Rose out there looking for me?
I shook my head to banish the thoughts as I smiled once more. "Right, so Wade Jallecks? These are my friends." I said as I held my hand out and waved in the general direction of the main six. "Meet Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie." I introduced, as Pinkie suddenly came rushing up into Wade's personal space and grinned.

"Hi! Hi Wade Jallecks! Can I call you Wade-y or maybe Wad, or how about WJ?" She said excited, as she had that calculating look on her face which either meant trouble or- "We need to have a super special welcome party when we get back to Ponyville! Or maybe we can have an ity-bitty one right now and then have an even bigger one later!" She cheered before gasping in surprise. "MUST. GO. PLAN." She chanted as she disappeared in a pink cloud of cartoonish dust.
I sighed relieved, a party. That was good. I'm glad it wasn't-
"What...I...No..." Wade balked as he look upset. "I just sat through my Pinkies party. That was bad enough..." He complained.

Wait, there was another Pinkie?? Where the heck did he come from?!
Wade looked at me pleadingly, "Please Pinkie Promise that you'll send me back before we get ANYWHERE near Ponyville. Please. Or at the very least, " He paused as he pointed towards my friends, Twilight being the closest so he pointed at her mostly. "One of you PLEASE get her to abandon this idea, due to the fact that I've already been put through a Pinkie Pie Welcoming party. And I did not find it fun." He sighed, like he was tired.
I blinked. Not finding a Pinkie Pie party fun?! That was just unheard of!
Pinkie always threw the best parties! (Speaking from personal experience, the party she threw for me coming into Ponyville was fabulous. I look forward to getting back so she can bake some more of those delicious cupcakes).

"That being said, I've already met everyone here." He explained curtly, before he looked towards Amethyst Maresbury, who was currently trying to sweep up the pile of books Rainbow Dash had thrown. "Except for her. She's new." He pointed as he clearly did not know her name.
"Hon' I've been around for eh-, erm... How long was it again? Oh! Well at least seventy years! I'm not the new one 'round here!" Amethyst called as Wade looked a little embarrassed. Huh. Well her hearing still worked apparently.

"Where are we?" Wade asked as he seemed to finally be noticing his location. " And if one of you states the obvious by saying 'in a library', I am going to groan in an extremely annoyed manner towards you." He snorted as he once again rudely pointed to the confused sextet of ponies.
"Oh don't worry about Pinkie, she's harmless." Twilight chuckled, trying to clear the air. "Welcome to the newly rediscovered Crystal Empire! And yes, you're currently in a library." Twilight frowned as she looked displeased with Wade's opinion on libraries. I noticed she was trying to give a hint to Wade that he was being a somewhat rude guest to everyone, but he didn't seem to read her face.
I decided to brake up silent staring contest, I had summoned Wade for help and that's what it all boiled down to.
"Well um, anyways. I don't think you have to worry about heading to Ponyville anytime soon. It's about fifty something miles south east of us and-"
"We're on a mission!" Rainbow interrupted as she puffed up her chest proudly.

I rolled her eyes and sighed as Rainbow took the wind out of my sails, "Right, which is why I summoned you. Do you know anything about an entity called Sombra? We were presumably attacked by his shadow on the way here, and well um-" I bit my tongue. How much should I tell him? I didn't really want to look lame or something just because I couldn't fight this battle but-
"*Ahem*, she means something odd happened with previous scouting of the land." Twilight interceded. Thank you Twilight! Remind me to make you a gift later...
"A couple of centuries back this place mysteriously vanished, leaving us to believe something happened to make this place reappear." She continued before frowning serious.

"Which is why we gotta protect it at all costs." Applejack butted in determined, as everyone nodded in agreement. We're here to help, and nothing or no one's going to stop us. The look on everyone's face said the same thing.
Wade seemed to be thinking about what we said for a moment before he took a big breath and-
"First off," he groaned as if bored, while Twilight scowled at him annoyed. "And no, I've never even so much as heard of a 'Sombra'. Sounds mexican. Sombrero. Sombreeeerro. Sorry. Never heard of him, And the only shadowmancers I know of are from Arm of Kanon, and Fullmetal Alchemist. Neither of them have names even remotely similar to Sombra." He stated as he walked over to a shelf full of scattered books and flipped through one. His eyes went through a various range of emotions, mostly one of joy and interest, before he returned to his bored gaze and sat the book down...

"If you were attacked once, stands to reason your attacker would try again. Can't you just wait, then retaliate?" He suggested.
Rainbow flew up to Wade annoyed, "Helloooooo! Did you not just hear her? This place can't stand another attack! We gotta find something to stop Sombra before he gets the one up on us again!" Rainbow frowned.
"I'm sorry, the Arm of what now and an alchemist?" I said confused, "Should we be preparing for a full scale attack?" I asked, starting to get anxious that I may have actually opened Pandora's Box by summoning Wade.

"I don't think that what he means." Twilight explained to me as she smiled reassuring.
Meanwhile Fluttershy had hidden under one of the tables, and poor Rarity was having to hold onto her tail to keep her from running off.
Twilight then turned her head towards Wade and gave him a serious stare, "You're not from here are you?" She asked, probably already knowing the answer.
Wade groaned as he rubbed his face before crossing his arms annoyed. "As I've had to explain to two other versions of you, no. According to the crazy pony that lives in the gold coin, We-" He pointed to himself and then at me, "Are what is known as displaced. Apparently some smuck with a crapton of power calling himself the 'Merchant' is picking up humans off of different earths and stranding them on different Equestria's. That's my exposition, take it or leave it." He nodded before turning his attention back to the book for a brief moment.

My mind froze. Displaced? As in thrown out of my proper world, form, and or role?! I started to hyperventilate a little.. And someone did this? Who could have so much power as to actually reach their hands beyond the tethers of nature and consistency and pick up people like action figures or mere ants for there own amusement?!

"I..." My voice cracked for half a moment as I swallowed and tried my best to recompose myself, "I was forced to come here?" I said, barely above a whisper, as if I wanted to be heard and not at the same time.
Twilight looked at me saddened as she sighed and hung her head. "I thought something like that." She admitted as she pawed the ground sheepishly, before looking up at me. "I wasn't sure Crystal, but ever since I met you your magic aura radiated-; differently..." She frowned, not sure how to pick the right words for what she was describing...

Radiated differently... I mused. Of course in a place practically built on magic, aura would be a natural thing to sense; if you're tuned to it unlike me... I'm sure the moment I met Twilight she was thinking something was off, but she never said a word to me.
Was she trying to keep an eye on me?? Trying to make sure I wasn't a lying changeling or a monster? I frowned gloomy as I wiped a stray tear from my eyes. Has all of this been an act? Did Celestia tell her something when I wasn't around? Are they actually spies or guards to make sure I don't go rogue?? I sighed as I just rubbed around the Pearl on my head.

"It's ok." I lied through my teeth as I picked up my saddlebags. "Let's just go ask some more locals if they know anything about how to stop Sombra..." I suggested since this had been a huge waste of time. I was done. Done with everything right now.
Done with secrets, done with lies, done with this whole pony place.
I should've just let Sombra get me... I said defeated as I started walking towards the entrance.

"Hold on thar a sec' sugarcube!" Applejack called as she tugged a book off a shelf with her teeth and sat it down on one of the tables. The bindings were worn and aged, but Applejack had no problem flinging it open and turning to a specific page.
"Talks a lot about the history of the Crystal Empire here. Take a gander at it." She motioned for everyone to come close as Twilight read aloud.
"Hmm. interesting, it seems that before the empire disappeared, the Crystal ponies had some sort of extravaganza to spread joy and happiness to power up the heart of the empire to protect them from evil." Twilight muttered fascinated.

"A fair? Pfft. If that's all we need to stop Sombra, I'll go find Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew off.
"It's worth a shot. Crystal, will you go inform Shining and Cadance what we're planning to do?" Twilight asked, as she looked at me pitifully and I just sighed tired.
"Sure."I muttered, before looking over at Wade, "Wanna come?"

To be honest, I wanted to know more about Wade and where he came from. Compare notes. Perhaps even figure out why I looked like this...
"Sure." Wade shrugged, as he briefly look at his watch and frowned.
"Hey Rarity, mind if I get a hit off of you?" He suddenly asked as his attention darted to the white mare in the back who had finally managed to pry Fluttershy from under the table.

We all just kinda blinked confused, before Wade stammered and said "I mean, I'm kinda a little bit low on magic. I can't aquire Twilight or Fluttershy, and I already have Applejack, technically. A blend of her and her brother. So I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to sap any power off her." He quickly corrected as he looked away and blushed a bit.
Kay...
Rarity tilted her head in confusion, "I honestly have no idea what any of that meant, but if you need some mana I've got a few extra." Rarity explained as she pulled a small crystal out of her pack that was radiating with a bright blue hue. She smiled as she held it in her telekinetic grip, "I always pack a few extra on long trips in case I get bursts of inspiration and need to stay up late." She explained.

Mana crystals, Twilight had explained the first week I got here, are essentially magic reservoirs used for emergency energy replenishing if say a unicorn were to accidentally use more magic than their body had and began to siphon it from their natural magic producing organs. If magic hasn't been siphoned from the body too much, a nap can usually fix the imbalance, but if a unicorn siphons a lot or they don't wish to rest they use mana crystals to replenish their magic. Like Gatorade on earth.

Though mana crystals are more individualized and not as publicly advertised. One reason being that the use of mana crystals, if used excessively, will not output as much magic as when the magic was put into the crystals. (Law of equivalent exchange; to gain magic, one must use magic etc. Some magic is lost in energy transfer, but some magic is regained in synthesis.) The other is that it is often seen as a 'cheap' way to get around magical exhaustion, or the unicorn is labeled as a 'crystal addict'; similar to someone who is addicted to coffee etc...

Luckily for me, I hadn't felt the need to buy one. I just hadn't used that much magic other than keeping my pony form up.
Anyways, while I was musing about mana crystals Wade was busy taking one from Rarity's magical aura. He seemed to be staring at it intently, like he could absorb it with his mind, before he shook his head and sighed.
"Sorry, I don't think I can leech any energy off of something that isn't living. Thank you for the effort, though. It means a lot to me." He admitted as he handed the crystal back to Rarity.
Rarity was unsure how someone couldn't just reach out and use magic, but shrugged as she took the crystal back in her magical aura and safety deposited it into her saddlebag. "Don't mention it darling. I apologize for that not working, but if you need direct contact with an individual to use magic I am more than happy to help." She said determined as she walked forwards.

Wade nodded and reached out to gently touch the top of her forehead with his hand and then something odd happened.
Rarity's eyes glazed over, and appeared ready to flop over, but her legs remained locked and then suddenly that was it.
He looked at his watch briefly as he moved his hand off of Rarity, "Eight. Thats good. Thank you for the juice, Rarity. And I'll give you the same Pinkie Promise I gave Spike. I promise to not use your form to mess with you, or otherwise screw with you or your reputation in any way. And also, if someone assumes that I'm you, I'll inform them otherwise. I hereby Pinkie Promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, Stick a cupcake in my eye!" He made the motions of some weird promise or whatever and then smiled lightly.

Rarity was still coming around from being dazed as she swayed back and forth trying to get her hooves coordinated. "Yourrrrrr're, mosssssst weeeeeeelllllcome..." Was all she said before she simply flopped over on her back and gazed at the ceiling like a drunk person.
Twilight shook her head as she stared at the downed fashionista. "Magic feedback. She's not used to handling intense lash out of using major amounts of mana like I do." She chuckled before helping Rarity on her hooves as she drew out one of Rarity's reserve crystal. A quick tap on the horn was all that was needed from the crystal as the glazed over looked on Rarity's face vanished, and was replaced with confusion. "S-sorry about that. I'm just going to go help with the preparations for the festival now." She said embarrassed as she dashed off leaving a cartoon trail of dust behind her in the form of a pony.

I blinked, "What did you just do to her?" I said worried as I realized I didn't want Wade touching me anytime soon if he could do that!
"I'm guessing you never read the book series Animorphs?" Wade asked me, clearly annoyed that he was having to explain himself. I shook my head no, as Wade just rolled his eyes. "I received a magic cube thingy from that series called an Escafil Device.
Like the characters in the books, I can take the form of anyone I acquire. With some variables, I guess. I acquired Pinkie Pie, but when I turn into her, her hairs all flat and darker than normal. And I don't copy the butt mark, but I guess thats maaaaagic or whatever. Anyway, when I acquire someone, apparently I suck out a bit of extra juice. Learned that from this other displaced, Dante." He quickly explained as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and looked embarrassed.
"Anyway, I just 'acquired' Rarity. Maybe...I should have explained all that before I asked it of her? Sorry...I'm not really the kind of person that thinks things through..." He laughed embarrassed.

No duh you're not the type to think things through.. I thought as I just waved it off.
"Nah it's understandable." I admitted, as I looked around and noticed that in the midst of Wade 'acquiring' Rarity, everypony had run off somewhere to probably go start up the festival. Briefly I looked at the giant clock in the library and saw it to be around 2pm, huh. Time really does fly by...
"Sometimes stuff happens and all and you try to make the best out of it."I continued as I rubbed my arm sheepishly, "So... A shape shifting device from animorphs huh?" I inquired, "I saw them in the display cases at the front of my library when I was little, but never bothered to actually read them."
I chuckled embarrassed, "Heck, I never really bothered with reading anything! I kept away from books like the plague, and stuck to the mind melting cartoons." I joked as she playfully smiled at Wade, trying to forget about the whole odd situation. "I guess that's what makes us different, huh? Books vs. Cartoon items. Strange how that works out, am I right?". I pointed to my gem as I concentrated and shifted into my Earth pony form. Better to be seen as a pony than a human right now. These crystal ponies were easily spookable.
"Come on, let's go inform Cadence what's going on." I said as I walked out of the library...