Chapter 9~
-Crystal Empire: Crystal Tavern-
A sudden surge of celebratory screams garnered the attention of Arthrodite and Ross. Somepony had claimed victory in the hoof wrestling contest, and for Ross, that just meant the victor would request another round—or someone from the audience would declare that suggestion.
It was a cycle that acted as one of Ross’s most effective forms of gaining more bits. Delicious hoof food, games, the occasional karaoke tournaments, and, of course, the drinks. It all simply fell into place, and business was booming.
The cream unicorn inhaled deeply and merrily, still tentatively cleaning the same glass with a cloth—without the use of magic.
“You know you can just, oh, I don’t know, use your magic to clean that up?” Arthrodite quipped.
Ross chuckled. “It’s a skill that takes precision, beautiful. Usin’ magic for this would just not garner the appropriate results, and only the most discerning eyes can appreciate the tendering care I put onto each glass.”
“Riiiight…” the mare deadpanned, followed by a dismissive gesture. “Well, then again, you’re the bartender here; I just drink the stuff,” she slams a forelimb onto the countertop, “Speaking of—I was gonna ask for tonight’s special, but buck it, hit me with my usual, chump!”
The stallion cackles. He then lowers his head beneath the bar, vanishing from view as the sound of clanking glassware perks up Arthrodite’s ears in response.
“Alright, here we are,” Ross said as he lifted his neck, setting down a large, dark-green, classic bordeaux-shaped bottle with a triple X label. “One very special blend for an extraordinary mare.”
Arthrodite nearly drooled as her eyes simply became fixated on the bottle. But realization knocks her back to reality, and the ice-coated unicorn coyly surveyed her surroundings before leaning into a whisper.
“Is the backroom still opened?”
“Sure is,” Ross motioned to a nearby hallway, just to the right of the bar, “I’ll escort you to the back, but don’t you go doin’ anythin’ funny in there, missy. Seriously.”
The mare was appalled, a hoof resting on her chest. “Ach! You wound me, Ross.”
“Oh, cut the shit, ol’ friend,” Ross comically retorts as he floats the bottle within his brown magical aura and walks toward the hallway, exiting the bar as Arthrodite follows along from the other side and meets him at the passageway’s entrance.
“Who was it again that brought an equestrian stallion to the back not two months ago for some ‘Alone Time’?”
“I said I was sorry,” Arthrodite pleads as the duo enters the hallway and traverses down its crystalline, nearly rectangular-shaped path—closed purple doors offering windows of interest and a plethora of pictures hanging on the walls on either side.
“Are you still mad about that?” she inquired with ears folded against their owner’s head.
“You have no idea the mess I had to clean up after you two were ‘Done,’ and you asked if I’m mad?” Ross dropped from the lead, followed by a chuckle. “Now that, my dear, is what we call an,” he shoots his gaze over his shoulder and back to Arthrodite, causing the mare to ‘Eep’ fearfully by a scowl that could only be described as an equine demon straight from Tartarus’s dark depths.
“Understatement.”
-By Amore’s crystal ass!- Arthrodite screamed internally. “I-I swear it won’t happen again!” she cried outwardly.
“Amore. Damn. Right—it won’t,” he threatened, his gaze shifting forward again, followed by the duo walking in silence, save for the clopping of their hooves.
They reach the end of the hallway and come to a stop before a duo of closed purple doors, Ross extending a forelimb and resting it within a hoof-shaped locking mechanism. He fires up his horn and seemingly flows his magic into the lock, and a brown-colored snowflake—courtesy of his aura’s coloration—slowly forms into completion.
The snowflake hums with magical energy before causing the double doors to open inwardly, cutting the brown flake in half as both parts now rest on each door. Satisfied, Ross steps aside and gestures to the room’s inner sanctum.
“It’s all yours,” he said. “And remember, no funny business.”
“Oh, come on, Ross—do you see a stallion with-” her eyes widen, and her muzzle forms a toothy grin before biting her lower lip. “Unless, of course, you’re offering yourself~” she wriggles her brows, “I wouldn’t mind that.”
Ross deadpans, raising a brow of his own. “You know I’m-”
“I know, I know,” Arthrodite waved, “You’re married. I’m just teasing you. By the by, how is she?”
“Keeping me in check, of course,” Ross chuckled. “But I love her with all my heart, and we’re in the process of conceive’n a foal.”
“That’s wonderful!” Arthrodite celebrated with a raised limb, lowering it down with a thoughtful expression. “She’s a teacher, right?”
“Yep. One can find her over at Crystal Prep Academy. But lately, she’s been considering moving back to Equestria someday, especially after that whole Umbrum event. Fun fact: did you know that her twin brother is a professional wrestler?”
Arthrodite tilts her head. “Really? Who?”
“The Mysterious Stallion.”
Her eyes shot wide open. “No. Way. You mean THE Mysterious Stallion?! I’m such a huge fan! You’ve got to introduce us!”
“Shhhh!” Ross ordered with a forelimb in front of his muzzle. “Keep it down, will you? Nopony is supposed to know about his true identity, and I’m only telling you this because I trust you. ‘Sides, if anyone understands that concept, it’s you.”
“S-sorry, sorry.” Arthrodite recovers her composure and strolls into the room, Ross following along and floating the mare’s beverage over to a nearby table, resting it down upon the furniture.
The room itself was costly, clearly meant for the wealthy and royalty alike. Much like the empire itself, it was composed of crystal that melded nicely into fabrics and other furnishings. A nearby window offered a glimpse into the outside world, of which Arthrodite clopped toward and rested a forelimb on the protruding window frame.
She inhales while staring outside, a sense of sorrow radiating from her form and present on her features. “I miss them, you know? I hate them for what they did to me, but… I miss them, too…”
Ross’s ears folded against his head, instantly catching onto the mare’s meaning. “I’m sorry about what the other changelings did to you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a pony, changeling, or what have you—nocreature deserves that fate.”
The mare forms a smile, looking back at the stallion. “Thanks, Ross. You and Princess Amore have been the best things to ever happen to me in my entire life.” she beamed, brushing off the stallion’s subject with a forelimb. “But I’m over that now.”
“Still, the hurt will always-”
“I said,” she interjects sternly, “I’m over it.”
Silence takes hold, and Arthrodite walks over to one of the two light-lavender couches resting on either side of the table her drink stood firm on, beckoning to serve its owner’s lips. She takes her place on one of the furnishings, shifting her flank for adjustment and comfort.
“I’m sorry, Ross,” she began with a downcasted gaze. “You didn’t deserve that…”
“It’s fine, old friend,” he chucklingly dismissed. “Trust me, that’s tame compared to the drunk idiots I’ve had to kick out lately. But that’s exactly what I was tryin’ to warn you about.”
His words garner the disguised changeling’s attention, prompting him to approach. “It’s been a whole year since I first met ya, and although I’ve never had any interactions with changelings ‘till you came along… I’ve learned somethin’ special.”
“What?” she asked.
“Both of our kind are alike in many ways. Chief among them is how we tend to let our emotions drive our actions,” he stood alongside her, resting a hoof upon her shoulder, “You need to find an outlet, be it a stallion—heck, even a mare if you’re into that stuff.”
“Only if that mare is Amore,” she winked, Ross shooting her an unamused expression. “Sorry.”
“My point,” he recovered, “is that you shouldn’t bottle up those emotions. Feeding on love is one thing; you literally need it to survive. But allowing sorrow, anger, and pain to build up inside of you never ends well when that dam eventually breaks.”
The stallion removes his appendage and trots toward the exit, the mare absorbing his words in self-reflection. He stopped at the doorway, looking back at her with a glance.
“Amore and I consider you to be a dear friend, Arthrodite. Hay, you’re family, and we love you.” he sighed. “But those negative emotions can turn you into something you just ain’t, and it would tear us apart inside… just—think about that, would you?”
Arthrodite tried to speak, but the impact of those words caused her to let hot air escape from her throat.
Ross exits the room, his alighted horn closing the door behind him and slowly concealing his form heading down the hallway. The disguised changeling watched during the whole process before looking back to the bottle on the table. She stared at it and continued to do so as time simply passed by.
The nearby clock ticked and ticked, one of its hands ever-turning to point out the seconds that passed, but it felt like an eternity for her. With a sigh, Arthrodite fires up her horn and floats the bottle off the table, popping the cork and allowing it to fall to the floor.
She made a mental note to retrieve the cork later—no need to make Ross clean up yet another mess. Then, as if in preparation for her feast, she shed her form in a surge of green flames.
Gone now was the icy unicorn mare with a golden mane, replaced entirely by an equine insectoid, but one who sported the familiar colorations of their former pony disguise. Light-blue chitin, golden mandibles resting on the insectoid’s head like antlers, and purple eyes that matched the color of their folded, transparent wings.
The changeling opened her maw and began to inhale, a sweet aroma seeping out of the beverage, which flared her nostrils. However, the term ‘Beverage’ was inaccurate as instead of liquid, a pink mist was drawn out—trailing as it’s being pulled into the changeling’s mouth and down their throat.
Taking a pause from her feast, liking her lips in bliss, and setting the bottle down on the table, Arthrodite could only inertly laugh at Ross’s words from before:
My point is that you shouldn’t bottle up those emotions.
“How ironic,” she giggled, always thankful for the donations Ross and Amore would provide for her via these specially crafted ‘Wine Bottles.’
Arthrodite remembered Amore saying something about crystals that could store the emotions of anycreature that interacted with them. Now, she wasn’t a scientist nor a scholar, so she couldn’t precisely explain how those crystals could even do such a thing. But she did understand that using those same crystals as materials to make these ‘Bottles’ was pure genius.
A smile formed on the changeling’s muzzle, their head held up high as they stared at the ceiling. But sadness suddenly takes over as another recollection entered her mind:
-If only Chrysalis could see the benefits of coexistence.- she shifts her gaze back to the bottle. -One can only imagine how much the Hive could flourish if things like these bottles were available for every changeling.-
Despite her inner wish, the harsh reality crashed down upon her, and the changeling scoffed. “But who am I kidding? I’m just one of a kind…” she sighed. “And when I’m gone… there’ll be no other changeling like me. Heh, and that’s not even considering if other races even want to accept our kind. We don’t exactly have the best reputation…”
She sat alone in thought, silence being her only companion until she broke it:
“The only thing I have to go on is what the Crystal Heart showed me. I don’t know your face; I don’t even know what you look like, only that you’re a unicorn…
Regardless, I swear, I’ll find you someday, for you are the key to showing the changelings another way. So until that day comes, and I don’t care how long it takes; I’ll never give up. I’ll keep my eyes open until I find you..."
Her eyes went back to the ceiling with a face of determination, muttering:
“Starlight Glimmer.”
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the start got me laughing
Oh my god! I really love this idea of multiple individuals looking into the Heart, not just Sombra and Hope. I always found it weird how, in the comics, just those two looked into it to see their future?
I find that hard to believe, hell, I won't be surprised if in this story it's revealed Celestia looked into it. That would explain her ways and how she tends to plot far off into the future.
Man the story so far is incredible! I love how the changeling saw into the crystal heart and saw a small glimpse of Starlight in the future. I really hope she makes it and meets Starlight in the future because I would love to see that encounter play out.
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I don't want to touch on this due to possible and accidental spoilers,
That being said, thank you very much for the kind words! And yes, I too figured that if the Heart can reveal one's future, then why doesn't anyone else peer into it? I mean, it's not like Amore even tries to hide it, the Heart is rotating in place for all to see. And when someone does look into it, she even walks up to them and explains the Heart's abilities.
In essence: the Heart's abilities isn't being covered up nor is there a strict presence around it, so I see no reason as to why only Sombra and Hope can do this in the comic. Therefore, I firmly believe anyone can look into it, and as Amore explained, it shows a future--but there are many variables to determine if that future is set or just a possible outcome.
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Thank you very much!
I can say this: Arthrodite meeting Starlight is going to happen, but it's how they meet that remains the mystery.
Or, in other words: the very nature of their meeting.
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Now that I can't wait to see happen
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Youre welcome
Not sure how karaoke would work a thousand years before the ‘modern’ Equestria.
I guess I’ll go with
i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/018/816/its-magic-i-aint-gotta-explain-shit2.jpg
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Funnily enough, I had a feeling someone might have raised an eyebrow at the karaoke bit, and I can definitely answer it with a small spoiler:
You see, the crystals of the Empire have magical and unique properties with many uses, as was indicated by the comics but sadly never truly explored in the show. One just has to study and experiment with them.
Ross actually made a "Mic" (Basically a crystal carved into the shape of a mic) that has the ability to amplify the user's soundwaves.
At this point of the timeline, and thanks to the crystals, the Empire is actually more advanced compared to Equestria. I can't reveal how they compare to the other races of Magius, but to Equestria, they definitely have the edge in "technology."