Chapter 7: Research
Night Fury and his friends were grouped up at the base of the Crystal Castle after trying to ask around about anything that could help with restoring and protecting the empire, but none of the crystal ponies had any sort of idea what was needed of them. Some of them flat out refused out of some sort of "PTSD" from what happened all those years ago. They were all discussing their thoughts about what they each got from the crystal ponies (which was mostly nothing), until Applejack changed the subject.
"Sorry Twilight, but these crystal ponies seem to have some sort of collective amnesia or somethin." Applejack said.
"Yeah, some of the ponies I asked seemed scared to tell me anything. Even if they did know anything to solve our problem, It's like they have PTSD from what happened all those years ago." Night Fury added
"It's King Sombra's spell, their coats aren't as 'crystally' as they once were. They seemed to be drained of what hope and love they had left." Twilight said with a look of concern crossing her face.
Her friends could see that she was distressed and wanted to help, but there was nothing else they could think of, until Applejack spoke up.
"Well, I don't know if this helps, but the only thing I could get out of them was something about a library."
Twilight's face lit up at Applejack's words and Immediately turned her frown into a smile.
"A library, well why didn't you say so?!" Twilight said with glee
"Uh, thought I just did." Applejack said as she and her friends went to the library to see if they could find anything.
Minutes later…
The group eventually reached the library and opened the doors. The shelves glistened in the sunlight through the windows, all of the books neatly organized and orderly placed, most of the group didn't find the aesthetics of it that beautiful, besides Rarity of course.
Twilight was also amazed, but not with the aesthetics.
"I-I just... I don't even know what to... There are no words." Twilight said with amazement at the pure beauty of all the books in the library (And yes, she did find the aesthetics beautiful, but mostly the books).
Meanwhile, Night Fury also looked at this place in wonder. He started to remember the old legend that the village elders used to sing about this place. A land of crystals.
And yet why do I feel something chilling in this area?
Then, a calm, shrill voice broke the brief, but existing silence.
"Ahem. May I help you?" An elderly mare said with a calm demeanor
"Yes, we're looking for a book." Twilight said, gesturing to the hundreds upon thousands of books.
"We have plenty of those."
"You do, you really do." Twilight replied while spinning around to see every single book she could lay her eyes on. Knowing that she would probably get distracted, Applejack decided to speak up.
"We're looking for a history book, somethin' that might tell us how the empire protected itself from danger back in the day."
"And while you're at it, can we look for a book about ancient diplomatic relations of the Crystal Empire?" Fury asked curiously. "And about some black felines called Speed Shifters?"
Night Fury wanted more information. And he knew despite sleeping through history, he knew that the Crystal Ponies and the Speed Shifters had some sort of bond.
"Yes, of course... History... Ah yes!" The Librarian said coming to a seeming to come to a realization. But instead the librarian just stood there with a smile, not saying anything, the group became confused as to why she wasn't saying anything and decided to pipe up about it.
"Which is where, exactly?" Twilight said with a now more nervous smile
"I... I can't seem to remember, I'm not sure if I actually work here." The librarian said, her smile disappearing
"But you crystal ponies have to know something! Don't you remember we used to trade with each other?!" Night Fury asked. "And we used to fight together?!"
"Wait, cats can talk?!"
Night Fury facepalmed. He wanted answers.
"Night Fury, calm down, she doesn't seem to know anything." Twilight said disappointed.
"Sorry, you're right. I just really want this info. It's really important not just to me. But to my culture," he said with some sadness.
"Don't worry," Fluttershy comforted him. "There's still more to uncover after all."
"We'll just take a look around, I'm sure we can find it on our own. Come on guys, let's go," Twilight said as she went to other places.
"Let me know if you find anything." The librarian replied, walking away to elsewhere in the library.
"I like her!" Pinkie said before hopping away to help her friends
Personally I found her a little annoying. Fury said to himself.
An Hour Later…
Twilight and her friends found nothing so far, searching high and low for what they needed. The crystalline scenery that used to be so appealing was now an eyesore as they were trying to find anything for evidence.
"Anypony starting to think this is a lost cause?" Applejack said with a dour face.
"No, we have to keep looking, Shining Armor and Cadence are counting on us!" Twilight encouraged, continuing the search.
"Um, where's Night Fury?" Fluttershy asked. "I haven't seen him for a while."
"He split up from the rest of us, it looks like," Rarity said.
"Ugh, the last thing we need is for one of us to be lost!" Rainbow said, annoyed. "That cat always likes to go places you don't expect."
Twilight sighed at the added obstacle
"Well, we're going to have to find hi-"
"Oh no you don't!" said a voice coming right at them.
"Ahhh!" Rainbow was shocked by his sudden appearance.
"Oh calm down, I'm not that scary. And besides, I think I found it!" He said cheerfully, racing over to his friends and placing the book on the floor in front of them.
"History Of The Crystal Empire, this is it!" Fury said smiling.
"What? Where did you find this?"
"Thanks to my nose, I realized that as a cub one of our ancient gifts was from the Crystal Empire. It was a crystal statue of us that they gave as a gift. I recognized that smell and it led me to this secret compartment that looked worn down. But the book is decorated with those crystals, so that's how I found it."
"It's nice to know your nose isn't just a tool for mischief." Rarity said jokingly.
"Yeah, that's only 70% of the time!" Fury laughed.
"Well I just hope it has the answers we need." Twilight was still a little nervous. Night Fury then got serious.
"Yeah. Both for the Crystal Empire, and my species' history with it."
Twilight proceeded to read through it with Fury listening in closely.
An hour later…
Twilight and her friends returned to the crystal castle to reveal a possible solution to their problem.
"A crystal fair, according to this book, was established by their first queen and became their most important tradition. The fair was held every year to 'Renew the spirit of love and unity in the empire to protect it from harm'. My friends and I could put it together, everything we need to know is in the book." Twilight said confidently
"That sounds pretty promising."
Shining armor said smiling, his grin quickly fading as he saw his exhausted wife, hanging on by a thread trying to keep the empire safe for as long as she could. Twilight could understand the gravity of the situation and was willing to do anything to save the empire.
"And you, uh Night Fury was it? You have a job to do. Help my sister and protect her." Shining said almost as if giving orders to one of his guards.
Night Fury nodded. It reminded him of when his father gave him a duty to do.
"Mark my words, I will be the best I can be for this assignment." Night Fury said with reverence.
Twilight was amazed. She never thought this normally relaxed, sometimes silly partner could be so serious about something. Her respect for him was increasing day by day.
"We'll get started right away! C'mon, we've got a crystal fair to put together!"
Twilight said, ushering her friends to follow as they went to prepare the crystal fair to be started.
"Yeah what are we waiting for, let's get this place alive again!" Night Fury said excitedly.
"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.
Hours later…
"One last check to make sure everything is in place, and the festivities can begin!" Twilight said while admiring the work she and her friends had done to prepare for the crystal fair. They had done so much to make it perfect, from the balloons Pinkie made, to the games that Night Fury set up for the fillies and colts, just the sight of it all made Twilight smile.
Night Fury was very popular with the foals who thought of him like a giant housecat except one could talk and tell funny stories and show them fun tricks.
"Why was I so worried?" he asked himself. "This is an awesome experience!"
"What's this thing for?" Applejack asked, poking at a strange looking pedestal that looked pretty rough but decent.
"The last page of the book mentioned a crystal heart as the fair's centerpiece, so I used my magic to cut one out of a crystal block."
"Nice work Twi, I think we're ready to get this fair up and running."
Applejack said with a smile, Twilight felt confident that all of her hard work was going well and that she would definitely pass her test along with Night Fury completing his. Just then, Night Fury raced up.
"The last of the games are ready to go Twilight, this fair is gonna be awesome!" He said confidently
"Well, let's just hope that we pulled it off well enough to pass both our tests."
"Don't worry Twi, we'll pass the test no problem! Now, let's get this fair started!"
He said, racing off to announce the fair was about to begin, Twilight following suit to do the same. Her spirits were high now, knowing that everything was going to plan. But little did she know that things were going to take a turn for the worst.
A few hours later…
The Crystal Fair was in full swing. Fillies and colts were playing games and getting facepaint, the food was amazing, and most importantly, the crystal ponies were starting to get their crystal coats back. There were ponies all around talking about the entertainment, the food, and everything in between.
But there was one conversation that caught Rainbow Dash's and Night Fury's attention that was nothing to pass up.
"Seeing all of this, I feel like I'm starting to remember. Remember things from before King Sombra." One mare said.
"Me too." Another replied, The two ponies took a second to collect their thoughts until their coats turned crystal as they sprung up and said in unison...
"The Crystal Heart!" They both said excitedly.
"Do you think they really have it?"
One of the mares asked as Rainbow Dash wrapped a hoof around her
"Of course we have it, you can't have a crystal fair without the crystal heart, right?"
"Of course you can't."
A shrill but familiar voice spoke, causing Rainbow Dash to turn around and see the librarian from before the fair started.
"The whole purpose of the crystal fair is to lift the spirits of the crystal ponies, so the light within them can power the Crystal Heart, so the empire can be protected!"
The librarian said as her coat turned crystal and she gave a gasp of realization
"I do work at the library!"
She said in a perky voice, Rainbow Dash put on a confused look as the words "Power the crystal heart?" ran through her mind.
"Um, what was that about powering the heart?" Rainbow asked as Applejack joined in on the conversation.
"I just can't believe you found it, King Sombra said that he had hidden it away where we would never see it again! I only hope that it will be as powerful after all these years."
The librarian continued, Rainbow Dash gave a worried look to Applejack, knowing that the "Crystal Heart" that Twilight had cut out of a crystal block would definitely NOT be enough to count as the real thing. With this newfound information, Rainbow Dash took to the sky, grabbed a flag from off of a flag pole, and flew over to the fake crystal heart where Twilight was, covering it with haste. Twilight soon felt the cloth on her back and turned around to see what was going on, but before she could speak, Rainbow Dash let out a sentence that changed the entire mood of the situation.
"I think we may have a problem!"
Later on, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Night Fury met with Cadence and Shining Armor on the castle balcony to discuss the issue at hoof.
"I didn't know it was an actual relic, the book didn't mention anything about the crystal ponies powering the heart."
Twilight said while frantically flipping through the book they borrowed, she went to the last page of the book to see if there was anything that could solve the problem, but what they soon found out would put them all in a state of shock.
"There was a page missing, how did I not notice?!"
She said facehoofing, Cadence was wobbling on her hooves, barely being able to stand up on her own. It wasn't long before she fully collapsed into Shining armor's hooves and her magic briefly faded that Night Fury started to really panic.
"Twily."
Shining called, soon the shield protecting the empire faded and an eerie black smoke started to roll in from the outskirts of the empire that was covered in snow and ice. They soon learned that the smoke was not just a cloud, but a magical cloud that was summoned by King Sombra himself, he soon revealed himself as a black figure with red eyes and oozing black hair that flowed in the icy wind, he looked on at the crystal empire, wanting his full power back from the crystal heart and turning the crystal ponies into his personal slaves.
He saw where Twilight, her brother, Cadence, and Rainbow Dash were standing and smiled menacingly, but when he saw Night Fury, he paused, wondering what such a strange but familiar creature was doing in Equestria. He started to move toward the empire, bringing a hectic snowstorm with him as his non physical form glided on the wind, Cadence soon gained a little strength to stand and used her magic to reform the barrier that protected the empire.
The barrier rose in front of Sombra's eyes as he rushed to the edge, but being the power hungry tyrant he was, he wasn't careful with his movements and got the tip of his horn cut off, he growled in pain as part of the appendage was cut off and landed inside the barrier, sinking into the ground and settling below the dirt. Cadence soon fell to her knees as reactivating her spell did a number on her, and it was no better that she was already tired in the first place.
"I have to find the crystal heart!"
Shining armor said with a stern look on his face
"No, you stay here with Cadence. She needs you Shining Armor."
Twilight replied with a sincere but serious tone, Shining Armor looked at Cadence, holding a hoof to her chin and pondering at his sister's words before agreeing to them.
"I'll retrieve the heart."
She continued as she took off through the castle, Rainbow Dash and Night Fury following close behind.
"Let's do this!" They both said, following Twilight
"I've been trying to figure out how Night Fury and I are supposed to pass Celestia's test, retrieving the crystal heart must be it."
"Well, If that is how we're supposed to pass the test, then we have to get searching." Night Fury replied as they went down a flight of stairs.
"Well, what can I do?" Rainbow asked
"You and the rest of our friends have to keep the fair going while we search for the crystal heart." Twilight replied.
"What, with that thing moving into the empire?!"
"The whole purpose of the crystal fair is to lift the spirits of the crystal ponies, so they can activate the crystal heart."
"Yeah, and?"
"If the crystal ponies found out that King Sombra is trying to take over the empire again, their spirits are going to be anything but lifted." Twilight said, stopping at the base of the Crystal Castle. "It won't matter if we don't find the crystal heart, they won't be able to make it work, you have to keep them happy here at the fair!"
"Keep the fair going and keep the crystal ponies spirits high, done and done!" Rainbow said, flying away to make sure the fair was still going.
Part of Night Fury would rather be partying instead of going to do this test. But he got ahold of himself. He knew he had a job to do. And he wasn't going to shirk his duties. He may like to goof off. But when it came to serious matters, you would not want to get in his way. Night Fury and Twilight were about to go searching for the crystal heart, when a voice caught their attention from above.
"Twilight, Night Fury! Be careful." Shining Armor said, looking down at them.
"We will."
"Don't you worry Cadence, your kingdom is safe in our care, just hang in there for me ok?" Night Fury said, smiling when he saw Cadence do the same from the balcony.
"Twilight!" Another voice called, soon revealing itself to be Spike running up.
"I heard what happened, and I'm coming with you." He said, out of breath from running. Twilight shot a frown in Spike's direction, uncomfortable with him wanting to put himself in danger.
"Spike, I don't think that's a good idea. You'd be putting yourself on the line for no good reason." Twilight warned, not wanting her assistant and friend to get hurt. Spike wanted to interject, but Night Fury decided to give his two cents.
"Twilight, I know that he's young and you don't want him to get hurt, but having him looking for the Crystal Heart with us would help us speed up the process. Better to have more help than be on your own." He suggested, wanting to change his friend's mind. Twilight considered what he said and agreed with it, although reluctant with Spike being in danger.
"I guess you're right, it would be better. Spike, you can come, but don't touch anything." Twilight warned, Spike nodding and crossing his arms to follow her instructions.
"Alright then, let's go stop that big ball of gas!" Night Fury said with excitement. Twilight and Spike nodded as they went off to search for the crystal heart, knowing that time was of the essence.
"Now where in Equestria are we supposed to find this Crystal Heart?" Twilight asked while they were sprinting. "Do you have any ideas, Fury?"
"Well as a cub, when I tried to find the exotic sugar, my parents hid it from me, it was always in the highest vase possible."
"This is no time for games!" Twilight was annoyed.
"And just like that sugar, the Crystal Heart is probably in the highest part of the highest building!"
"Gasp! You might have a point. Let's go there!" Twilight said as they made a turn to that grand tower.
Don't you worry, Twilight. I promise I will help you. And father, mother, I will do my best to help in these troubles.
As they were running, a black pile of smoke was building up and if one were close enough an evil laugh from an older time could be heard. He was ready to have his vengeance.
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Speed
Great chapter. Helped me to learn a bit more about Nightfury the MC and your story in general.
Looking forward to reading more about it all.