Level 2: The Power Crystals
Crash Bandicoot, Shining Armor, and the Guard dragged Dingodile through the snow back to the Crystal Empire. Once they came back to the city limits and the warmer grass, they were met by Twilight, Princess Cadence, and Sunburst, now free from his bindings. All were quite relieved by the appearance of Crash and Shining Armor.
“Take the creature to the dungeons,” Princess Cadence said. “Keep an eye on it. When it wakes up, question it and see where it came from.”
The guards saluted and quickly, yet unceremoniously, tossed Dingodile into a cart and took him off to the Crystal Palace before anyone took notice.
“Well, we’re certainly glad you came along,” Shining Armor said to Crash. “You put up quite a fight back there, and are strong for your size.”
It’s nothing, Crash thought, somewhat humbly. I’ve been fighting him and other of Cortex’s minions for a while now.
“Then, if there’s more where that came from, we’ll be lucky to have you here.”
“I’m of the opinion we’ll be here so long as they are here,” Aku Aku said. “Which brings us to our need of Sunburst as Twilight said.”
“Yes,” Sunburst said. “The Princesses have informed me of your predicament. But I have been out for a few days; it will be good for me to get back to my studies, but first I need something to eat and a short rest.”
“Of course!” Aku Aku said quickly. “How thoughtless of me! Please, take some time to rest and recover, we shall come when you are ready.”
“Perhaps tomorrow morning,” the unicorn said. “I do not need long, and it is best if I get back to work soon.”
“I believe we should have a room for you two,” Shining Armor said to Twilight and Crash. “I’m afraid it will be simple accommodations, but it should service you well if you’re not staying long.”
“Anything will be nice,” Aku Aku said. “And so long as Crash has food and a place to rest, I don’t think he needs such elaborate places anyways.”
And a beach with warm sun, Crash added. But that’s out.
Another guard came and escorted them to a modest one-story house with a small kitchen and a bedroom with two beds. The guard stayed outside, preventing anyone from getting in without express permission from the Prince or Princess, and attended to whatever Twilight said they needed. Aku Aku was allowed to use magic to go back and forth between the house and talking with Shining Armor and Princess Cadence as much as he wanted, and he spent much of his time at the Crystal Palace, only coming back every once in a while to see how Crash was doing.
A basket of apples, a loaf of bread, and a bit of cooked potato were brought for Crash and a soup and salad for Twilight. Crash ate with abandon with his hands, making something of a mess on the kitchen table where the food was laid out. Twilight considered it enough that he was at least eating at the table.
“Um... if you don’t mind me asking, what was your home like?” Twilight asked. While experiences from another world were no stranger to her, it was still a new experience with someone so different from what she was used to like Crash.
Uh... Crash actually stopped in the middle of a bite to think for a minute before responding. Well, it’s always warm but never hot and it can get cool but never cold. We live by a beach, me and Aku Aku and my sister.
Crash stopped after he said this, and Twilight realized he probably needed more prodding in order to keep explaining. “What about the environment?”
Crash gave Twilight an awkward, almost apologetic look. ...what does that mean?
“What’s the area like where you live?”
Jungle. Palm trees, thick trees Aku Aku calls mangroves, Wumpa trees, banana trees, thick bushes and ferns. But there’s old ruins not far away, and sometimes there’s neat stones or hidden rooms that are fun to find and look around in, and we’re near a beach.
“So, is Cortex your only problem?”
No. The jungles have large turtles that sometimes bite, meat-eating plants, and other things that are larger and worse. There are rivers with piranhas, fast-moving currents, and deep water that I can’t swim in. And there are humans that live on the island, and if I get too close, even if I’m minding my own business, they try to kill me.
Twilight wished she could talk without stopping between bites. The only delays in the conversation now was when Crash finished and she was in the middle of a bite. Crash’s thoughts being portrayed as a voice via magic meant his mouth didn’t need to wait. “So what about your free-time?”
I sleep. Or play with my yo-yo. Or dig in the sand on the beach looking for stuff.
“Like what?”
I dunno. Whatever I find interesting, I guess.
“Cortex seems to be a pretty common problem for you if you talk about him so easily. How many times has he tried taking over the islands where you live?”
It’s not easy. It’s just happened enough times it’s pretty easy to determine the problem.
“Yeah, but how many times has he tried?”
Uh... I think the last time was ten. Ten times.
Twilight looked at him in astonishment, and not from the fact that Crash had finished his food and gave out a large and very contented burp without covering his mouth. “Ten? How old are you that you’ve fought him that many times already?”
I dunno. I don’t really keep track. Crash sat in the chair and gently swung his legs. I know my forced change via the Evolv-O-Ray lengthened my life and I would have only reached three. I think Cortex found me just before I hit one.
“So you were fighting him at one year old?”
...how long do you ponies live?
“Our older ones usually hit their eighties, and some can hit ninety or a hundred.”
...about the same as humans, then. So, the closest to your age Aku Aku guesses me to be is about twenty years old now. But I don’t keep track. I just know that because Aku Aku told me.
“How’d you meet Aku Aku?”
The islanders like to scatter boxes around. He was inside one of them; I guess they didn’t know he was magic or his own magic was weak. I broke it open. I sometimes do that; they collect a lot of Wumpa fruits in them and they probably don’t notice if I take a few. He took an interest in me because I’m not like normal bandicoots, and I guess just sort of stuck around as my guardian.
It was at this point that Crash got up. I’m tired. I think I’m going to bed.
It took a moment for Twilight to realize it was not directed at her and that Crash was merely thinking that. It took her a moment longer for her to realize that apparently Crash, with an amulet on that revealed his every thought, did not do that much thinking and apparently most of what he did was on impulse.
Aku Aku came back from the Crystal Palace in a golden whirl of magic. The first time it shocked Twilight to see how effortlessly he did so, but now she was rather used to it and didn’t mind it at all and merely looked over to him when he came back.
“How is he?” Aku Aku asked.
“He went to sleep not long ago,” Twilight said. “He... doesn’t do that much thinking, doesn’t he?”
“Ah, so you noticed that, too, despite the power of that ‘horn ring’. If you are hesitant or off-put by that, don’t worry. Crash is happiest if left peacefully to his own devices – if a little too curious for his own good sometimes – and most of what he does think is usually well-meaning.”
“Admittedly it’s strange,” Twilight replied. “You put that on any unicorn and the only ones it doesn’t do that with are the coldest and darkest of ponies.”
Aku Aku gave as much of a knowing smile as a floating wooden mask could manage. “The Evolv-O-Ray may have increased his brain capacity, but you have to remind yourself every once in a while he’s still an animal.”
“...so was his just small to begin with?”
“Probably. But his sister’s a computer and technological genius with access to a store of knowledge and an intellect that could match your own.”
Twilight found herself left with more questions than answers. Not that that bothered her; what was worse was the potential that she’d never figure out what the answers to those questions were, and the questions that would come up after that, and the questions that would come up after that...
She decided not to worry herself with it. There were more pressing issues, and if she could get at least some answers, the better.
* * *
The next day, sometime after breakfast, a note came up via a guard from Sunburst to the place where Twilight was staying with Crash and Aku Aku.
Princess Twilight Sparkle:
I am ready to begin my examination of potential magic with the power crystals that Crash has. Send one down with the guard to my study. It may take a few hours of examining and research, so I don’t want to make you wait for me to finish. I’ll send round another note when I am finished.
Along with the guard was a large leather satchel, larger than a saddlebag and quite big enough for a full-sized crystal.
“Give him the one you salvaged from Dingodile yesterday,” Aku Aku said to Crash. “Keep the other one. I’m sure we’ll get it back, though.”
Crash pulled out the crystals from his pockets. ...I don’t remember which one that was. They all look the same to me.
Aku Aku collected one with his own magic and handed it to the guard. “It’s this one,” he said. “I’m sure of it. It’s not much, but I can sense the aura around it and it’s different.”
“You should go with the guard and help Sunburst,” Twilight said. “If you could explain about the power crystals from your own home world, that might help him find what he’s looking for easier.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Aku Aku said. “I’ll come around soon to check on Crash. That is, if the guard doesn’t mind me going with him to Sunburst.”
“That’s not mine to choose,” said the guard. “You can come with me and ask Sunburst if he wants the help, though.”
“Then I shall, and if he does not want me, I shall return immediately.”
Aku Aku followed the guard away from the house, leaving Twilight and Crash alone.
I’m bored.
Twilight looked over to Crash, sitting on the small couch picking his nose. “I’m afraid there’s not much we can do while we wait for Sunburst,” she said, grabbing a tissue and levitating it over to him. “We have no idea if anyone else from your world came through, or where.”
Crash looked over to Twilight; it must have been a stray thought sent out by the horn ring. ...he’ll have answers?
Twilight was thankful Crash at least knew how to use the tissue. “Well, that’s the hope,” Twilight said, not entirely sure. “We don’t usually get any portals in time and space coming through here.”
What about that mirror? I heard you talking about that not long ago with the pink one.
“I’m sorry, Crash, but there’s no guarantee on that one,” Twilight said, truly apologetic. “If it were that easy, I’d take you there immediately. But we have no idea where it would lead to.”
...would the pink one know?
Twilight’s eyes suddenly brightened. “No, but I know someone who would. There’s someone with even more power and more magic than me or Princess Cadence: my old mentor Princess Celestia in Canterlot.”
...what’s a mentor?
“She taught me all I know about magic,” Twilight said. “And she’s probably the single most powerful pony in Equestria.”
And she might know something about the worlds in the mirror? Brilliant! Crash let off a big smile for a moment, but then it lessened and he scratched his head. But I’m afraid if the power crystals are here and Dingodile is here, that could mean more of Cortex’s minions are here, too.
“I’m sure we could catch them easily.”
Eh... I’d prefer to stick around and get the job done before heading back. At least, so much as I can.
Twilight, realizing they could be waiting a long time, requested for a pad of paper and a few inkwells and quills. She decided to try interviewing Crash about his home and where he came from. She already knew something about a human world, but the prospect of their being another world with humans in it – when all other worlds had ponies in them – intrigued her.
But interviewing Crash about humans proved difficult. Crash was able to give her a decent description about the islanders that shared his home, but gave her little other details. Despite his home in the islands, he’d gone to many places through similar portals like the one that brought him to Equestria. Unfortunately, most of the places he’d gone had almost been arranged like death courses, and many of the “humans” he’d met on his travels were mechanical monstrosities created by Cortex to kill him and retrieve power crystals for himself.
And Cortex himself wasn’t exactly “human” either. Crash was pretty sure he was one, but there were certain things about him that were rather un-human but not animal-like either. Crash recalled he had a rather blocky head, he was almost too thin for Crash to be reasonably sure he had internal organs, and – strangest of all – had what looked like a large tattoo of a capital N on his forehead.
He’s got a big ego, Crash thought, more as a comment to himself rather than expanding on the answer.
Trying to explain to Crash about ponies was more difficult. Twilight eventually gave up because he kept asking questions and thinking about more questions that Twilight frankly would have applauded him. But instead the questions just kept layering over the answers she tried to give and it was a cacophony of noises before a second full answer could be given.
Twilight was exasperated.
“Better if you read the book,” she said irritably. “Well, you can’t exactly ‘read’, but the pictures ought to give you a general idea of things.”
Sorry... Crash said, and he looked so dejected that Twilight immediately relented.
“It’s going to be hard if you keep asking questions, even inadvertently,” she said. “I’ll try to explain as much as I can, though.”
I’ll try, Crash replied. It’s still a lot of information at once for me.
The second time went better but still irritated Twilight. She had to go slower for Crash so he wouldn’t ask a question before she finished her answer. And Crash kept having to ask about the larger words that she was used to most ponies knowing.
At least he was curious, she thought to herself, thankful he could not hear her thoughts.
She got through the stories of Nightmare Moon, Discord, King Sombra, and her ascension to being Princess before another guard arrived with a note from Sunburst.
Princess Twilight Sparkle:
Aku Aku has been with me and has been a great help in my research. I’m afraid I cannot answer everything, but I will tell you what I know about the power crystals and their magic after dinner. A guard will be sent around, and bring Crash with you.
The return of this note with your signature will tell me you agree with this request.
Twilight took one of her quills, signed ‘Princess T.S.’ at the bottom under Sunburst’s name, and rolled up the note again. She gave it back to the guard. “Return this to Sunburst.”
The guard saluted and went off.
I’d wondered what was taking Aku Aku so long, Crash said. Must have made some progress.
“I’d certainly hope so,” Twilight said as another guard came around with dinner.
* * *
Sunburst’s study was a rather small room connected to the main library of the Crystal Palace. There were at least four different desks with various experiments going on – one for biology, physics, chemistry, and a spare for whatever else struck his mind – and a bookshelf where whatever books he’d borrowed from the library were sitting haphazardly around. A fifth writing desk was covered in sheaves of paper, a slot filled with quills, and many bottles of ink, two of them seemingly half empty.
On the fourth spare desk stood the purple power crystal, floating of its own accord over a small makeshift stand Sunburst had constructed for it. Aku Aku was floating nearby when Twilight and Crash entered, and Sunburst was busy going through one of his books.
Sunburst himself looked rather better than he did in the ice cavern. His mane was still in a mess but he was otherwise cleaned up and he had on a robe and a pair of glasses over bright eyes. He looked well-rested and now dove back into his work with eagerness.
Sunburst looked up when he heard the door close behind Crash. “Ah, good, you came,” he said. “I’ve done a bit of research and tests on the crystal, and Aku Aku has been a huge help in my studies.”
“Good to hear!” Twilight said happily. “Is there anything you can tell us?”
“Well, according to Aku Aku, there are multiple of these crystals around. What Aku Aku didn’t know and I found out is that there are multiple slave crystals but only one master crystal.”
“What’s the difference?” Twilight asked.
“Well, the master crystal is slightly larger and it has huge magical power,” Sunburst said. “More than enough for your magic to easily surpass Princess Luna and possibly equal Princess Celestia if you held it.”
So I could get home easier if I had this master crystal? Crash asked.
“Not entirely. This ‘master crystal’ would be an excellent catalyst and would provide a locus for the magic to be enabled, but you’d need the ‘slave crystals’ along with it. The magic itself is simple: you’d need three powerful unicorns – Twilight, Shining Armor, and Starlight Glimmer when she comes back from Canterlot would do – focusing their magic power on the master crystal with Aku Aku. With the slave crystals present, it should send you home and take all the crystals with you.”
“Great work, Sunburst!” Twilight said. “So... where are the slave crystals and this master crystal?”
“Well, Crash now has two,” Aku Aku replied. “The one he brought here on his own, and the one you retrieved from Dingodile. The other four slave crystals are a little strange; we can’t tell where they are but there is a general location of where they are: every destination they could potentially be can be accessed via Ponyville where Crash entered.”
So Ponyville functions as a sort of hub, then.
“Exactly,” Aku Aku said.
"But the slave crystals need to be powered up first," Sunburst added. "The one Crash is holding that allows him to - as Aku Aku told me - 'double jump', is already powered, and the one gained from Dingodile also seems to have been powered up. If you find any more, you're going to need to either bring it to the master crystal or use some of your own magic to power it, Twilight."
"What would that entail?"
"Just a simple power-enhancing or magic bolt spell," Sunburst replied. "The crystals are strong enough they won't sustain any damage, then the magic will be absorbed and Crash can use whatever ability it lets him, and that's in addition to helping you get home."
“But what about the master crystal?” Twilight asked. “If we can find the slave crystals but can’t find the master crystal, the magic’s useless.”
“Find all six slave crystals that came through here and you’ll find the location of the master crystal,” Sunburst said. “You could probably even pinpoint if you combine your magic with Aku Aku’s.”
“My magic is strong,” Aku Aku said, “but it’s not enough. Usually we need to find more crystals, but the smaller amount of slave crystals we need to search for means my own power isn’t enough.”
“Well, I’ll be happy to help!” Twilight said. “So I suppose our next task is to go back to Ponyville and see if we can find the location of the third crystal!”
“We’d better go quickly, then,” Aku Aku said. “Once Cortex realizes the slave crystals are here, he’s likely to come searching for them soon.”
“Then we’ll take the first train out tomorrow.” Twilight turned to Sunburst. “Thanks for everything.”
“No problem. It was a challenge. I needed that after a while of taking care of Flurry Heart.”
* * *
Princess Celestia sat peacefully in her throne room. The day was bright, the air was clear, and the crowds coming to see her were rather light. She thought about taking the day off and strolling through the gardens a bit before lunch.
She turned to one of the guards sitting next to her. “Close off court for today,” she said. “I’m going to take an early lunch. And you can, too.”
The guard bowed. “Thank you, Princess,” he said. He marched quickly but dutifully towards the entrance of the chambers, opening and closing the door behind him.
For a moment, Princess Celestia merely relaxed in the warm sun streaming into the court. It was a lovely day and a good walk in the gardens would refresh her. She was always stuck for too long in the stuffy halls of the castle and longed for a good flight or walk to stretch her legs and wings.
And then the distortion appeared, like a ball of mercury oozing through time and space. The two guards remaining by the princess’ side prepared their lances as they saw the distortion slowly grow larger and larger and it blocked off the door leading into the halls.
Sparks of electricity shot off as an image began to form on the mercury, one of a dark, towering castle. It wasn’t long before a ripple appeared in the distortion and suddenly no less than six figures came bursting out of it.
Princess Celestia and the guards were flabbergasted at the difference in all of them. One was a blue bipedal thing with clocks all over its body, one was a dinky little man with half a rocket stuck inside his head, one was a giant orange creature that looked like a malformed tiger, holding something orange and limp in its hand, one was a floating mask of dark red and yellow wood that seemed to ooze smoke and flame, and at the head was a something that looked like a man but was too skinny for his own good and had a massive N tattooed into his massive forehead.
For a moment, Princess Celestia couldn’t speak. Which was fine, as they were doing plenty of talking for their own as the portal closed behind them.
“You sure this is where Dingodile went off to?” the man with the N said irritably.
“I’m positive that this is the same world,” the blue bipedal thing said rather gentlemanly. “Portals in time and space are rather difficult.”
“Enough bickering!” the mask shouted. “We’ve spent far too long gawking at this place, but we’ve clearly landed inside a building! With witnesses!”
The man with the N pulled up a small red thing with a dish and antenna on one end. Princess Celestia had never seen the likes of it before, but knew they were up to no good and that thing was certainly not friendly, potentially even dangerous.
“I don’t know who you are,” she said, taking the group by surprise. “But I am the ruler of this land, and I demand that you—”
A powerful electric shock shot out of the blaster and overcame Princess Celestia with a force so strong it actually hurt. Normally mild electric shocks were nothing, even a staple of some types of magic. But it hurt and it burned and it stung, like she’d been bucked hard like an Earth pony. She lay on the ground for a moment, eyes wide and trying to catch her breath.
“Well, that solves one issue,” the man with the N said. “I assume the other two are guards? Tiny. N. Gin. Take them out. This place is ours now.”
“Crash is here somewhere,” the blue bipedal figure said. “This will be a nice two-for: finally defeating Crash and taking over yet another world.”
“You should have thought of this in the first place!” the mask screamed. “Had we known there were other worlds, we could have used them to amass our forces and take out Crash with ease!”
“All of this seems excessive for a mere bandicoot,” the man with the rocket said. “If he didn’t have the crystals or that other stupid mask, I’d blow him up with one rocket and he’d be gone! Boom!”
“That’s the goal,” the man with the N said. “Dingodile said he found one, but we lost contact with him not long ago. But we know they’re here; the slave crystals and the master crystal.”
“Fine,” the mask growled, pleased. “We’ll use this as a base of operations. First, shackle that thing and take care of the guards. This place will be ours soon enough.”
* * *
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That was from Twinsanity; firing a green beam and leaving her paralyzed with a dumb look.
Just had a thought. What if the 'slave crystals' are a group of five crystals combined, the spark of energy keeping it together as a larger structure?
(Also, there's a part earlier that you had in italics that wasn't meant to be italicized.)
Dun, dun, dun! Great work here. Looking forward to more
This'll end well, hehehe.
Awesomely done dude, awesomely done!
Somehow I think them overpowering Celly isn't gonna... end well.
Tattoos are not three dimensional protrusions.
Also, you keep neglecting Crunch and Nina Cortex.
7828774
Taking Cortex Strikes Back into account, the master crystal and the original 25 'slave' crystals (cut down for plot purposes) are separate entities.
I can't wait to see Crahs vs Tiny, I always enjoyed playing that boss battle. But N Tropy will be interesting because will it be he travels through some of Equestria's time periods like in his boss battle or will it be Earth's?
8243747
Tiny's next, though Ripper Roo's section is a bit slow-going in terms of progress at the moment. I'm unsure how N. Tropy's going to go; it could be travelling through Equestria's time periods or making his targets speed up or slow down at his whim.
Uka Uka, Cortex, Tiny Tiger and Nitrus Brio
i mean N. Gin