Caught and Punished

by ThePinkedWonder

Chapter 25: How to fix a (crystal) heart

*Sam's POV, first-person*

“What?!" All of us but Twilight, Cadance, Shining, and the baby shouted at what Twilight had just told us. If we didn’t do something soon, the Crystal Empire -- and possibly us -- would soon be a frozen memory!

Wow. Maybe Equestria isn’t quite the borderline utopia I used to think it was. No wonder it has powerful mages like Twilight. If it didn’t, this world might not exist right now!

Applejack asked, "But what about when Sombra was rulin' the Crystal Empire without the Crystal Heart? The place wasn't covered in no blizzard then!"

"That's because the Heart was still here and active, but Sombra had just hidden it," Twilight explained.

I ran toward Twilight, but the chilling wind from the now-partly open curtain stopped me halfway, making me shiver and rub my arms. “Is there any way to stop that storm with the Crystal Heart in pieces?!”

Rainbow pointed at herself. “I can go up there and bust up those clouds lickety-split! Just give me--”

Cadance ran in front of Rainbow. “That wouldn’t be wise, Rainbow. The weather almost has a will of its own this far north, and isn’t something pegasi or even alicorns can control. Otherwise, I would be stopping the coming storm.”

Applejack scowled. I had to admire how she didn’t seem (too) worried, but simply ready to take action. “Then we better either patch up that heart or get out of town before we’re a bunch of ice cubes!”

Rarity pointed at the broken heart. “But can the Crystal Heart be fixed? I have a feeling it won't be as simple as using tape.”

“With all the crazy spells Equestria has, there’s gotta be one that can fix up that thing, right?” I asked.

Twilight tilted her head toward the floor. I so wished it didn’t mean what I thought. “There might be, but it's already too late. If Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were here, they could hold off the storm long enough for us to search the crystal library.”

Cadance said, “At this rate, we don’t have the time to wait for them. I’m afraid we have no choice but to evacuate the Crystal Empire at once.”

“Uh...wait!” Starlight suddenly smiled. “I have an idea!”

“You do?” Pinkie asked, now with a smile of her own.

“Yeah, Sunburst! Since he's one of Princess Celestia’s former students and knows a lot about magic, he might be aware of a spell that can fix the Crystal Heart!”

Cadance laid a hoof on her cheek. “Sunburst? I have never heard of that name, but if he is nearby and might know something, we should ask him for assistance. Do you know where he is?”

“He lives here in the Crystal Empire, and his house isn’t far from here,” Starlight answered.

Shining tapped his jaw with a hoof. "Hmm. If this Sunburst does know a spell to fix the Heart, getting his help would be a lot quicker than searching the castle's library for it. The library here is huge."

Twilight gazed at the still-approaching clouds, snow, and wind. After a moment, she faced the rest of us, wearing a determined frown. What idea did she think up? “Okay, I have a plan. First, Starlight, run to Sunburst, tell him what’s happening, and ask him if he has any ideas. The rest of you will tell everypony outside to head to the train station. If even Sunburst doesn’t know what to do, we will have to evacuate the city, like Cadance said.”

“But what will you do, Twilight?” Spike asked.

Twilight turned her head back to the imminent blizzard. “While you all do your parts, I will fly near the clouds and keep the storm in check for as long as possible. The way it’s looking out there, I’m going to need to buy us more time if we don’t all leave right away.”

We all shouted with our eyes widened, “You're going to what?!”

Sure, Twilight’s far more powerful than she looks, but could even she pull something like that off?

“ABSOLUTELY NOT, Twilight!" Shining protested, forcing Twilight to swing her head back to him. "I know you’re an alicorn, but I’m not letting my little sister fly anywhere near those clouds!"

If there was anything good about this, it’s that Shining stopped being a nervous wreck about the Crystalling and being a new dad. Not that we could even do that Crystaling thing now.

“He’s right! It’s too dangerous!” Cadance agreed. “If the storm overwhelms you, you could freeze to death up there!”

“Well, what else can we do, other than allowing the Crystal Empire to freeze over?”

I had doubts about if this was worth Twilight risking her life over. It wasn't like she had to do it or we would all be goners. Still, I’ve seen that steadfast look on her face enough to not try to argue. She didn’t have to say it, but the mare’s mind was made up. How Shining sighed and said nothing further proved the fact.

“T-Then at least let me go too and give you a hoof!” Rainbow spread out her wings. “Team Twidash can hold back those clouds all day!”

“I’m sorry, Rainbow, but only an alicorn’s magic can do a thing against those clouds. I will have to do it alone.”

“But…” Rainbow started, but she gazed toward the storm. After a second, she groaned and folded her wings.

Cadance stepped forward. “Then I have a better idea: I’ll come with you instead. You’re not the only alicorn here.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, you should stay here. You just had the baby, and if Sunburst does know how to fix the Heart, he might need your help. I know I won’t last long, but if we all act quickly enough, I should be able to hold out long enough.”

Cadance whined, “But, Twilight--”

“Uh, Princesses?” I pointed at the approaching clouds and snow. “I know I’m not in a position to give orders, but if we’re going to make a move, we better do it now. It’s getting worse out there.”

Cadance stared up at the storm with her teeth gritted. After a couple of seconds, she relaxed her teeth and lowered her head. “Fine. Just, promise us you’ll be careful?”

“I promise.”

With the plan set, Starlight sped out of the castle to fetch Sunburst.

At the same time, Twilight flew close to the threatening clouds, firing pink beams at them. Each blast took out a chunk of the clouds, but they reformed on the spot. The storm did seem to stop growing worse, but from what Twilight and Cadance told us, it won’t stay that way for long. It’s not breaking news at this point, but Twilight Sparkle is one of the bravest creatures I’ve ever met.

As for the rest of us, Cadance, carrying the baby -- wrapped in a thick blanket -- in a foreleg, flew out and told the crowd outside to grab what they could and go to the train station. The others ran through the city to tell the other crystal ponies what was going on.

I wanted to go out and help them, but I didn’t bring my coat, so I couldn’t take being outside too long if I didn’t have to. So, I stayed behind to help get some of the castle items ready to go. Shining Armor didn’t leave either, but he kept staring up towards Twilight. He barely moved a muscle the whole time. If she were my sister, I would have probably done the same thing.

---

Around ten minutes after she left, with me back in our makeshift “room” outside the castle, Starlight came back. Sunburst was running right behind her, holding a book in his magic, but once inside, they both stopped to pant. Cadance had just come back to update me on the situation and check on Twilight, but the others were still outside doing what they could.

At this point, the storm was responding less and less to Twilight’s blasts, so the wind was slowly picking up and the snow came down a little harder than before. She couldn’t keep this up much longer!

After the tired pair caught their breaths, Cadance and Shining ran to Starlight and Sunburst.

“I’m so glad you’re back so soon, Starlight! I think Twilight’s getting close to giving out and Shining's worried sick.” In a less worried voice, Cadance continued, “And, you must be Sunburst. I trust Starlight filled you in on what happened to the Crystal Heart, so are there any spells that can fix it?”

He nodded. “Yes, she told me everything, and a single spell can't fix something so powerful and old as the Crystal Heart. However, if we perform the Crystalling and a powerful pony casts the spells of "Relic Reconstitution" and "Weather Abjuration" to the pieces of the Crystal Heart, it should provide enough power to restore the Heart and drive away the storm clouds. Oh, and you and Shining Armor can cast "Fledgling's Forbearance" during the Crystalling itself. That would help keep the baby’s magic under better control.

“And I already learned how to cast the spells Relic Reconstitution and Weather Abjuration from one of Sunburst’s books.”

All that was music to my ears. I was starting to get worried, but it seemed like things would work out after all.

“But we still need a crystaller. I was going to ask Twilight to be it, but since she...has her hooves full, can you do it, Sunburst?”

“I will be honored.”

“Starlight, Shining and I have to be with the baby when the Crystalling happens, so are you sure you can cast the needed spells on the Crystal Heart by yourself?”

“I think so. No, I know I can do it,” Starlight answered in a voice full of confidence. She’s really grown over the past several months.

“Glad to hear it,” Cadance said with a proud smile. “In that case, you take care of the Crystal Heart. The rest of us have a Crystalling to do.”

Sunburst showed Cadance and Shining something in his book; maybe it had something to do with the spells he wanted them to cast. After they read what it was they needed, the couple went "outside", with Cadance carrying the baby. The rest of the gang, save for Starlight and me, followed them.

Starlight gritted her teeth and fired a beam at the pieces of the Crystal Heart, which regained its shape but remained in pieces. She levitated it between the two long strands of crystal it was spinning between before it “fell apart.” She was straining as she did, so I chose to stay with her for moral support while the others did that Crystalling. I was still curious about how it looked, but Starlight needed me more. Besides, the cold air outside our makeshift room was too much.

After around a minute, the Crystalling started, or it sounded like it did. I couldn’t see what was going on, but after Sunburst yelled, “Citizens! May I present the newest member of the Crystal Empire!” the crowd outside erupted in cheers.

Not long after the cheers, Sunburst came running back in, carrying a small light-blue crystal. I guess an incoming blizzard is "all" it took for Shining to pick a purity crystal, or Cadance was the one to choose. Sunburst jumped in the air toward the Crystal Heart and forced that smaller crystal into the Heart. A weird light flashed and Starlight and Sunburst looked...more crystal-like. They stared at themselves, but oddly said nothing. Did they know what was going on?

The air warmed, but still felt a tad cool like it did even before the Heart broke. Going by how Starlight’s and Sunburst’s bodies underwent that weird change, magic was part of the Crystalling after all. Or, it was a part of the spell Cadance and Shining apparently did.

“We did it,” Starlight said wearily, then collapsed to the ground. Her breaths were short and rapid. Sunburst seemed fine, so it couldn’t be because of that transformation they did. The poor thing must be spent from casting those spells on the Crystal Heart for so long, especially by herself.

As Sunburst and I ran to Starlight, Twilight wobbled through the curtains and also fell, panting. Her mane, fur, and tail were full of tiny ice crystals. It was only when the curtain opened behind Twilight when I noticed those storm clouds, wind, and snow were gone. It was nice and sunny again!

Even if the weather was back to normal, we still had two exhausted ponies lying on the ground.

Spike, Shining Armor, Cadance, and the rest of the gang came through a different curtain, but zipped to Twilight once they saw her struggling to catch her breath on the ground.

“Twily?! Are you okay?!” Shining asked, leaning down to Twilight.

“I…*pant*...I’m okay. Just…tired.”

“What about you, Starlight?” I asked, rubbing Starlight on her back.

“I’m…*pant*...fine too. I just need a…*pant*...minute.”

“You take a good rest, Twilight,” Cadance said with a warm smile, “and you too, Starlight. You both did well.” Cadance looked to a nearby guard, who just peeked from the castle's front door. “Could you please get a blanket for Twilight?”

“Yes, Princess, at once.” The guard sped into the castle. He soon came back out carrying a pink blanket on his back.

Shining picked up the blanket with his magic and gently wrapped it around Twilight. "I'm proud of you, LSBFF. You were incredible up there."

Twilight smiled while still continuing to pant. Seeing those words had to make her feel good.

Spike walked to Starlight and playfully poked her on her back. “How does it feel to be a hero of the Crystal Empire now, like me?”

Starlight giggled weakly. “It’s...more tiring than you made it...sound in your stories.”

“Let’s just...hope we don’t--oh, no!” Twilight’s eyes grew and she jumped to her hooves, the weariness in her voice ending when she yelled “oh, no!” Her blanket even flew off her.

What was about to happen this time?

“What?! What’s wrong?” Rarity asked panickingly.

“Celestia, Luna, and my parents didn’t get to see the Crystalling!”

That sucks, but not to be mean, I thought Twilight was about to say something worse was coming. During the ruckus of trying to fix the Crystal Heart, I didn’t even think how those two Princesses and Twilight’s parents weren't there to see it. I felt the worst for her parents, given the baby is their grandfoal and this Crystalling was a big deal, even before the little homewrecker shattered the Crystal Heart.

Cadance set a hoof over her mouth. “Oh, dear, that’s right. We had to perform it sooner than planned, so they didn’t get to see it.”

“Well, I’m sure they will understand when they get here,” Fluttershy commented. “They might be disappointed, but they will rather be that than for the Crystal Empire to be frozen over.”

“It’s too bad we don’t at least have pictures,” Spike said with a sigh.

“Oh, I got it covered.” Pinkie pulled out a pile of...pictures from her mane and held them in the air. “I took pictures of the Crystalling as it was happening.”

“What, you took pictures?” Rainbow asked, also staring at the photos.

“When?” Applejack asked.

“You didn’t see me taking them?”

“No, I, well...” Rarity started, but paused. After a moment, she finished, “That is, I don’t think I did. All of my attention was on the baby when the Crystalling was happening.”

We all stared at each other and said something similar. I was with Starlight to give her support, so I sure didn’t see what Pinkie was up to during the Crystalling. Since she took pictures, I might get to see how the Crystalling looked after all.

Twilight’s puzzled frown softened into a relieved smile. “You are one-of-a-kind, Pinkie. Thanks to you, Celestia, Luna, and my parents will at least be able to see the pictures of the Crystalling.”

With that smaller “crisis” averted, even after we let Twilight and Starlight fully regain their energy, there wasn’t much to do at the moment except wait for Celestia, Luna, and Twilight’s parents to come. However, as we did, Pinkie let me see the pictures she took. One of them was with the baby hovering in the air above Shining Armor, Cadance, Sunburst, and Rarity, covered in a bright yellow aura. When she’s not blowing stuff up, that foal's really cute, but I’m still never going to foalsit her.

After about a half-hour, Celestia and Luna made it to the Crystal Castle; a little later, Twilight’s parents arrived. Of course, they understood why they had to miss the Crystalling. The Princesses were even more upset at themselves; they weren’t there to help Twilight fight the storm.

Around another two hours after Twilight’s parents made it and we all chatted and explored the Crystal Empire a little, with all four Princesses, Starlight, Spike, Sunburst, Twilight’s parents, the rest of the gang, and the baby made our way out of the Crystal Empire and to the nearby train station. It was about time for the Friendship Express to come back. As we went, Starlight sometimes stared towards Shining Armor, Cadance, and the little homewrecker. Odd.

---

At the train station, Shining said to Cadance, “You know, we still need to pick a name for the baby.”

I was close to bringing up the name I was thinking of, homewrecker, but thought better of it.

"If you still haven't, I could think of some choices for you. I could write a list with names starting with 'A', one with the 'B's, one with 'C's..."

There she goes again with lists, but at least her little grin was cute. As Twilight was going on about lists for names, Cadance rolled her eyes in (of course) thought, then smiled as she looked toward the baby. “How about...'Flurry Heart'? That name is quite fitting, don’t you say?”

“I would say so,” Shining agreed with a proud smile at the baby, or should I say "Flurry Heart" now.

I was starting to like the sound of "homewrecker", but I suppose I’d just have to keep calling her “Flurry Heart" or "Flurry." When she’s older, maybe I’ll tell her about it, and she might let me call her homewrecker as a nickname.

“I think it’s perfect.” Twilight leaned to give a little kiss to Flurry. "Still, I was getting excited about those lists. Maybe I'll write them anyway in case you two have another foal."

“Night Light and I are just glad everything worked out and got to see our granddaughter at all,” Twilight Velvet, Twilight’s and Shining’s mother, said as she gave a kiss to Flurry too. Just when I thought ponies’ names couldn’t be stranger, Twilight Velvet came along. Is “Twilight” actually her and Twilight Sparkle’s surname? If it is, why is Night Light's name Night Light? Maybe their full names are "Twilight Velvet Sparkle" and "Night Light Sparkle", but they left out the "Sparkle" part when they told me their names? I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to know the answer, so I didn’t ask.

Flurry sniffed, similar to what she did before she fired a blast that blew a hole in the roof in the Crystal Castle. Not again! I even went to the ground for safety.

But no magic came from her horn. Flurry sneezed and cooed, but that was it.

Starlight giggled and, for a little role reversal, looked down at me. “It’s okay, BF. The spell Sunburst told Princess Cadance and Shining Armor to cast during the Crystalling will help keep Flurry's magic in check.”

“That so?” I asked, getting back to my feet. That was embarrassing.

“Speaking of whom, now that you’re a great crystaller, you’re not going to forget about me, are you?” Starlight asked Sunburst with a playful smile.

“Never. No way would I forget my first and best friend,” Sunburst answered with a little smile of his own, then he and Starlight shared a hug. I almost felt a little jealous, even though I knew it would be silly to.

“It is wonderful that you found a use for your talents, Sunburst. As I told you when you left my school, there is a place for you in the world. It just took you some time to find it,” Celestia said in a warm voice.

Sunburst blushed a little and adjusted his glasses. “Thanks, Princess.”

“Anyway guys, come back to visit any time. Hopefully, your next visit will be...less eventful,” Shining Armor said while smiling. However, he frowned and looked up at me. “Sam? Before you go, I need to say something.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Shining's ears flopped and he sighed. “I must confess: when I first heard about you, I wasn’t sure if you could be trusted. But, after you helped save my wife from the changelings, I learned the truth. Even if you didn't know I felt like that and we didn't meet until today, I still want to say I’m sorry." He smiled and added, "I’m glad Twily and her friends have a friend like you, and I hope we can be friends too.” He reached out his hoof.

I wasn’t expecting that in the slightest. Twilight frowned when Shining was talking, but I couldn't tell if it was because she was hearing it for the first time herself, or if she already knew, but was maybe worried about how I'd feel. It may have been a good thing Shining Armor and I didn’t meet until today, or at least, not before the changeling attack.

I leaned down and grab his hoof and we “shook” hands/hooves. “It’s okay, and sure. I'll be happy to be friends.”

After the handshake/hoofshake, we all said our goodbyes. Most of us hopped on the Friendship Express and left. Celestia and Luna had their carriages still in the city, Twilight’s parents wanted to stay in the Crystal Empire for the night, and Cadance and Shining obviously didn’t need to, so none of them got on the train.

---

Inside the train, Starlight and I were in seats beside each other; Starlight sat in the seat by the window. Twilight and Spike each was in a seat opposite us. The rest of our friends were in the surrounding seats.

Starlight’s head was facing Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart. She had a hoof on her cheek, and when the train started moving, she sighed and looked to the floor. What was she thinking about?

“Well, that was an experience to remember,” Rarity said with a chuckle.

“No kiddin’,” Applejack agreed with her own giggle. “We saw the birth of the first natural-born alicorn and nearly got our hides buried in an eternal winter.”

“But we had it covered, as usual. It'll take a lot more than a little blizzard to beat us!” Rainbow boasted in a proud voice. Saying she has faith in us would be putting it mildly.

I turned my head toward Starlight, who was playing with her hooves. I was sure of it now. Something was on her mind again, but what? When she acted like this in the past, she would always later say that she wanted to do something she had put off doing up to that point.

Could what she was thinking about had something to do with Cadance, Shining Armor, or Flurry? They didn’t seem to be bothered by anything, so it couldn’t be because she was worried about them. Those three even looked to be more peaceful than ever. They were a cute family.

Wait, family.

Could that be it? Was Starlight finally ready? Could she be thinking what I thought she was? Only one way to find out. If I was right, I COULDN’T wait.

“Starlight? I think I know what you’re thinking about.”

She stopped fidgeting her hooves and stared at me. Her eyes felt to be extra big. “Is it that obvious?”

Rainbow rubbed her mane. “Uh, if it is, it isn’t to me.”

“Well, what is it, darling?” Rarity asked with a sympathetic frown. “Is something wrong?”

“Is it because you missed the Crystalling? I still got the pictures, like the one when Sunburst said--”

“Pinkie? I don’t think that is it,” Fluttershy interrupted. Her voice was calm, yet something about it had more...assertiveness than usual. If I didn’t know better, Fluttershy’s been growing too, not just Starlight.

“You want me to say it, or you?” I asked.

“I’ll say it.” Starlight rubbed her hooves again. Her ears drooped to the side. “Guys, I’m still not sure when, but I was thinking about finally going to see my parents again soon. I really hope you won’t mind being there for me at least one more time, because I would need it, bad.”

Author's Note:

Whoa! After all this time, Starlight's finally ready! Even with the others' support, how will Starlight handle seeing her parents again? Will the lingering trauma she still carries be too much for her? Will Sam be able to hold himself back from laying into Starlight's parents?!

Since the season 6 premiere was the first time Celestia and Luna did something(!) and weren't made useless, I wanted to keep that the same in this AU. Long story short, doing that would have made this part of the story too long and would have just gone the exact same way as it did in the show, so that's why 'ol Sunbutt and Moonbutt weren't there to help hold back the storm. A future blog with this chapter's "Director's cut" will have a little info about it if you're curious.

On a different note, chapter 26 will be out in a month, thanks to a longer than usual break I'm going to be taking from writing after my next story's out in a couple of days. I need it pretty bad right now. If you haven't read it already, this blog I made about 2 weeks ago has a little more info about it, but it's nothing serious like me going through a hard time or something. Back when I made the blog, I planned for chapters 24 & 25 to be one chapter.

Break

Oh, and one more thing. I blame Shining Armor for the Crystal Heart getting broken. He just HAD to ask "What could possibly go wrong?" right before Flurry Heart broke it.

Comments

[LEGION55]

Nice chapter.

[SethFilms]

Great chapter keep it up

[ThePinkedWonder]

10424586

10425406

Thanks!

[Wydril]

Very cute, and I like how you jimmied the schedule of events to stick to the show even with different characters. Plus in this version, the Sparkle parents actually got to find out about the storm.

[doggogo1]

10427572
Ok well that is what stories are polish until satisfied. Then continue to polish when details don't add up.

[Aurora Aksnes]

thoughts before reading:

i am so excited since i love titanictime2's story, and to see an inspired one out of it is just fucking HYPE
heres to a great read!

[sykko]

Good chapter. I honestly thought there at the end that Starlight was feeling her biological clock ticking after seeing the crystal royal family together.

[CumminsShakesIt]

When is Samlight gonna be a thing? I've been looking to find a more serious Human/Pony romance story, ya know something that's not lewd for the sake of being lewd but still has romantic elements and naughtiness while still maintaining a quality and engaging story