Crystal Note - Where life leads us

by TalkingToMyself

Exposition: The crystal council

Author's Note:

This chapter is purely for exposition and offers background information on the world and things that are mentioned offscreen. It's not necessary to read this to follow any of the other chapters or story archs.
Let me know if you're interested in more content like this in the future!

Rose Quartz climbed up the few steps of the small, stage-like podium in the front of the room, followed by the other six ponies of the crystal council. The platform was just about big enough for maybe ten ponies and had been set up for meetings like this.

As head of the crystal council, she took the spot in the centre and waited for the ponies in the audience to quiet down.

The meeting hall and the adjacent offices technically still were a part of Princess Cadance' palace, but the princess had made sure that they were available to everpony at any time. She had been the one who encouraged her subjects to form a council and take their part in creating the future of the Crystal Empire and their home.

A millennium ago, King Sombra had been a tyrannical ruler who had crushed down any form of independence in his dark empire. When Princess Cadance took over, she had found her subjects in a state of insecurity for the most time. After having to follow a cruel ruler for so long, when everything they said could be picked up as defiance against King Sombra and have them punished, most of the crystal ponies had by now adapted a lifestyle where they kept mostly for themselves. Sure, they did care about their family and maybe the ponies next door in their everyday life. They found their happiness in living from one day to the next, a coping mechanism they had to develop during the war most likely, when each day was a struggle.

However, with this mind-set so profoundly settled in, they crystal ponies now had to struggle with the challenges of a peaceful life just as much. Without any imminent danger, thinking about their future became a necessity once more, something the younger crystal ponies had never learned to deal with. And with a peaceful neighbour in form of Canterlot and Equestria, the secluded tribe now had to deal with outsiders more and more regularly.

Some of the crystal ponies stood up to this challenge and grew from it. A few of the business ponies in the city had set up shops specifically for visitors from the south, others began trading their goods with Equestria. A few brave ponies went out and embraced the new chances this life offered them.

Like Crystal Note who had spent many years outside the Empire in different cities and towns. Although she had dedicated her life to music, she also learned a lot about the ponies of Equestria, their history and their lives. Now that she was back in the Crystal Empire, she happily shared this knowledge with her fellow crystal ponies.

Princess Cadance did what she could to nourish her open-minded ponies. Such as Crystal Note who filled in as an ambassador for the Crystal Empire in Canterlot at times. She knew the Crystal Empire and Equestria very well, so she was able to contribute and negotiate with Canterlot and the royal sisters in the name of the Crystal Empire, even if politics weren't her main interest.

The new head doctor of the hospital had spent months in Manehatten to update her medical knowledge after Princess Cadance offered her the funds to do so. What started out with just a few single ponies would hopefully soon turn into two nations growing back together after long years of separation.

The formation of the crystal council had been another step in the right direction. When she heard of the idea, Princess Cadance seemed even more eager to set it up than the crystal ponies themselves. A wing of the palace was dedicated to the new council long before the crystal ponies had even decided which ones of them would become a part of it. The fact that Rose Quartz was elected as head of the council, a trusted advisor to Princess Cadance ever since the alicorn had taken the throne, was a clear sign of the loyalty and appreciation the crystal ponies held for their princess.

Rose Quartz watched the crowd of crystal ponies as the mumbles slowly quieted down. The meeting hall was almost full, about two hundred crystal ponies would fit in. Sadly, that meant that almost the entire nation of crystal ponies could find a place within this hall. Years of war, hunger, illness and misery had shrunk their numbers and there still was a long way of recovery ahead of the Crystal Empire.

Some ponies had taken place on the sitting pillows that were stacked up at the side of the room, but most of them preferred sitting on the crystal floor. Rose Quartz scanned through the familiar faces and returned the smiles sent to her. She even spotted Crystal Note in the crowd, next to Sour Berry at the side of the room. Although she had done a lot of work for the Crystal Empire in Equestria, the crystal unicorn usually opted not to participate in these meetings. The sight of her sister made Rose Quartz aware of the importance of this meeting once more. It seemed like everypony except the young foals had found their ways here tonight.

Rose Quartz cleared her throat to silence the few last whispers and took a step forward. Thanks to the natural acoustics of the hall, she didn't need to shout or use a microphone for her voice to be heard all over the hall

"Welcome everypony and thank you for your coming. Tonight we have some important things we want to discuss with all of you."

Never the pony of too many words, Rose Quartz went straight to the point

"As some of you already know, we're getting requests from all over Equestria from ponies of all kinds. Some ponies ask if they can open their own shops and businesses in the city instead of just sending their goods. A few scientists asked for permission to visit the Crystal Empire and learn of our culture and history. Quite a number requested for residence in our city, they want to move here and live in the Crystal Empire."

Rose Quartz paused for a minute and scanned the crowd, especially the last point had seemed to stir up the crystal ponies.

With a nod to the other council members, Rose Quartz continued

"So far, the Princess and the council have delayed each of those requests. However, since the number is increasing, we think it's time to make a decision on how to react to such requests, now and in the future.

Straight out: Should we let ponies from Equestria come live in our city and the Crystal Empire?"

The mumblings picked up again and Rose Quartz stepped back in line with the other councillors. As expected, a few ponies quickly addressed them with questions before they'd run into any decision

"How does the Princess think about it?"

Rose Quartz answered loud enough to be heard over the mumbles

"Princess Cadance told us that she will fully support any of our decisions on this topic, no matter which way we want to go."

The ponies nodded and continued talking with each other. Now that they knew their princess had trusted them with this decision, they were only more determined to decide wisely instead of hasty.

"What's the council's opinion on this?"

The call came out from a group near the front and the mare who asked did so with a frown. Rose Quartz looked to her right and another member of the council, a stallion named Copper Dime stepped forward this time. When he was not working for the council, Copper Dime was a trader and helped the craftsponies of the Crystal Empire find vendors for their goods in Canterlot and other cities.

With his calm and measured voice, he replied for the council

"We've spent a good number of days talking about this and going through different scenarios. We think it's a great chance for the Crystal Empire. Many of the houses in the Empire stand empty to this day, so we have the space. Plus more ponies mean a boost of our economy."

A stallion from the crowd stood up and shouted out to the crowd. Rose Quartz recognized him as one of the city's best jewellers

"If you let outsiders set up their store here, they'll cut into our businesses and put our local economy in danger!"

The mumbles grew louder once again and more nervous, but Copper Dime replied as calm as before

"That can happen no matter how we decide. If anything, with more ponies in the Empire our local vendors have more chances of selling than relying solely on trade. In my opinion, the benefits outweigh any risks by far."

More ponies agreed with the councillor, including Sour Berry who called out in affirmation. His café had been a successful business idea and so far, he had nothing but positive experiences with visitors from the south.

Some more discussions started among the ponies, but there was no anger or fighting as they exchanged their opinions, so Rose Quartz didn't intervene. From what she could see, most ponies seemed okay with opening up their doors for ponies from Equestria.

When the ponies calmed out again, another voice rose over the mumblings and demanded everypony's attention

"What kind of ponies are we even talking about?"

Rose Quartz frowned at the angry voice from the mare in the front row. She could see where this was going but remained calm in her answer

"All kinds of ponies, from nearly all over Equestria. Canterlot, Vanhoover, Manehatten, you name it."

"HA!"

The mare stood up and turned to the crowd instead of the council on the podium

"Canterlot! You all remember what happened last time we let a pony from Canterlot come to our city. A Unicorn!"

She nearly spat out the last word. Rose Quartz felt her anger rise at the plumb attempt of the mare to rile up the crowd, as well as the fact that it seemed to work. More ponies frowned and most of them turned towards Crystal Note, the only crystal unicorn of the entire Empire and the only pony in the hall with a horn.

Rose Quartz glanced to her sister as well, concern clearly visible on her face. Crystal Note had her eyes closed and sat in a calm posture, but Rose Quartz knew her well enough to realize that the crystal unicorn was doing her best not to start shivering or just run away. She kept her head up, but Rose Quartz knew that was so her horn wouldn't accidently point at somepony. She had learned that lesson on earlier occasions.

Sour Berry stayed next to Crystal Note, along with a few others. He refused to back away from the glares and stares directed at his friend, instead he glared back at anypony who pointed at the mare.

Appeased that Sour Berry wasn't the only one to stand up for Crystal Note, Rose Quartz now focused on the mare again. Before her anger could take over, a mare from the stage stepped forward. She was the city’s librarian and by that held one of the most respectable positions in the Empire. Also, she was well connected not only among the crystal ponies, but even with scientists from Equestria as well. She leaned her head down so she could look the mare in the eyes

"I remember it very well. In fact, I'm a little surprised you all seem to forget about it. One unicorn from Canterlot moved to this city right after Princess Cadance arrived. His name is Sunburst and so far, I've heard of nopony who seemed to have a problem with him."

Another wave of mumbles ran through the meeting hall and more than one pony looked away ashamed when they heard the truth from the councillor. Of course they knew Sunburst or at least knew of him and of course they knew he was a unicorn, just like King Sombra had been. Most importantly, they knew that beside the fact they were both unicorns, King Sombra and Sunburst couldn't be more different.

The opposed mare however didn't even flinch and waved her hoof dismissively

"Sunburst is barely more than inventory of the palace library. He doesn't count."

Now Rose Quartz stomped her hoof to get attention back to her

"He's a citizen of the Empire and therefore he is a pony that counts. Even if he's not the most social of ponies, whenever I talk to him he is polite and very respectful. Princess Cadance trusted him enough to make him Princess Flurry Heart's crystaller and teacher after all."

The second councillor nodded in agreement

"I agree, he is a well-mannered pony to everyone around him." Her glare hit the mare in the front row who by now was shrinking on her seat "And for the fact that he's a unicorn, I only want to say when I saw him use magic, it was to juggle books."

The stallion on the far right, a member of the crystal guard, nodded in agreement and added

"Same goes for Flash Sentry. He's a pegasus and different, but there's never been any problems with him, not in the guard and not in the city. We should not judge a pony on whether he or she has a horn or wings or not."

The mare in the front row ceded as more and more affirmatives sounded through the meeting hall. Another stallion from the crowd stood up to address the ponies

"We're so locked on only seeing what can go wrong. We need to start thinking of all the benefits."

The ponies turned to the pony who talked, one of the few teachers in the city

"Take our school for example. We can barely manage keeping up the classes for our kids. And each teacher has to cover multiple subjects at once. If we had some help from Canterlot, we could make sure our children receive the best education they can get. And we would have ponies who could share their experiences of Equestria with us, instead of just reading from outdated books."

As soon as he stopped, a young mare called out

"Same goes for the hospital. We're understaffed and we're still catching up all the innovations in medicine from the last years. We need the help if we want to reach a standard every other city in Equestria already has."

The young nurse nodded with determination and Rose Quartz flashed a thankful smile.

The mood in the room had noticeably changed, for the better as far as Rose Quartz was concerned. She exchanged a few glances with the other councillors, gauging if they should call for a vote now, when a familiar voice sounded from the back of the room

"You're all forgetting one crucial thing."
The words barely made it to the podium in the front and if Rose Quartz wouldn't know the stallion so well, she would have missed his craggy voice.

The voice belonged to one of the oldest ponies in the Crystal Empire, Sturdy Shield. He was one of the few ponies who still knew the Empire before King Sombra had taken over. Under the rule of the dark king, he had joined the army in an attempt to keep his family safe and in the final battle of the Empire, he had been one of the crystal ponies who had surrendered to the armies of Canterlot instead of being slain.

Despite his age, Sturdy Shield took an active part in every meeting so far and ponies listened to what he had to say. Right now, he stood up slowly from his seat in the back and stumbled towards the podium. His old legs gave him some trouble these days, but he was still as stubborn and sturdy as he had been in his youth, his grey coat reminding of granite and with a determined face to match.

He slowly made his way by the side of the crowd while the other ponies waited in silent respect for their elder. As he passed the rows, he stopped for a moment and mumbled to a pony at the side of the crowd

“Help an old stallion out, would you, child?”

The mare had addressed was Crystal Note, and after only a beat of surprise, she nodded respectfully and with a gentle smile

“Of course, Grandfather.”

She stood up next to Sturdy Shield and the stallion leaned heavily on the crystal unicorn before he continued in a slow pace. Crystal Note supported him as best as she could, still smiling despite everypony staring at them. In the Crystal Empire, the term ‘Grandfather’ was commonly used to show respect towards the elder, but Crystal Note didn’t hide the layer of affection she carried in that word.

Rose Quartz watched as her sister helped Sturdy Shield up the few steps to the podium. She had a hard time suppressing a grin. The old stallion knew very well of his influence on the ponies and she had no doubt that he chose Crystal Note to help him on purpose, as another little message he wanted to send to the crowd.

The other councillors respectfully stepped aside to offer their elder the centre spot on the podium. A few gasps from the crowd made Rose Quartz look up, just to see a pillow from the stacks float towards the stage. She turned to her sister and noticed the slightest glow around Crystal Note’s horn, even though she fully focused on supporting the old stallion.

Sturdy Shield gratefully accepted his seat with a thankful nod to Crystal Note. The mare smiled and bowed her head before she returned to the far side of the podium near the steps, just out of the main attention, but close enough to help Sturdy Shield if necessary.

The old stallion let his gaze roam over the faces that stared up at him. Even though he had slumped down a little on the sitting pillow, his voice was strong and clear when he spoke

“We’ve been on our own for so long, we don’t know any better. It was the safe thing to do. We knew each other, we’ve seen our foals grow up and turn into stallions and mares. We watched them carry on the same things we had done for generations.

But by keeping only to ourselves, we made ourselves vulnerable.”

He gave his words a moment to sink in before he continued

“The world had already changed around us while we hid away in our home. When Sombra came, he impressed us with his ideas and visions. Something we didn’t have anymore. We were so blinded, we never saw his real intends. We made ourselves easy to manipulate.”

Again, there was a moment of silence and the ponies in the crowd exchanged some concerned glances

“And it’s happening again, unless we do something about it. Imagine if we had Sunburst or any unicorn in the Crystal Empire back then. He could have realized that the king was throwing around hexes. He could have warned us before it was too late. If we had pegasi with us, we could have sent them out for help.

Heck, we could have done that all by ourselves, but we didn’t. We made ourselves helpless and it took Princess Cadance and a dragon to show us we’re not.”

Sturdy Shield was interrupted by a soft cough next to him. His voice was almost a shout by now and he threw Rose Quartz a thankful smile when she stopped him before he would get even more agitated.

With a deep breath to calm down, he continued

“What I’m trying to say, hiding away is easy. Staying with what you know is comfortable. But what you need to decide is whether easy and comfortable is really the best right now.”

With a grunt, he pushed himself back on his hooves and turned around, not giving anypony the chance to ask questions. Rose Quartz and the other councillors nodded respectfully to the elder stallion. No matter whether the crystal ponies would agree with him or not, he got them thinking so they wouldn’t run into any hasty decisions out of fear or worries. That was good enough for him.

Crystal Note took the place at his side again and he gratefully accepted her help. She matched his slow steps as he leaned against her and got ready to climb down the steps again, but a voice from the audience stopped her

“Wait! I have one more question!”

Sturdy Shield shook his head and kept walking leaned against Crystal Note, but the pony insisted

“Crystal Note! I need to ask you!”

The stallion stopped abruptly as Crystal Note froze next to him for a moment. He tilted his head to look at her

“Go child. It’ll help them.”

He slumped back on his haunches and left Crystal Note standing. She turned towards the council and saw smiles and reassuring nods sent towards her. The last smile she shared with her sister before she took the spot in the centre, facing the crowd.

The inquisitive pony stared at her and Crystal Note could clearly see her insecurity

“You spent more time than any of us with them. Outside of the Crystal Empire. What do you think we should do?”

Crystal Note closed her eyes for a moment to think. She was well aware of the importance and took her time looking for the right words. In the end, she just sighed and opened her eyes again with a smile

“I have always believed that everypony should do what feels right to them, in their hearts.”

That was enough to send most of the crowd off the loop, but Crystal Note just went on with her kind smile

“I’ve been afraid a lot in the past and today still, I admit. So for the longest time, I’ve also been hiding. But that was not really me. I had some help overcoming that fear, from friends and family. You want to know what the biggest difference between unicorns, earth ponies and pegasus ponies is? Truth is there is barely any. Some can fly, some cast spells, others are stronger and we can shine with light, but baseline we’re ponies. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s really that simple.

When I started spending times with other ponies, they didn’t see me as ‘the crystal pony’ or something, just another pony like them. They asked me about the Crystal Empire, because they were curious. And when I asked them about Equestria, they answered my questions as well. But I had to get over my fears first, and they helped me do so. Not because I was a crystal pony or not, but because for them it was normal to help other ponies. It’s just like we help each other, you know? Once I stopped being afraid, I could see that.

So I guess it comes down to this: Is it fear you feel inside your heart? Or is that fear just stopping you from seeing clearly.”

She turned her head towards the councillors and smiled

“That’s just my opinion. I didn’t spend hours thinking about it and discussing things like the council did. I don’t know much about economy or politics and stuff. So if the council thinks it’s a good idea, that’s good enough for me. And if a wise pony like Sturdy Shield agrees, that’s even better.”

Most of the crowd seemed surprised that the usually quiet musician managed even as many words as she did. The ones who knew her better returned her smile.

The mare with the question didn't seem convinced yet though, as she twiddled her hooves nervously. Crystal Note smiled gently to her

“Let me rephrase that last part for you. When we were foals, we all grew up with fear in our hearts. Now, we're grown and some of us have foals of their own. If there's a chance that our foals can grow up without such fear, wouldn't you take it? Even if it meant jumping over our shadows? I know I would.”

As Crystal Note moved to the edge of the stage, the mumblings started again. Rose Quartz glanced through the crowd and saw most ponies had settled. There were a few hesitant faces still, but she decided any further delay would be more harm than help.

With a nod to the other councillors and Sturdy Shield, she stepped forward again

“It’s time to make a decision now. We’re not talking details and specifics, but we need to know: Will we let ponies from Equestria settle in the Crystal Empire?”

She took a deep breath

“All in favour raise your hoof please.”

The ponies complied and Rose Quartz took her time to count

“All opposed?”

Again, the crowd was set in motion to answer

“Any abstentions?”

No pony moved and Rose Quartz nodded.

From the door, a new voice chimed in

“Looks like it’s unanimous.”

Heads turned around to see Princess Cadance standing in the doorway, with a proud smile that lit up her face

“I’ll get to work right away. Thank you for your contribution, everypony.”

She giggled and winked to Rose Quartz

“Maybe we’ll already need a bigger room next time to fit everypony in.”