Six crystal candles

by SaltWriter the leviapony

Ch. 2

Candles 2

The infirmary was quite, the few eyes present glancing at Glassclaw as he stood in it. He had been waiting for the alchemist words on the pony he had brought, the doctors immediately taking him into the back for cleaning. The dragon tapped his foot, glancing to the clock as the minutes turned to a half hour.

Maria hadn't come up in that time, Glassclaw assuming she was helping the guests at the resthouse. The upper class were all a gossip with the news, some worrying that the chaos being will come and attack the city. Glassclaw merely waved then aside, saying it had disappeared.

A pony, coated in quarts, came out and waved Glassclaw back. The dragon walked through the doors to the sterile halls of the facility, past several rooms of unicorns mixing potions and repairing the crystal coatings of ponies. They led him to a room at the end of the building, Glassclaw entering and standing by the cabinets.

A few minutes later, a unicorn walked into the room. His left ear had a coating of aquamarine, the medical coat he wore embroidered with the red diamond of the kingdom. His left eye was a deep blue while the other was a dark red, glancing over a set of papers in his purple aura. He levitated the clipboard to him, brushing some of his grey mane nervously.

“well sir, we've finished patching the singed hairs and straighten his tail. Yet, there are some… features you should look at.” Glassclaws eye looked over the papers, his face growing more concerned as he read. He handed the clipboard back and loosed the cloak on his jeweled arm.

“And… how many nurses and doctors know of these?”

“Just my main assistant Ruby. His condition wasn't serious enough to concern the others with.” Glassclaw scratched his chin, then leaned down to be directly by the alchemist ear.

“Mention these to no one. Only respond to what the two coming here ask, and send them to the castle entrance once they're finished. As for the patient, cloth him enough to not raise suspicion among the others.” The pony nodded, heading out of the room to fulfill the request. As he left, a single small crystal glowed dimly on his arm. He leaned to it, speaking in whisper.

“A remnant of the past has surfaced recently. At the moment keep this neutral, because I can make this work into letting us rule all of Equestria. You'll know what I mean soon.” The crystal faded back into his arm, and he stepped out of the room.

Maria and inktip flew over the lower class area, the two keeping their eyes to the castle to avoid the slaves under them. After flying over the second gate, they landed on the glazed streets. Inktip slipped on the smooth surface, only standing by Maria grabbing her tail and pulling her back up. She gave a nervous laugh before looking around.

“This'll be my first time in the city. Do you know where the hospital is?”

“It'll be down this way. The intersection in the middle of here leads to all the important areas.” She began walking down the smooth road, inktip taking a few hesitant steps before hovering above the ground with a pout. The street was mostly silent, an occasional group of fillies coated with different gems broke the silence with ball games. They stopped when they passed, before continuing the games they played.

“Strange place to live. No one here seems friendly, but I see different shops and restaurants. Do you know why that is?”

“Crystal ponies are born and raised here, meaning outsiders aren't trusted. They also recognize you don't have a proper crystal, like I do.” Maria flicked her ear, the red diamond briefly flashing to her. After a few more steps they came to a plaza.

Ponies coated in crystal walked about and around. In the center was a fountain, which flowed pure prizmic light from a blood red gem. The liquid gave the only noise as they entered, all other noise stopping to watch the two move about. Inktip shrunk down from the dark glares, before the ponies returned to their activities.

They Soon came to a building marked with a black cross over it. Glassclaw walked out of the building, tightening the cloak on his arm. When he noticed the two approach he gave a toothy smile.

“I wasn't expecting you two to be here for another few hours. Guess that means most of the guests went to the crystal empire?”

“A few began a return to the sun and moon citadel's, but yes, a majority began to travel that way.”

“You're lucky we have some history Maria, least you friend have died from burns. The alchamest was lucky enough to cure the smoke and burns, so now I must report to the king. I imagine he'll have some sympathy for a loyal citizen of the king.”

“I'm not bound to this city, just born from it. But thank you.” The dragons crystals morphed into a wing, then he leapt to the castle, heading to the balcony on the castle. The two walked into the hospital, the silent interior greeting them. A nurse behind the counter activated a signal, and the alchemist came out a few minutes later. Inktip walked up and welcomed him, the unicorn giving a half smile.

“Ahh, you must be lady Maria's assistant, Glassclaw told me about you two.” He took up her hoof and kissed it, one of his eyes looking over to Maria and waving him to the door. Inktip blushed, before backing behind maria. The two followed him down the sterile corridor, Maria's claws clicking on the floor.

“How's he doing? And how scarred can we expect him to look?” The doctor chuckled, his blue eye rolling to the back of his head to look at inktip.

“You'll be surprised to know that not only is he unscarred, but his burns will be healed completely. And all thanks to my tonics.” his toothy smile gleaned from a ruby tooth, and he stopped in front of one of the doors.

“Be a bit careful, he may be a bit weary from tiredness. And don't mention his hooves.” he opened the door, stepping to the side to let them talk in private.

When the two walked in, they found Duelblood sitting on a long bed. His front half was wrapped in bandages, with his hooves coated in caked blood. The pony gave a nod as they entered, seemingly coming out of a daze.

“Good to see you managed to get out with little injury.” Inktip walked over and gave his back a rub. Maria simply watched in silence.

“It's more the alchemist then my own doing I managed to survive.” He winced when she touched his shoulder, making her step back beside Maria. The griffon simply nodded, and motioned to the door.

“Feeling up to travel? I have a suspicion the general will want us to help with some task instead of going himself.” Duelblood got off the chair, a spec of blood flaking off the bandages of his hind legs. The three then stepped out and to the hospital door, despite the protest from a janitor.

When they stepped outside, they saw Glassclaw standing by the crystal fountain, watching them approach. He threw Duelblood a coat, then looked down the southern streets.

“I've gotten orders from the king. We need to head to twilight town to retrieve some information. Since you are currently jobless, he wanted you three to come with.” This made Duelblood stop, looking to the dragon in confusion.

“Twilight town? You can't expect to leave me here while you three fly off and travel. How am I supposed to get there?”

“I'll see to a carriage by the end of town. Just travel down through the town to get there. I'm sure Maria can get you to it.” With that, he leapt into the air and glided to the lower district of the city. The three walked through the streets, following Marias direction.

The street lead to the crystal wall just above the lower class, a set of stone guards sat before a stairway into the lower level. Maria stood before the left statue, a beam of red light scanning over her body. Its light narrowed on her jewel, then shut down, returning to the unmoving state of before.

Down the stairway they went, white flames lighting the interior of the hall. They soon came out to a dirt area, ponies in shackles trudging in lines behind a wall to their right. Maria moved quickly through the blocked passage, coming out to a large gate with a carriage at it. It was a simple crystal design, the red jewel on the wheels and driver's foreleg. Glassclaw saw the three and stepped over, pointing to the carriage.

“You're in luck, it seems a couple from the city was wishing to travel off to rainbow falls. But you'll have to ride on top with the driver, I imagine your appearance will be worse for gossip if you decide to ride in it.”

“If it means we can leave right away, I'd say it's worth it.” Maria's words made Duelblood nod, and he stepped to the carriage, the driver lifting him to the seat above.

“We can head out right away, the carrage should come around a few days after we arrive.” Glassclaw leapt into the air, hovering just above the wall of the city. Maria and inktip flew after him, and they flew off to the east, while the carriage trotted along the road by the six slave ponies that drove it.

Inside the carriage, pupter uncloaked himself, with Marinette doing the same. Hornet meanwhile, returned to his normal state from his disguise. The three sat in silence till they got out of the city walls, where the rough terrain of the roads drowned out any noises they made inside. Pupter then adjusted the white mask on his face.

“Do you see now why your own desire to return to the hive is fruitless now?”

“I at least wanted to see it myself. They still resonate with me, even with the crystal mind bending.”

“Correct. And unless we can retrieve my masks, I doubt we can muster a force to get them back.” Hornet gave a confused look at this, looking towards the city as they keep going.

“I thought you just wanted to get your masks back. Why would you help me get my hive back?”

“You've lost your life to a tyrant, I only wish for the freedom of my own obscurity. Young Marinette lost her life to a warrior of that king, and if I must do something with my life, then helping someone regain their family will be worth my time.” Marinette nodded, then began gesturing again to pupter. Hornet watched in confusion, till he glanced back at the changeling.

“If you plan on being with us for awhile, perhaps it would be better to teach you some of her language.”

“Language? That could be considered talking?”

“Like a puppet dances to the music to speak a message, a simple movement can convey speech if given a meaning. We originally only talked through nods to my questions, but after living in a small town, we made a language to speak her mind.”

“All on your own? That must have been a pain.” The two nodded, with Pupter giving a half smile.

“The original one was made of letters, and it took awhile to even say a simple sentence. But we've condensed it to something more manageable. And for that, we can teach some of the basics.” The changeling blinked, and Marinette pulled out a piece of paper, placing it on the seat between them. The two began writing out stuff, the carriage continuing along the uneven road.

The three flyers soon found the city, glowing purple in its eternal eclipse. Being in the center of the sun and moon kingdoms, it was cloaked in the light of both the sun and moon, locked into place by Celestia and Luna. The stalemate of the sky became such that the princess's made their own sun and moon to balance the needs of the ponies that lived in the kingdoms. Glassclaw landed just outside of the city, Maria and inktip flying in just beside him.

“Whoa… I thought it was just a name for a town. I didn't realize it was like this.” Inktip shivered, stepping closer to Maria. Glassclaw tightened his gear, and stepped into the light of the town. The two girls followed after, inktip glancing to the buildings they passed as if they had eyes.

“Why is this place so cold and lifeless?” Inktips words seem to hang in the air, and Glassclaw simply shrugged.

“It could just be the location. I will say that this place is stated to have been cursed, so that may have a effect on the area.”

“Cursed? What kind of curse?” Glassclaw Continued on without a word, heading through the lonely streets and past a fountain. It seemed to be a town square, but was only empty. Maria then stepped forward and tapped his tail.

“Shouldn't we wait for Duelblood to get here before we do whatever research you need to have done? He is apart of our group.”

“He'll be caught up once we collect it. But for now, we must find the info.” He stopped in front of a large building, then ripped down part of the wall to enter. Inktip leaped back from the sound, and Maria pushed her inside the building.

It was a large building, with a walled section filled with files. The dragon moved to the files and began shifting through a section, pocketing a few of the papers.

“In these should be information about the elements. We've been storing info in this building for long enough to have something about them. See what you can find.” Maria rolled her eyes, and started to work on the files opposite of him. Inktip meanwhile, sorted out a set of papers from the small desk in the middle of the room.

After a few minutes, Glassclaw held up a set of papers, then walked to the desk and threw them onto it. Maria flew over to the desk as well, and watched as Glassclaw opened the folder, shifting through the texts.

The carriage arrived to the outset of the town, slowing to a house near the edge of the twilight. Duelblood leapt off and waved the carriage off, heading into the city to find the others. As he walked a few steps through the city, he heard an explosion from the direction of the outer city. This made him quicken his pace, not wanting to know what it was.

Near a smouldering pile of a cart, hornet and Marinette watched as the slave ponies scattered in fear from the explosion. Pupter walked out from the wreck, wiping some of the ash from his green coat. He walked to the city entrance, the other two following close behind.

“So, are you sure this next mask is here? This place has a bad reputation among changelings. The princesses of the sun and moon have this place practically oppressed to death.”

“And you're right hornet, but I can sense the presence of one of my masks. I can't think of who or what would lead to it being here, but I know it stands here.” he made his way through the gloom, Marinette staying beside him as he walked. Hornet followed behind, his senses making the lonely streets seem abuzz with magic.

The trail led to a fountain in the empty plaza, a purple mask resting atop a pony statue spitting water. Pupter moved to the edge of the fountain, leaping up the rock to the face of the stone. Marinette turned hornet to the side, making a series of signs on her hooves.

Seems… is easy… careful. Hornet could only partially make out the message, but got enough to understand. Pupter snatched up the artifact, a grin on his face as he leapt off it. When he pocketed the mask, the fountain suddenly stopped, spitting out a black ink which glowed in the light.

The three backed away, just as a blob began to form in the liquid. It flowed over the fountain, beginning to form into a pony shape. It then grew a set of claws, a white flame forming a left eye and a yellow forming the right. A mane of twilight formed on it's head and tail, reeling back and standing up, a set of wings and a horn sprouting from its back. It gave a soulless stare, then began to move towards them, more blobs flowing out of the fountain.

“The princesses did leave a curse on this place, but it seems my mask did more to it. We need to move.” Pupter began to rush off from the area, hornet following suite. He stopped after a short distance, turning to find Marinette frozen in fear. He looked at the retreating pupter, then flew down to grab the mare. He fired a splash of his slime, the blob realiing to remove the substance, and letting hornet grab her and begin to fly off.

Pupter stood a short distance away, watching more of the blob creatures rising from the fountain. Seeing hornet coming he rushed to meet him.

“Marinette! What happened?”

“She almost got consumed by one of those things, had it not been for me.”

“Curse my eagerness, I forget that ponies can feel fear. Let's go, I doubt I could stop the fountain without my magic properly recharged.” Hornet nodded, and began flying out with her, hovering just above the ground to keep pupter in sight.

Duelblood sat in a chair, looking over the various papers laid out on the table nearby. Maria sat nearby, crossing with her own sets of papers and making notes onto a map. Inktip had went into the other room, bringing back a set of mugs filled with coffee. Maira took the cup and downed it quickly before returning to the papers.

“Might I ask what's happening? You've been sitting in silence with these papers since I came into the room.” Maria looked over to him, setting her pen to the side.

“Sorry, with how much info I've had to dissect I didn't have time to notice you. The general has an idea to purify the world with the elements of harmony, and I've been working to find the locations of each one.”

“And why isn't he helping you to do it? I would think he'd be more helpful to this then you alone.”

“He wanted to check more of the city, see if we were alone. But he did give enough of the papers he found to pinpoint a few locations.” she tapped on a few spots on the map, marked with X's. Duelblood noted the maps clear age, still holding several smaller towns and no kingdom markers.

“This map is extremely outdated, how could it possibly help?”

“Maybe if you actually supported the idea, you'd find that these places and locations can still be gotten too. Sure, the sky city will be an issue, but other than that it's basically simple travel.” Duelblood shook his head and backed away, grabbing the coffee and taking a sip, nodding to inktip. Inktip walked over and looked over the map as well.

“This seems like a lot of effort for nothing. Us, change the kingdom with artifacts that didn't even do what they were supposed to? Can't we just go and rest in one of the homes at the castle and wait till the complex is rebuilt?” Maria rolled her eyes, taking one of her hands and pulling the clip-on ear stud out of inktips ear.

“Need I remind you that you come from the crystal city and not the dark diamond empire? You'd be put to death for living within the city without a proper birthstone.” She slid the ear stud back into place, inktip quickly shrinking back and to the window. She looked out the window, her eyes growing wide at what she saw.

“Maria, you'd better wrap up fast. We need to leave, now.” She motioned to the window, Duelblood stepping to the window to see what she panicked about. Maria rolled up the map and notes, placing it into a bag before heading to the window.

Outside, a river of black goo was moving through the city, swallowing and crawling over houses. Shapes like ponies crawled and stepped over objects in the path. Glassclaw, landing just beyond the door, broke down the wall with his sword.

“Duelblood, on my back. You girls after me.” He grabbed the doctor, sheathing his sword and stepping out. Maria and inktip followed a short time after, watching as the goo moved on.

“What is that?” Duelbloods words croaked out of him as they flew, the earth pony trying to calm his ever growing heartbeat. Maria and inktip flew just behind the dragon, circling the flood that grew over the town.

“I can't say what it is. I can tell that it began at the town fountain, and has some form of sentience, but other then that it's nothing I've seen before.”

“It's probably that cursed thing from before, trying to destroy us and the elements. I saw some of them when I arrived, but didn't get much more when I found the girls.” Glassclaw flew to the north, the black sea of goo molding and changing as they flew. Inktip nearly vomited from the odor forming in the city, Maria having to remove forced tears from her eyes.

Before they could leave, the wave began to condense, forming into a large dragon's maw. It lunged to the flyers, Glassclaw only barely striking away at the beast with his blade. It split and fell back into the city, several small horses and dragons crawling up and firing blasts of the goo at them.

Glassclaw folded his wings, falling close to the slow moving sea before gliding through it, Duelblood screaming at the speed and beasts attacking. Maria and inktip followed at a higher altitude, trying to draw some of the beasts from Glassclaw. After reaching the city wall, he struck it down with his blade, heading through the opening. A shield seemed to fade in and out of existence, as he dropped to the edge.

Maria and inktip barely flew through the opening, the goo lunging at them before bouncing off the shield. The two stumbled to the ground, catching their breath as the goo piled and crawled up the small shield.

“I guess it was a matter of time before that city fell away anyway. The sisters held too many feelings for it to leave it unoccupied. Did you get the info?” Glassclaw looked over to Maria, only tapping her bag and nodding. The dragon placed Duelblood on the ground, the bandages on him broken and peeled off from new blood. He stepped away, trying to not leave too many spots.

“I'll have to see about him later. But for now, I say we should rest.”

“Not here… not with… that over there.” Inktips words made the dragon smile, and he picked up the pegasus. She tried to say something, but fear made her pass out and sleep. Maria shook her head, and followed Glassclaw, the sound of the goo slipping away and disappearing.

Author's Note:

This story is certainly taking longer then I want. But, I hope to finish before the end of the year.