...There Is No Looking Back
A towering spire of magnificent blue crystals jutting out of the snow, shining as a beacon of hope and love for miles and miles in every direction. A city of ponies that shimmered like the most resplendent of gems and jewels just beneath said spire. A shadow winds its way through the city and it’s population, tainting them with fear and hatred. A flash of light from the top of the spire blinds everything, and as it fades, the city is gone with it.
“The Crystal Empire! Go to it! Maybe the magic that erased it can be undone!” a feminine voice echoed over the snow, urgent and pained. “If you can do so, then there may yet be hope! The power of the empire may be enough to repel our enemies!”
Green fire burst up out of the snow, melting much of it into steam as a swarm of hornets, bees, locusts and other aggressive insects swirled into the air in such enormous numbers that, in only a matter of seconds, the whole world was smothered with darkness.
“GO!”
The dream ended.
Twilight’s eyes snapped open and a ragged, shocked gasp tore itself out of her lungs. With her mind reeling in confusion, she took a long, deep breath and looked around, trying to regain her bearings. It was still night by the looks of it, and everypony else was still asleep, most of them resting on chairs or couches. Twilight herself had opted to make use of a stray cushion that she had placed at the foot of the couch Starlight was sleeping on. Eventually, after a few minutes, her breathing calmed down, as did her mind, and she went through everything she had just seen in her dream once again. The voice that had spoken to her… it had sounded like Princess Luna. Had she contacted her…? “Seek out the Crystal Empire…?”
“Huh?” another voice groggily said from just above Twilight’s head on the couch. Shifting, she looked up and saw Starlight Glimmer starting to sit upright on the couch, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. “Wha… where am I?” she mumbled, looking around in confusion.
Twilight looked over her shoulder, confirmed that Rainbow Dash was still sleeping on the second floor, then turned back to look at Starlight. Their eyes met. Both of them froze. For a few tense seconds, neither of them dared to speak a word or utter a sound. Then, Twilight lightly coughed and smiled sheepishly. “Uh… good morning?”
“What…” Starlight blinked, looking around in confusion. Her eyes darted around and narrowed with suspicion. “What am I doing here… what are you doing here?!” her voice gained an edge and she quickly jumped off of the couch, backing away from Twilight with her horn sparking to life. Twilight shrunk back and lifted her hooves in a placating gesture, now fully awake at the sight of the angry and defensive unicorn.
“W-woah! Easy! Y-you were caught by the changelings who attacked Canterlot! Rainbow Dash and I rescued you,” She tried in what she hopes was a soothing voice before looking over her shoulder again to make sure nopony had been roused by the sudden movement and sound. None of them had, thankfully.
“You and Rainbow Dash?” Starlight scoffed disbelievingly, looking around her surroundings in agitation. “No, I don’t believe you. Why would Rainbow save me? She hates me!” her horn flared up even brighter, making Twilight scoot back in alarm.
“She doesn’t hate you,” She tried again, slowly lowering her hooves to the floor. “She’s just… afraid of what you remind her of… but she does not hate you, trust me. If she did, you would never have been let out of your pod.”
Starlight growled and backed up even further, glaring past Twilight at the green pod she had once been entrapped in. She grit her teeth and took another defensive step back, looking about ready to run away. Twilight’s ears flattened and she bit her lip, trying to think of something she could say to calm the other unicorn down. “Starlight, please, calm down. You’re safe, okay? None of us are going to hurt you. I promise!”
Starlight looked at Twilight again, scrutinizing her for any sign of deceptions. She must not have found any, because she visibly relaxed after several seconds, the sparking light on her horn winking out of existence. Starlight took in a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. “Okay… okay, I’m trusting you… but can you tell me what’s going on?”
Twilight nodded slowly, smiling in relief, before glancing over her shoulder at her still sleeping friends. “Sure. But can we take it outside, first? I don’t want to wake my friends up.”
Starlight looked past Twilight at her friends, the hesitantly nodded. “S-sure… lead the way, I guess.”
“So these ‘changeling’ things attacked Canterlot because they need the love that ponies feel,” Starlight recounted about thirty minutes later, looking out at the Everfree forest from the balcony she and Twilight had decided to use for their chat. The first glow of the coming sunrise was starting to paint the horizon in soft shades of gold and blue. The air was cool and crisp and there were only a few clouds in the sky. Starlight looked up at the few stars that were still visible and frowned. “And they captured everypony they could so they could ‘harvest’ them. Then you and Rainbow Dash came in on a rescue mission for the princesses, but got me instead…”
“That about sums it up,” Twilight nodded slowly. “We were confronted by the Changeling Queen. There was no way we were going to be able to fight her off for long, and the Princesses pods were heavily reinforced and protected by enchantments to prevent anypony tampering with them. We only had a few seconds, so I told Rainbow to just grab somepony and get close to me so I could do a teleport. She grabbed you.”
“Huh… I see,” Starlight muttered before letting her eyes droop to look down at the floor. “So… what happens now?” she eventually asked, sounding resigned and scuffing a hoof along the stone floor.
“Well... we’ve been looking for other places to hide out since we got here. This castle is spooky, yeah, but it’s not exactly a good long-term hideout,” Twilight explained, her brow furrowing. “I… think I have an idea about that, but before I talk about that, I need to ask you something.”
“What?”
“...Will you help us?”
“What?” Starlight repeated incredulously, looking at Twilight like she had just spoken absolute nonsense.
Twilight was quick to speak up again. “I know that we haven’t exactly made good impressions on you, and I’ll understand if you don’t want anything more to do with us, Starlight. But you’re good with magic; really good. Chrysalis was holding you in the same room as the Princesses for pony’s sake. We could use that kind of help right about now.”
Starlight blinked at Twilight and stared at her disbelievingly for a few long seconds. Then she turned and peered over the edge of the rails on the balcony, seeming like she was thinking it over. A cool morning breeze blew through the area, rustling the branches of the forest below and creating a whistling sound as it wound through the ancient castle, sounding almost like a ghost calling out. After a while, when it seemed like Starlight wasn’t going to answer, Twilight sighed and turned to walk away.
“I’ll help you,” Starlight suddenly said, drawing a surprised gasp out of Twilight. She turned to gawk at Starlight like a deer in a train’s headlight as Starlight turned away from the balcony with a look of determination on her face. “These ‘changeling’ things attacked Canterlot, hurt a lot of innocent ponies, and abducted Sunburst. If what you’re telling me is right, they aren’t going to stop there, and I don’t intend to sit on my rump and do nothing about it…” her expression hardened a little bit before she stepped a bit closer to Twilight. “But just so we’re clear… I’m not doing this for Rainbow Dash or your friends. The only one of your group I know or trust is you, and even then… I have my doubts about you. I’m doing this for the sake of Equestria, and my friend. Got it?”
Twilight winced a little at Starlight’s blunt explanation but nodded in understanding. “That’s all I could have asked for. I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do, so… Thank you, Starlight.”
Starlight’s expression lost some of its intensity, and a ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “No problem. Now, about this idea of yours?”
Twilight nodded and gestured with her head for the doorway heading back into the castle. “We’ll need everypony else. And they’ll need to know you’re helping us anyway. Come on.”
With that, the two disappeared back inside the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters.
“Everypony, it’s time to wake up!” Twilight called out once she and Starlight returned to the library. The room’s occupants gradually rose from their slumber, some a bit more quickly than others. Pinkie Pie was already wide-awake the moment she heard Twilight’s voice and practically launched herself off of her chair, eager to begin a new say. Rarity mumbled something incoherent and very unladylike under her breath, groggily stumbling off of the couch she had been using. Applejack was a bit quicker to rise, along with Fluttershy. Thorax was wide-awake at the same time Pinkie was, lifting his head from where it had been resting to cover Wind Whisper, who was curled up against his side and seemed to sleep right through Twilight’s declaration.
“Ooh, Starlight’s awake!” Pinkie announced with a big grin while bouncing towards the two unicorns. “Hi! How are you doing? I’m doing fine. Do you like cupcakes? I love them maybe I should make you some when all of this is over as a way of saying ‘sorry for spying on you and letting Dashie try to hurt you’ and then we can all be friends and-”
“Pinkie, Pinkie!” Rarity scolded while dragging the excitable mare back by the tail with her magic. Pinkie pouted at Rarity and got a harsh glare in response. “Tone it down, would you? Give the dear some space.”
“Space?” Pinkie asked like it were a completely foreign work, looking at Rarity with a raised eyebrow.
“Ugh…”
Twilight simply rolled her eyes and then looked up towards the second floor, where Rainbow and Spike had been sleeping. “Rainbow Dash, Spike, get down here!”
On the walkway itself, Spike walked up to the edge and looked down at Twilight, then giving her a wave and smile before a big yawn worked its way out of him. Once that was done, he turned to Rainbow Dash and frowned in disapproval. She was still out like a light, snoring peacefully away. One of her hind legs twitched a little. With a look of annoyance on his face, Spike marched up and gave Rainbow a harsh shake.
“Wha?!” Rainbow Dash snapped awake and sat bolt upright, having not been expecting the contact. She glanced down at Spike and pouted pitifully at him with a long whine sounding from the back of her throat. “Ugh… Spike, why did you…” she wound up yawning as well, then smacked her lips together when it ended. “Why’d’ya wake me up, you doof?”
Spike pointed over his shoulder with a flat look on his face. “Twilight’s calling us. It’s time to get up.”
Rainbow complained with another whine before groggily standing up. She yawned again, then stretched out her wings and back before trotting to look over the edge of the rail. For a moment, her mind blanked when she spotted Starlight, and the back of her head tingled. She quickly bit down on the inside of her cheek to force herself to focus. Ignore it, she told herself firmly. Just ignore it. She’s innocent and we need her help, anyway. With that mental scolding done, Rainbow turned and moved briskly for the stairs so she could rejoin the others on the ground floor.
While Rainbow was making her descent, Starlight eyes Thorax with curiosity. “Oh, hello. Uh, who are you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow when Thorax approached. Wind Whisper was still snoozing on his back.
“Oh, I’m Squall Dreamer,” he lied before holding out a hoof and offering a friendly smile. “Lunar Royal guard. With the rest of the Princesses down, I, uh, guess it’s my job to protect Rainbow Dash,” his words became very awkward and tense as he spoke, and his smile turned a little crooked. A tiny, nervous laugh was barely suppressed.
Starlight eyed him uneasily for a few seconds, but pushed her hoof to his and shook anyway. “A… pleasure. I’m Starlight Glimmer.”
“I know,” Thorax replied, looking over at Rainbow Dash. “They’ve… talked about you.”
Starlight followed Thorax’s gaze and affixed hers on the blue pegasus. She felt her heart rate spike for a moment when she remembered that… horrific, rage-filled scream that she had heard Rainbow emitting just before attacking her. She remembered the hatred burning in her eyes, and she remembered how much it had hurt when she had punched her in the face. “I… I bet, eheh,” she chuckled nervously and took a few steps back to be farther away from Rainbow.
The whole room went quiet as everypony noticed the tension. The two mares were looking at each other very carefully, with Rainbow’s expression being a mix of anger and regret, while Starlight’s expression was that of a frightened mare trying not to provoke an unstable animal. Eventually, though, it was Rainbow Dash to break the silence and tension when she sighed and looked down at the ground. “Starlight… I’m sorry.”
“...Fwah?” Starlight blinked and took another step back, not really sure she had heard that right. “I… I’m sorry, what was that?”
“I’m sorry,” Rainbow said again, looking up into Starlight’s eyes. The regret in her own was enough to give the unicorn pause. “I attacked you on that train, and it was the biggest mistake of my life… I…” she looked away from Starlight and at Twilight, her ears falling flat against her head. “...I almost lost the ponies that matter most to me because of how stupid and reckless I was. I’m… I’m sorry… you didn’t deserve what I tried to do to you.”
Starlight’s eyes widened considerably and she looked around for several seconds as if trying to find something to help her make sense of what she had just heard. She then coughed into her hoof and scratched the back of her head. “Uh… wow… uh… I just got an apology from a princess… uh… apology accepted? I think? Did I say that right?” she stuttered out, not quite sure how to respond to this development.
Luckily, Pinkie was there to break the awkwardness in her typical fashion.
“Awwww,” she drawled out happily before darting over and throwing her forelegs around Rainbow Dash’s shoulders in a tight hug. “Little Dashie went and said she’s sorry! Oh, she’s coming so far! Maybe I should throw you two a ‘congratulations on making up’ party when this is all over! A good way to make these once-enemies into best friends!”
Rainbow looked sideways at Pinkie with a deadpan look. “If you could stop hugging me, Pinkie...” she left the sentence incomplete.
Pinkie got the message all the same. “Sorry!” she squeaked and quickly let go, backing away and grinning sheepishly with a tiny red tint on her cheeks.
Rainbow snorted at her, then looked at Twilight and Starlight again. It felt so… weird seeing the lilac unicorn again, especially after how their last meeting had gone. In truth, she had hoped to never see her again. But she was here, now… and didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave. Rainbow coughed into her hoof and gestured at the two of them. “So… what’s the story? Is Starlight sticking around?” she asked almost timidly, not quite able to meet either of their eyes with her own.
Twilight looked at Starlight questioningly, who nodded back at her in confirmation. With that done, Twilight cleared her throat and began. “Starlight said she’s going to help us, and I think I may know where we can go.”
“Really? Where?” Applejack asked, cantering forward with Fluttershy by her side.
“Is it somewhere nice?”
“Not exactly,” Twilight shook her head. “Remember the Crystal Empire?” Everypony nodded their heads in acknowledgement, save for Starlight, who just looked kind of confused. “We go there,” Twilight continued simply.
“But didn’t the whole thing vanish?” Thorax asked with a raised eyebrow. “It’s just going to be a field of ice and snow. Not really a good hideout, unless we want to be frozen solid.”
“That’s the thing,” Twilight continued before looking at Rainbow Dash and smiling softly. “I got contacted by Princess Luna via a dream. She says that the magic that made it vanish… maybe we can undo it. Thinking about it, it makes sense. Nothing just disappears. You can’t make something out of nothing, or turn something into nothing. It had to have gone somewhere, and a conventional teleport spell probably wasn’t the culprit behind the vanishing act. If we go there, there’s a good chance that the spell will still be in place and, if so, maybe I can undo it. If it’s been a thousand years, then the spell is bound to have gotten weaker by now.”
“That makes sense,” Starlight cut in, stepping forward a little bit. “I don’t really know what the Crystal Empire is, but if it’s as big as it sounds and the whole thing just ‘vanished’ because of a spell, the magic must have been really powerful. That would definitely leave an imprint that could be exploited.”
Rainbow’s brow furrowed in thought for a few moments, then she looked over her shoulder at the rest of the assembly of ponies. “I’m in. What about the rest of you?” she asked simply, looking at each of them in turn.
“Rainbow,” Applejack began with a cocky smile splitting her muzzle. “Ah think Ah speak for all of us when Ah say… where you go, we go, your highness.”
“Mhmm,” was Fluttershy’s admittedly lackluster response, but despite how timid and nervous she looked, she managed to put on a solid look of determination which burned especially bright behind her eyes.
“We’re with you all the way, darling,” Rarity confirmed with a smile. “And if we can bring this Crystal Empire back, well, count me in!”
“Sounds like fun!” Pinkie Pie agreed while bouncing in place. “Count me in! I can’t wait to see all of those sparkly crystal ponies!”
“Heh. It’s my job to go with you,” Thorax said, though her visibly tensed as he said this. Rainbow nodded to him sympathetically, then turned back to Twilight and Starlight.
“Like I told you before, back in Ponyville,” Twilight said before trotting until she was directly in front of Rainbow Dash. “You’re not alone. You have us.”
Rainbow smiled before reaching out and pulling Twilight into a warm embrace. A second later, she leaned back and nodded to the rest of the assembled ponies. “Alright, everypony! Pack whatever you’re taking! We’ve got an empire to visit!”
The room exploded into cheers from most of its occupants. Only Starlight, Thorax and Wind Whisper opted to stay out of the cheering. This noise was what finally roused the filly from her sleep. She poked her head up, blinking groggily at everypony else. “What are we yelling about?” she asked sleepily.
As the group set about preparing to leave, one thing was clear in Rainbow Dash’s mind: There was no looking back, now. What was done was done. Her ultimate mistake on the train was in the past. Her long-term wayward disregard for her position as royalty had come to an end. The battle for Canterlot was over, and they had lost. It was time to let the dust settle on those events and focus instead on the future, and doing the best that they could.
It was with that resolve burning in the back of her mind that Rainbow led her friends from the Castle of the Two Sisters, with Twilight at her side, heading for the north...
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OH MY CELESTIA, TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY AND THE THING IS COMPLETE.
Aside from her episode with Starlight, I think this Rainbow Dash will become a good leader worthy of the title 'Princess'. I think it would be interesting the Elements in this universe might consider ascend her alongside Twilight. At the very least, those should shut up the Nobles that still see her as common pegasus who got lucky.
8841348
Well she may have handled wrong do to lack of counsiling there was logic in the move
day
Wasn't she taped up?
eyed
he
Oh hey, commiepony and stupidbug are together again. Can we burn them?
8969523
This guy has no chill. They have f***s to give yet no chill. This is a bad combo, and should be remedied.
Luke. LUKE! You must go to the
Chrystal EmpireDagobah System.I think you meant "day" here but being pinkie it could be either and still made as much sense to everypony
Heh tell that to the timestream ur replacing
9878387
Thing is it isn't ceasing to exist. The timeline is changing, but it isn't being outright erased from existence.
Who's speaking here? Add a speaker tag to avoid confusion.