The Equestria Chronicles: Journey Through The Crystal Mountains

by Slippin_Sweetie

Tend To Our Wounds And Assess The Damage

The once untouched Crystal City now lay defiled with a vast cloud of smoke clinging to the air as firefighters, police, and royal guards did their best to save the buildings and the ponies who lived inside. The bitter taste of defeat was fresh on everypony’s mind. The royal guard was humiliated, thousands of bits in damage were caused, and Twilight once again let Starlight Glimmer get away with it.

An emergency meeting was held in the Crystal Castle, Twilight, Shining Armor, Cadance, and the finest officers of the royal guard now had a moment to sit down and assess the sheer destruction.

Velvet quietly dusted the soot off his armor as he placed his helmet next to him; the tips of his mane were burnt, but the stallion did his best not to appear disheveled. Shining sat next to his loyal officer, pressing an ice pack to his head as Cadance quietly tapped her front hooves together.

The pink alicorn took a deep, shaky breath, “... I’m sure you know why we held this meeting today. So let’s skip the formalities... what went so horribly wrong...?”

A young guard sat up, “If I may, princess. Officer Iron Clad, at your service. I was present when the destruction began. We believe the criminals had access to some sort of explosives. We’re not sure if the damage was intentional, but the fire heavily damaged several city blocks. Our best men are still on the scene, but many citizens are injured either due to burns, smoke inhalation, or the blasts themselves. We’re still searching for anypony possibly trapped beneath the rubble.”

Twilight hung her head, unable to look her sister-in-law or brother in the eyes. How could she have allowed that mare to trick her once again? She was the princess of friendship, of magic, for pony sake. How could one mere unicorn cut her down and get away so many times when she and her friends faced far more threatening foes and won?

Slowly looking up, the purple alicorn let out a long sigh she hadn’t realized she had been holding.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” struggling to look her sister in the eyes, Twilight only hoped that Cadance could forgive her, “I can’t tell you how sorry I am that this happened. I tried to... subdue her, but she tricked me again... I burnt out my magic, and she managed to stun me and get away. I can’t believe I was so stupid.”

Turning to her brother, she gave him an even more apologetic gaze, “I promise I won’t leave the city until the destroyed property has been rebuilt and the injured have been tended to. That’s the least I can do...”

Cadance turned to her sister-in-law and shook her head, “Twilight, it’s unreasonable to hold you accountable for this destruction. I should’ve stayed with you, I should’ve had more guards, I should have taken this more seriously….”

“It’s not your fault Cadance... It’s mine,” Twilight murmured, “I’m the reason she came here anyways...”

Velvet slowly spoke up, “No one could have expected one talented unicorn to pull off this much destruction, your highnesses. We were just completely taken by surprise; we underestimated the enemy.”

Shining Armor rubbed his temple, “Twilight, didn’t you see Starlight and her accomplices flee to the Crystal Mountains? Perhaps the royal guard should join you on your expedition to Yakyakistan. If we all collect ourselves and unite together, there is no possible way for one single unicorn to defeat all of us.”

Velvet and the Officer Corps slowly tensed up at the mention of the Crystal Mountains, a sense of dread and fear looming over them. Shining quickly read the uneasy expressions on their faces.

The prince raised his voice, “Does anypony have a problem with that?”

Despite fear clinging to his heart, Velvet attempted to placate the table’s rationality, “Your highness, surely we can leave those fools to freeze to death in the mountain. They wouldn’t be able to last longer than a few days.….surely we should focus our efforts on rebuilding, protecting our civilians, and tending to the injured, yes?”

Looking up at Shining’s offer, Twilight shook her head, “Shining, Bristle is right; your ponies should be here, helping those who truly need it. If anything, I don’t want any of your guards or officers to be injured on the trek. I’m not sure I want my friends to go either...” Twilight had begun to feel some hesitation and fear for her friends. If Starlight was capable of causing this much destruction with only two other ponies, what else could she do?

And what would she do to her friends if she got the opportunity?

Velvet sighed as he relaxed, “Well, I’m glad that’s settled-”

Shining scowled at the officer, “No, it’s not settled. We’re not even close to finished. Twilight, I am not letting you go into those mountains where that deranged pony is. She’s waiting for you to come alone; I say we take our best ponies and march into the mountains.”

“Shining, please...” Twilight began before being taken back by the ensuing argument.

The unicorn stallion narrowed his eyes at Velvet as he began to scold the officer, “May I remind my officers that the royal guard is supposed to undertake such dangerous missions for the safety of our Empire. I have tolerated your irrational fear of the Crystal Mountains for long enough. I will not allow this criminal to harm my family, my ponies, and my home again.”

“And they won’t, your highness...” Velvet said coldly as he began to stare down the prince, “Because they won’t come back. Not from those mountains, and we will do everything in our power to protect our citizens. Home.”

Shining quickly slammed his hoof on the crystal table as he tore into the officer, “So do you expect Twilight and her friends to undertake their mission alone!? Who will be responsible for Equestria’s future if the elements of harmony are destroyed!?”

Velvet lashed back, “With due respect, your highness, I am an Officer of the CRYSTAL EMPIRE’S Royal Guard, not Equestria’s! I am loyal to The Crystal Empire and her citizens!”

“You are also supposed to be loyal to Cadance and me!”

“You’re right… I’m sorry… King Sombra.” Velvet hissed.

The table promptly erupted into explosive anger as Shining, and the officers bickered and argued amongst themselves. Accusations of cowardice, and comparisons to Sombra were thrown across the table as if their words were arrows.

Twilight had never seen Shining quite so angry; it was rather shocking to witness him wildly snapping at his officers. The brother she knew was kind and understanding... but she also knew how much pressure he was under now, especially as a royal.

Cadance was in complete disbelief and shock by the ordeal, taken away by the sheer vitriol in each pony’s words. It was a grave insult to be compared to Sombra, and she wasn’t surprised by Shining’s offense to the comparison.

As ponies yelled over one another to make their point, Twilight exchanged a look with Cadance before closing her eyes. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, and opened her eyes.

“Enough,” Twilight said cooly; she did not shout stamping a hoof against the table, “All of this arguing will not solve anything or help anypony. Shining, right now, your ponies need stability and the knowledge you have their best interests at heart. You can’t be sending a squad into the middle of nowhere while ponies here are still hurt.”

Cadance nodded as she slowly rose to speak, gesturing for everypony to settle as the Guards and Shining Armor quickly quieted down.

“I understand your fears, but it breaks my heart to see my husband and the brave officers of the guard be at each other’s throats over this… bump in the road. You, nor any Crystal Pony ever will be in chains again at the hooves of King Sombra, and you are right to want to keep our loyal soldiers out of harm’s way.”

Cadance took a deep breath, “But we must not forget that Princess Twilight and her friends are the reason why we are here today. The reason our city, our Empire, is on the map. Had it not been for Twilight and Spike the Brave and Glorious, we would either be part of the frozen north or slaves to King Sombra.”

The officers slowly murmured to one another, appearing to be appeased by her words.

“We mustn’t turn our back on our friends now that we’re needed.” Cadance slowly looked over to Twilight as she gently reached over and tenderly held her hooves, “We won’t let them bare this burden alone.”

Velvet sighed as he rubbed his temple, “So what does this mean?”

Cadance turned to Velvet, “We’re going to pick ourselves up, assess the damage, and help Twilight and her friends with the expedition; that means I want a small platoon to help her get across the peaks and to Yakyakistan. To prevent Starlight Glimmer from attacking her. We are not abandoning our friends, and we aren’t sending search parties to aimlessly wander in the snow.”

Twilight sighed and slowly nodded her head, “Well... maybe you’re right... it would be nice to have more protection, at least for my friends’ sake. But only the ponies who wish to go should accompany us. I don’t want anypony being volunteered unless it’s their choice.”

Twilight had already dragged plenty of ponies into her mess without them having any say in the matter. She didn’t want anypony else having their right to choose taken away. So many ponies, their lives irrevocably changed because Twilight decided to come here, knowing Starlight wanted revenge.

There was a small rumble as the officers looked amongst each other, a sea of faces hesitant to say anything.

One voice piped up, “I’ll go.”

It was Officer Iron Clad, one of the few non-Crystal ponies within their ranks, “I’ve been wanting to map that area for months, but I wasn’t going to go up there myself,” glancing up at Shining, he added, “And it would be an honor to serve and protect you, princess.”

“Thank you.” Twilight nodded quietly.

Shining sighed, giving the slate-grey unicorn a worn, tired smile, “Thank you, and for your diligence, I assign you to find a few volunteers willing to travel with you.”

Iron Clad saluted Shining Armor and nodded, “Yes, sir, I’ll see who I can conv– ask to come along.”

Cadance turned over to the more unwilling officers, “If all of you are so keen on protecting your home fine, all of you are responsible for damage assessment and rebuilding. All of you are dismissed.”

The room quickly cleared out as the Officer Corps began murmuring to one another about their newly assigned responsibilities and duties. Leaving the monarchs to themselves.

Shining flopped his head on the table, pressing his icepack to his skull, “It’s been a long day.”

Cadance sighed gently, patting her face with a handkerchief, “It certainly has. I’ve never seen you so mad before.”

Shining smirked, “Hey, when you have a little sister, you get a little protective, even if she’s the princess of magic and friendship.”

Twilight would slowly trot over to sit beside her brother, gently patting him on the back.

“I understand why you’d be protective, but just try not to take it out on your officers, okay?” the alicorn forced a small smile on her face, “But thank you, and you too, Cadance.”

Shining perked up as he quickly began organizing a list of supplies and munitions for the group, “I’ve been up to here with those ponies; that mountain has been a thorn in my side for a while now. I’ll be happy once all you prove that King Sombra isn’t looming up there….”

“We’ll definitely keep our eye out for anything strange, but Sombra? Pfft, it’s a good ghost story, but I’m sure we’ll only encounter some wildlife.”

Cadance slowly looked at Twilight, “I’m sorry that your stay here hasn’t been the most enjoyable. Is there anything we can do to make this better for you and your friends?”

“Well, we’ll need more supplies if we take a small platoon with us, and preferably some more medical supplies, just in case. And... maybe some fur coats, something to insulate us from the heat. They don’t have to be fashionable. I’m sure Rarity will be busying herself with them.” she chuckled.

Something occurred to Twilight just then, “Oh... and perhaps you could help me with my magic? Rainbow got hit by a Transmogrification spell, and I’m not sure I can perform the counter at the moment...” her horn let off a tiny spark as she attempted to lift a pen from the table.

Cadance pressed her hoof to her mouth, “Oh my… that’s some advanced magic. I’ll get on that; you should just rest. I’m sure we can handle this; where is she?”

Turning to Cadance, Twilight chuckled tiredly, “Oh, probably with Fluttershy since she’s the only pony who can understand her at the moment... Starlight turned Rainbow into a bluejay.”

Cadance sighed as she stood up, “Add that to the list of things Starlight did today… to think one unicorn did all this because you slighted her.” She chuckled at the absurdity of it all, “Now let’s see what I can do for Rainbow.”

Comments

[Yoshifan30]

Twilight hung her head, unable to look her sister-in-law or brother in the eyes. How could she have allowed that mare to trick her once again? She was the princess of friendship, of magic, for pony sake. How could one mere unicorn cut her down and get away so many times when she and her friends faced far more threatening foes and won?

Come on Twilight it wasn't your fault you tried it's just Starlight just played us again that's all

[Yoshifan30]

“You’re right… I’m sorry… King Sombra.” Velvet hissed.

Hey now that's not cool 😡

[Yoshifan30]

Well done this meeting could have gone smoothly so it looks like Twilight Cadence and Shining armor hold a meeting about this whole situation here what starlight did and discuss about the damage control in the city shining armor wanted some of his soldiers to go with Twilight and her friends but one of the commander thinks this is a suicide mission to go to the mountain and basically they were just arguing with each other back and forth but Twilight what's the reassure them that this will be the choices of the ponies if they want to come or not and Cadence agrees to that but it looks like Iron Clad wanting to come with them and he's going to find a couple of ponies to join with him so again the meeting was pretty hectic but hopefully Twilight and the others can relax until tomorrow they continue their Journey