Clarity

by AmpUpHeart

Questions Answered, Curiosity Unveiled

"I'm afraid that I don't know much," the crystal pony librarian said, "But I can tell you about the years just before his rule. There was a regal member named Prince Raven Dusk. He and his older sister shared the job of supervising the jewelsmiths."

"Wait, did you say 'older sister?'" Play asked, jotting down notes.

"Indeed. Princess Clarity Breeze. She was a young alicorn who looked out for the well-being of the kingdom. Clarity didn't rule the Crystal Empire, but she was next in line for the throne. Raven seemed to hate Clarity. Clarity, on the other hoof, seemed to look up to Raven with a forced smile.

"But as I was saying, Raven would sneak away for days at a time, nowhere to be seen. And then he would return just as mysteriously and would just say that he needed focus to work on gem-wielding magic.

"On the day that Queen Mira died, Raven and Clarity both vanished. Not long after, Sombra came. We tried to defend our kingdom, but without Clarity, and in our sorrowful state, we were no match against him. He told us that our princess had abandoned us, and that our prince was dead. He took the crystal heart and easily took over."

"Did he say specifically what you told me about the princess and prince?" Play asked.

"Hmmm..." The librarian said, deep in thought, "He said that our princess wasn't coming back and our prince was no more."

Play could see tears starting to form in her eyes, so he decided that he had enough information for now.

"Well, I'm going to review these notes. I'm sorry for any trouble," he said as he hurried out of the library.

"Hmmmm.... 'Raven would sneak away for days at a time...'" Play muttered to himself, "Where could he have gone?"

Then it hit him.

'Of course!' He thought, 'The jewel caves underneath Canterlot! There have been no reported activities that could have caused these gems to form, and nothing has happened to them in years. That's got to have some information!'

And with that, he boarded the train to his next destination: Canterlot.

........................
The next day, Play galloped up to the Canterlot castle, and in his delight, ran smack into a guard.

"Oh! I'm very sorry, sir," Play hurriedly said.

The Pegasus guard he ran into gave a look of neither anger nor forgiveness, as if he didn't even know what hit him.

"No harm done," he said, "But where are you going?"

"To the--" Play stopped abruptly, "Come to think of it, I don't even know how to get there. I was on my way to crystal caverns of Canterlot. I was hoping to get some research done for a documentary I'm filming."

"Hmmm" the guard said, "I know that on one of my patrols, I saw a small entrance to a cave in the outskirts of Canterlot, where it nestles against the mountain. I never went inside, though. I wasn't allowed to part from my route and I have little curiosity, anyway. To be honest, I don't know what you're talking about. I've never heard anypony talk about crystal caves anywhere near here. Are you sure that you weren't thinking of the Crystal Empire?"

Play then remembered that few remembered the long-lost caves.

"Oh! I must have," he said, covering for himself, "Silly me! Oh, well. I paid for my train ticket. I might as well just take in the sights."

And with that, Push Play was on his way, leaving the guard in a state of confusion.

'I should go to the outskirts of Canterlot,' he thought, 'That's my best bet of finding the cave.'

As he made his way through the bustling streets, he thought,

'Something big is about to happen.'

......................
'Sweet Celestia,' Play thought. He had made his way to the mountain and was now looking in the small mouth of a large cave.

It had a large enough mouth to fit several ponies in at once, but it was still small for a cave this size. Not only was the cave as tall as the castle; it was almost just as wide. Not to mention that it branched off into smaller caverns.

'How am I supposed to find my way back to the entrance?' He thought.
But then an idea hit him.

To help with lighting for many of his videos, he studied and practiced light spells.

Thinking, he focused, and a glowing orb floated from his horn, with the same color as his aura. It hovered at Play's eye level.

'Perfect,' he thought. And with that, he strolled into the cave.

Author's Note:

Clarity Breeze was named after the song "Clarity," by Zedd, the only music artist I have ever fangirled over. I mean seriously! If you like electronic dance music, he's the guy to listen to!

Comments

[AmpUpHeart]

Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. I'm going outside of my comfort zone with this story.