Crystal Heart Attack

by Brass Polish

2 The Chaotic Journey

“Nyx?” Twilight repeated.

“Yeah!” Spike stood up sharply and grasped Twilight’s foreleg. “Nyx!”

Twilight thought for a second. “What? Like Nyx of the Night? I love that stor…”

“No, not Nyx of the Night!” Spike exclaimed. “I mean your daughter!”

“My daughter?!”

“Your adopted daughter, yeah!”

“I never adopted a daughter,” frowned Twilight.

“Twilight, you need to take some of that potion,” Spike insisted.

Spike slid the container, which he hadn’t broken or spilled on his trip to the floor, in front of Twilight.

“Um, what will I remember, Spike?” asked Twilight.

“Lots,” Spike’s head bowed. It seemed to weight of what the potion had done to him was still affecting him.

Twilight eyed her concoction. She was sure she’d brewed it wrong, although not sure what exactly it had done to Spike. She decided to take his suggestion. He did seem rather serious about this “Nyx”. She dipped her hoof into the container and rubbed the potion on her foreleg.

“Funny how you don’t need to rub a potion for memories on your head,” observed Lazybug.

At once, images, feelings, emotions and sounds surged into every organ and extremity Twilight had. Frightened and unable to see or move while voices whispered about a resurrection. Calmly putting a spell on a pair of spectacles to alter the shape of somepony’s eyes. Tense at the sight of a cheap play adaptation of the Tale of the Two Sisters out on by school foals. Startled at a few well-known faces sporting turquoise, snake-like eyes. Staring amazed at a large castle sitting next to Ponyville. Content to stand on a ledge with a noose around her neck. Dizzy and trying to wrap her head around something being removed from inside her head. Determined to shield her fellow townsfolk from the monsters stampeding from the Everfree Forest. Relief that Princess Luna had not sent a prisoner to the moon.

“What happened to Nyx?!”

Crosspatch and Lazybug watched with concern. Spike and Twilight were both on the floor clutching their chests.

“I think she made it wrong,” said Lazybug. “They’ve both got heartburn.”

“Lazybug… it’s not heartburn… it’s heartache,” shuddered Twilight. “I’ve lost my daughter. AGAIN! I keep losing her! I failed again!”

Twilight clutched her chest tighter and shook, eyes shut tight.

“M-maybe it’s both heartburn and heartache,” she murmured.

“Yeah, I think it’s both,” Spike winced.

“Um… if…” Crosspatch bit her lip. “If you’re not too upset about… Nyx, do you think you could… uh, try making that potion again?”

“Hey, we both just remembered some really serious stuff!” snapped Spike. “Give us a break. If you took this potion, you’d feel just as crazy as we do.”

“Not they wouldn’t, Spike,” said Twilight. “They weren’t around when Nyx was here. They were stuck inside that composter at Sweet Apple Acres. But do you think everyone in Equestria forgot about Nyx?”

“Of course!” said Spike. “No one would just never talk about her. She had a huge effect on Equestria. It’s… it’s because of her that Princess Luna looks so much more regal now. I can’t believe I never questioned that.”

Twilight nodded and looked at Crosspatch, who evidently regretted asking if they could redo the potion.

“I just need time to process all this, Crosspatch,” she said. “When I’m ready, I can try and make the potion properly.”

“Thanks,” smiled Crosspatch.

“Why don’t we get my husband?” asked Winter Squash. “He can easily make a memory potion.”

Crosspatch and Lazybug’s heads jerked towards their mother.

“He’s a chemist,” she told them. “He used to mix his own pesticides before we had to sell our old pumpkin farm. He got a job in potions after we moved to Clopley Hill.”

“Our dad’s around too?!” cried Crosspatch. “He-- uh, you two live in Clopley Hill now?”

“Yeah, uh, I think,” replied Winter Squash.

“Is our dad still there?” asked Lazybug.

“Uh…” Winter Squash’s eyes went out of focus for a second. “I don’t know. Who’s our dad?”

Crosspatch and Lazybug both smacked their foreheads. For a bright, happy moment, it seemed Winter Squash’s amnesia had lifted. But it had merely subsided for a bit.

“Hmm. Clopley Hill,” said Lazybug. “We learned about that city in school today. It’s the most northern city in Equestria other than the Crystal Empire. Sometimes, arctic snow blows into town and the weather team has to clean it up.”

He and Crosspatch remembered the heavy clothes their mom had been wearing when she turned up in Ponyville, and thought the town must be having one of its unseasonable flurries.

Twilight realised something at Lazybug’s words. “The Crystal Empire… the last time I remember seeing Nyx was the day the Crystal Empire returned. Before we went to Canterlot and Princess Celestia gave me that test.”

“That’s right,” said Spike. “She got spooked when you threw that fit and sent the Library into the sky…”

Twilight grimaced.

“And she said she was gonna go play with her school friends,” Spike went on.

“Oh! And she took her hollowed-out book with all her treasures in it with her,” Twilight grunted. “That’s why there was nothing to remind us of her when we got back.”

“Yeah. She was probably worried you’d blast that into the air as well,” said Spike.

“But why did we forget about her?” asked Twilight, standing weakly. “What happened to us all?”

Both Crosspatch and Lazybug were tempted to inquire further as to what the incorrectly brewed potion had caused Twilight and Spike to recall, but the way Twilight was swaying and panting held them back.

“We should go to the Crystal Empire,” Twilight said. “We might find an explanation there.”

“Can we wait until our heartburn goes away?” asked Spike.

Twilight’s horn glowed, but then it went out and Twilight yelped, clutching her chest tighter. She’d been trying to bring the book to her to see if it said how long the heartburn would last. The cockatrice stepped forward and gave the book a kick so it slid to Twilight.

“Oh. Thank you,” Twilight smiled to the Everfree creature.

The cockatrice nodded. Crosspatch thought he was just trying to make her happy out of fear of being Stared at, but the cockatrice didn’t look at her.

“The book says the heartburn will last over twelve hours,” Twilight groaned.

“You two really ought to take it easy,” said Crosspatch. “Twilight, you can’t cast any spells without aggravating your condition. And I’ll bet you anything Spike will do himself a mischief if he tried to breathe fire.”

“I’m not gonna try, that’s for sure,” Spike winced.

“Tomorrow,” said Twilight, “could we all catch a train to the north? You three can go to Clopley Hill to try and find Pulp Puree, and Spike and I can try and find out what made everyone in Equestria forget all about Nyx.”

“We can wait, can’t we?” Crosspatch nodded to Lazybug.

“Sure,” Lazybug agreed.

Crosspatch, Lazybug and Winter Squash helped Twilight and Spike get to their beds, and Twilight told them where the guest bedroom was. For hours afterwards, they both lay awake in their beds, hearts pounding and minds racing.

“Where are you Nyx? What happened to you?” These were Twilight’s last words before she and Spike managed to fall asleep.

On the day the zap apple harvest that nearly spelled the end of the Apple Family took place, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash introduced Twilight Sparkle to Crosspatch and Lazybug. They asked her if she could enchant their water bottle so it would squirt our water every ten minutes. This way, the two mutated ponies could keep hydrated while they slept. They usually stuck it on a shelf above their beds at night, but this guestroom only had a ledge for a candlestick high above the beds. Even with Crosspatch standing on the bed and Lazybug standing on her back, they could reach it. They didn’t want to try throwing it, as it might land facing the wall.

“Um could you please fly this up there?” Crosspatch asked the cockatrice.

The chicken-snake nodded, grabbed the spritzing bottle with his feet, and flew up to the ledge. He set the bottle a foot from the candlestick, and flew back down.

“Say,” said Lazybug just as Crosspatch caught herself extending a hoof to pat the cockatrice on the head, “Twilight said she last saw Nyx saying she went to play with her school friends. She must be around my age. Could she be the pony that cockatrice turned to stone a while ago?”

“Huh. Maybe,” said Crosspatch. “Let’s ask Twilight and Spike about her and all the serious stuff she did tomorrow on the train to Clopley Hill.”

Lazybug looked at the occupied guestroom bed. Winter Squash was already asleep.

“Do you think the same thing that happened to her happened to dad?” asked Lazybug. “Or something worse?”

“We’ll find out in the morning,” Crosspatch climbed into bed. “Let’s get some sleep for now. Want to sleep there, boy?”

Crosspatch gave the cockatrice a warm smile and patting the foot of the bed.

“Some pest pony you are,” snickered Lazybug as the cockatrice leapt onto Crosspatch’s bed.

“What am I supposed to do?” asked Crosspatch. “Let him outta my sight?”

“You’re gonna. You’re going to sleep.”

The cockatrice settled down into the duvet.

“So’s he,” grinned Crosspatch.”

“And that’s how Nyx came to Ponyville and almost became the new Nightmare Moon.”

Twilight and Spike weren’t in nearly as much pain as yesterday. Twilight wasn’t in agony when she tried to cast magic altogether, but she found she couldn’t manage the luggage they had brought on the train and concluded that she should avoid any complex or burdensome spells as best she could. She was feeling slightly better now that she had finished reciting her recalled memories for Crosspatch, Lazybug and Winter Squash. It was a lot to get off her burning chest. The rocking railway carriage was neither a help nor a bother to the ill alicorn and dragon, and for a while, it made the only noise they could hear. Crosspatch and Lazybug had been absorbed by the story she told them. Winter Squash seemed to have been zoning out regularly.

“Amazing,” said Lazybug at last.

“Yeah,” agreed Crosspatch. “But, uh, I think you talked for an awfully long time about what happened when you were pushed off that ledge. No offence, but we stopped at two stations before you finished that bit.”

Lazybug cleared his throat. “What happened to the castle?”

“It was being taken down…” Twilight gasped. “And they were finishing up on the day the Crystal Empire returned. There’s no question about it. There has to be an answer there.

Lazybug looked around. “Did all the other passengers get off while Twilight was talking?”

“I saw a bunch of them go through the corridor into other coaches,” said Crosspatch. “Bet they weren’t too happy with the idea of riding a train with a cockatrice.”

They’re little winged companion shuffled in his coach seat.

“They probably think we’re as crazy as Mom thought yesterday,” said Crosspatch. “Remember her reaction when she saw him?”

“Uh, huh. I hope Dad won’t be too put off,” said Lazybug. “If we find…”

“He’ll be put off by seeing you alright,” said Winter Squash. “He’s really ashamed of you.”

“Oh, no,” groaned Twilight as Crosspatch and Lazybug jerked their necks in Winter Squash’s direction.

“We got a message from Princess Celestia about you two, and Pulp Puree was really outraged when he read about those crimes you two committed,” Winter Squash said.

“He what?!” cried Crosspatch.

“I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this,” said Twilight, “but Princess Celestia sent me a letter saying your parents didn’t want to be reunited with you.”

“Oh,” Crosspatch sighed. “So you got Princess Celestia’s message about us?”

“Yes,” nodded Winter Squash. “Um, I don’t remember what we did with it, though. I remember… I remember me and Pulp had an argument… and… uh…”

Winter Squash’s memory had failed again.

“So Dad hates us for what we tried to do to Pinkie, Rainbow Dash and the Apples,” frowned Lazybug.

“Wait. An argument?” asked Twilight, sitting up a bit. “Could it have been about Celestia’s message?”

“Huh?”

“What if Pulp Puree was the only parent who was upset about what you two did and wouldn’t let your mom go to Ponyville to see you even though she wanted to?” suggested Twilight. “If he’s a chemist, he might have used some potion on her to give her amnesia to make her forget about you two.”

“Would he do that?” Lazybug asked Crosspatch. “To his own wife?”

Crosspatch had no answer.

“I think,” said Twilight, “that when we get to Clopley Hill, we should find him and question him.”

“So we’re not going to the Crystal Empire?” asked Spike.

Twilight paused, then said “We’ll have to put it off if we find out Pulp Puree’s been abusing his job.”

“Why don’t you two just leave our dad to us?” Crosspatch suggested.

“Us? But he doesn’t want to see us,” moaned Lazybug. “He thinks we’re wronguns.”

“Well I think he’s a wrongun if he’s been meddling with our mom’s memory,” said Crosspatch, determination radiating from her. “Twilight, Spike, we’ll see if Dad’s behind this. You go on ahead to the Crystal Empire.”

“Are you sure?” asked Twilight.

“You can’t tell me you don’t want to find Nyx,” said Crosspatch. “After that meltdown you both had yesterday, I know you’ve got your priorities. Come on. Our mom put her all into finding us when she found out we were still around. Even when her memory got all wonky. I’m sure wherever Nyx is, she’d be hoping that her mom’s doing the same.”

For a moment, all of Twilight’s heartburn-related aches and pains were relieved.

“You’re right, Crosspatch. Princess Celestia gave me a responsibility to Nyx. I have to find her.”

As soon as the train pulled into Steeds Central, it looked like the world was working against Twilight. When she and her party looked out the carriage window, the station was completely deserted. Spike went to open the door for Twilight, and a voice boomed as they exited the carriage.

“Crew! Take this train back to Neighagra Falls! This city’s in danger of attack! Passengers, stay in your coaches! You’re all…!”

Bump!

Twilight had nearly been knocked onto the platform the moment she stepped onto the platform. It aggravated her lingering heartburn like mad, but she did her best not to let on to the royal guard who’d run into her.

“Oh! Pardon me, Princess,” gasped Flash Sentry. “But can you help us? There’s trouble up in the arctic.”

“What is it?” asked Twilight, red in the face for several reasons.

“A giant snowmare’s left the mountains and is trying to attack ponies,” Flash explained. “And Captain Shining Armour can’t cast two separate force field spells at once. Can you cast one around Clopley Hill?”

“Um…”

“Don’t risk it, Twilight,” Spike insisted.

Twilight sighed. “I’m sorry, Flash. I’ve got severe heartburn and can’t cast any complex spells.”

Lazybug stepped off the train. “Abominable snowmare? So that rumour in the newspaper was true.”

“This sounds like another pest control job,” grinned Crosspatch. “Twilight, why don’t we swap? You can go find our dad and find out if he wrecked our mom’s memory, and we’ll go to te Crystal Empire and see what we can find out about Nyx.”

“But I gotta help my brother somehow,” said Twilight. “We’ll all go to the Crystal Empire.”

Winter Squash emerged from the coach.

“Flash, this is Winter Squash. Would you please escort her home?” asked Twilight.

“Yes, your highness,” Flash bowed.

“Thank you,” smiled Twilight, beckoning to Spike, Crosspatch, Lazybug and the cockatrice to head north.

Flash didn’t get a chance to ask why they were accompanied by a cockatrice as they bolted down the platform. Or why it was carrying a water spritzing bottle. He also found he’d have trouble taking Winter Squash home, as she couldn’t remember where she lived.

The air in the arctic north was cold, but it did nothing to ease the panting Twilight and Spike. But soon enough, there came a distraction in the form of a rattling roar and a lot of shouting.

“It’s over there!” called Lazybug. “And it sounds like the guards are having a hard time with it.”

A black silhouette loomed in the snowy mist in the distance, twisting its head this and that way, and swatting at indistinct figures.

“Let’s go!” shouted Twilight, before coughing louder than the abominable snowmare had roared.

“Twilight, you’re still sick. You can’t fight the snowmare,” insisted Crosspatch. “We’ll get our cockatrice to turn it to stone. How about that?”

“Alright,” agreed Twilight. “Let’s go, Spike.”

“OK, guys,” Crosspatch said to Lazybug and the cockatrice as Twilight and Spike carried on to the Crystal Empire. “Let’s send that snowmare packing!”

Twilight and Spike run as fast as their heartburn would allow until the large unmistakable magenta orb that was Shining Armour’s force field dwarfed them. Once they passed through it, they heard more shouting. As they made their way to the city, they saw a hoofful of crystal ponies battening down the hatches in a rushed and panicky manner. Then Cadance appeared in the sky above some buildings.

“Please remain calm, everypony!” she called to her citizens. “We will keep the abominable snowmare out of the Crystal Empire and find the pony responsible for assaulting Prince Shining Armour!”

She spotted Twilight and Spike, and smiled as she landed in front of them.

“Is Shining Armour OK?” asked Twilight.

“He’s not hurt,” said Cadance, “But he was attacked when we found the abominable snowmare.”

“And he didn’t get hurt?” asked Spike.

“Let me explain,” said Cadance. “He and I were investigating a rumour about the abominable snowmare. And when we saw it, there was an old stallion nearby. Shining warned him to steer clear of the snowmare, and the old pony threw something at him. A potion or something. And now Shining Armour doesn’t remember seeing that pony at all.”

“This is terrible,” groaned Twilight. “I found an old mare with amnesia yesterday. This old stallion must be…”

“Pulp Puree!” Spike interrupted. “Cadance, did this old stallion have a yellow coat and blue mane and tail?”

“Yes.”

“And was his cutie mark a wooden spoon and pumpkin guts?” asked Spike.

“I believe it was,” answered Cadance.

“Crosspatch told me that’s what her dad looks like back when I wrote her request for a search party to Princess Celestia,” Spike said. “He must be responsible for making Winter Squash and Shining Armour lose their memories.”

“Please help me find him,” said Cadance. “He ran into the city after he threw that potion. I stayed with Shining to make sure he hadn’t been poisoned, and I lost sight of him. We’ve got to find him before he tampers with any crystal ponies’ memories.”

Twilight’s idea was to have Spike and Cadance patrol the inside perimeter of the force field to see if the snowmare was near, and send a signal if it was far enough away. Then Shining Armour could take down his shield against the abominable snowmare and cast one against the culprit. After she explained her plan to Spike and Cadance, she flew up to the castle balcony and let Shining Armour know what they were doing.

“Couldn’t you cast your own force field?” Shining Armour asked. “Your shields are just as good as mine.”

“I’ve got severe heartburn,” frowned Twilight. “I’ll make myself really sick if I try.”

Shining Armour nodded. “Alright. Let me know if you see the signal.”

And he added some power to his force field while Twilight scanned the sky.

Cadance and Spike both walked all around the shield. They met up on the other side, told each other that there was no sign of the abominable snowmare, and carried on covering the same ground on different sides. They rejoined again at the entrance.

“No sign of it,” said Spike.

“Same,” Cadance smiled. “Your friends Crosspatch and Lazybug must have been a big help to our soldiers.”

They decided it was safe for Shining Armour to take his shield down. So Cadance cast her pony signal into the sky.

“There it is, Shining!” said Twilight when she saw the blue heart shape in the sky.

Shining Armour cancelled his force field. “Uh, now what do I cast my shield to repel again?”

“Any pony who tampered with your memory,” Twilight reminded.

“Right,” smiled Shining, his horn lighting up.

A magenta orb erupted from his horn, and spread across the city. Twilight looked down at the streets. Sure enough, a figure appeared from within an ally. He soared through the air being shoved away by the shield.

“Who’s that?” asked Shining Armour.

Twilight knew by the yellow coat and blue hair, and the effectiveness of the force field, that it was the culprit.

The old stallion had been wearing a saddlebag, and the force of the shield caused it to fall off him as he reached the city limits.

“That’s him!” cried Spike, pointing to the flying and screaming earth pony.

Cadance took to the air and cast her magic to levitate the stallion to prevent him falling out of the sky.

“Got him!” Spike bellowed, bouncing excitedly and aggravating his condition.

More shouts came from behind him.

“Spike! We did it! We drove it away!”

He turned to see Crosspatch and Lazybug running into the field, flanked by several shaken soldiers.

“Great job, guys,” said Spike.

“You won’t believe how we did it,” grinned Crosspatch.

But Spike noticed something. “Where’s the cockatrice?”

“Oh. He got scared by the huge snowmare and ran off,” frowned Crosspatch. “But I’m sure he’ll turn up.”

“Guards!” Cadance called to the soldiers as she flew down to Spike levitating the perpetrator with her. “Report to Prince Shining Armour, and tell Princess Twilight to come down here. She and I will be questioning this stallion.”

The soldiers saluted and rushed to the castle. Crosspatch and Lazybug goggled.

“It’s him! It’s our dad!”

Pulp Puree looked incensed. “What in Meadowbrook’s zits are you two doing here?”

“That’s what I want to ask you!”

Twilight flew from the castle, observing the saddlebag Pulp Puree had dropped along the way, and touched down next to Cadance.

“Alright, Pulp Puree. What have you been up to?” she demanded.

Pulp knew he was cornered, and so he grunted and began his confession.

“Fine. Where do I begin?”

“I want to know what happened when you got Princess Celestia’s message,” said Twilight.

“Alright. My wife, Winter Squash, and I were visited by a search party from Canterlot…”

Pulp glared at Crosspatch and Lazybug.

“And they told us that you two had come back and committed awful crimes.”

“Did they mention that we’ve made amends at all?” asked Crosspatch.

“Yes, they lied,” nodded Pulp with a scowl.

“We did,” insisted Crosspatch. “We became pest ponies and kept the nab turtles outta the hospital’s sting weed garden so those apple farmers could have their lightning burns healed faster.”

“If you haven’t been arrested, you’re not in the clear,” frowned Pulp Puree.

“That’s not true, Pulp,” said Twilight.

“Huh. Winter Squash thought the same,” Pulp huffed. “While the search party waited in the hall, we had a quiet but serious row about the matter of a reunion.”

“So Mom did want to see us again!” growled Lazybug. “And you wouldn’t let her.”

“Why would anyone want to meet with you after what you’ve done?” scowled Pulp.

“Well, you don’t exactly have a spotless record, do you Dad?” demanded Crosspatch.

All eyes turned to the dropped saddlebag laying along the path to the city. Beakers were clearly visible inside the open bag and scattered around it.

“Look at that mess over there,” groaned Lazybug. “You forced a potion on our mom to make her forget all about us, didn’t you?”

“Yes. But it didn’t work right,” said Pulp.

“Did you make the potion wrong?” asked Spike.

“Certainly not,” Pulp glowered. “Never brewed a potion wrong. But I was in a hurry to fetch one from my cupboard in my basement lab. The way they work is you have to take a jar of it, get a tooth pick, and write out what you want the recipient to forget on the surface of the foam. I kept Winter Squash away from my lab and the search party members for a bit, but she walked in on me writing in my potion. I threw the jar at her before she could run off, but the potion only got on her tail. So it didn’t completely work. She forgot about Crosspatch and Lazybug long enough to say nothing to the search party when I told them we didn’t want to meet up with our foals. But she forgot a lot of other things as well. I tried to keep her in check, but I had to run out two days ago and she wasn’t home when I returned. I knew she’d be trying to get to Ponyville, but I think her amnesia made her take a wrong turn to start with.”

Pulp Puree paused to look out at the monster-free snowy arctic.

“I’m pretty sure she’s the one who attracted that abominable snowmare away from the mountains,” he went on. “Anyway, I came here to try and find her… but instead the abominable snowmare found me.”

“And you brought some more of your amnesia potion with you in case you were spotted, right?” Cadance inquired.

“Yeah. And if my aim had been a better,” said Pulp, “you wouldn’t have remembered seeing me either.”

“Well, that’s…”

Twilight coughed loudly.

“Heartburn still eating at you?” asked Crosspatch.

Twilight nodded and clutched her chest. “I am never gonna try and make a memory potion again.”

Pulp Puree looked shocked. “You’ve taken a memory potion?!”

“Me and her,” said Spike. “We tested one out to see if it was safe for your wife to take.”

“You found her?!” Pulp exclaimed.

“She wandered into Ponyville with her messed up memory yesterday,” said Crosspatch.

“Oh, now I really am in trouble,” Pulp’s face went white.

“Why? What else have you done?” asked Cadance.

Twilight and Spike gasped.

“You’re the reason everyone in Equestria lost all their memories of Nyx, aren’t you?!” Spike demanded.

Pulp Puree grimaced and gave a slight nod.

“What did you do to her?!” Twilight demanded.

Author's Note:

If, like some of my DeviantArt followers, you haven't read Past Sins and are curious, I'd recommend the audiobooks. It's a longy.

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[Fluttershylover3]

It goes to show that you NEVER make a mother angry