Running away
Amber Waves peeked around the next corner before he called out to the two fillies behind him
"All clear."
Ivory Rose, the older filly, immediately started to run and cross the empty street, then hid again between the next two buildings. Ocean Waves, Amber's little sister, wasn't as fast and struggled under the weight of her saddlebag. Amber waited for her to make the cross and on Ivory Rose's signal, he dashed into the next hiding spot.
He then led the two towards the next street again where the routine repeated for the hundredth time today. It had taken the three foals ages to get through the city unnoticed but Amber Waves thought it was the smartest thing to do. His mommy would expect them to follow the train tracks, so they'd leave the city on the other side. Ivory's dad was in the Crystal Guard though, so they had to be sure to not run into any of them either.
The guards would take them right back to their parents anyways and both Amber Waves and Ivory Rose knew that was the last place they wanted to be right now. Amber looked down at his sister and noticed her panting whenever they stopped. Ocean Waves was only a year younger then him but she was very tiny for her age. She had insisted on coming along and as much as they wanted, neither Ivory Rose nor Amber Waves could deny that being three would make things a lot easier.
Ocean Waves really was a lot smarter than her brother, but Amber knew he had to look out for her. That's what big six year old colts do after all, they look out for their little sister. Daddy had told him that one lots of times.
They reached the western outskirts of the Empire when the sun was already low, but Amber felt confident they would still make it. Once they made it out of town, they wouldn't have to hide anymore and they'd be way faster. If Ocean became tired, Amber and Ivory Rose could just take her saddlebag as well and they'd be fine. He checked the empty street once more so Ocean Waves would get a chance to catch her breath again. Once the sea blue filly stopped panting, Amber Waves stepped out between the last buildings into the open, Ocean Waves following close behind him and Ivory Rose checking they were not followed.
The white filly with the icy blue mane grinned satisfied and caught up to her friend. So far, so good. Now there was only one more obstacle before they'd be out of the city.
All three foals slowed down a little when the large iron gate came into view and Ocean Waves shuffled closer to her big brother. Amber Waves could feel her shiver against his yellow coat, but he just swallowed down the lump in his throat and bravely stepped past the gate into the cemetery. Next to him, Ivory Rose did the same but the tiny blue filly hesitated
"Are you sure it's a good idea?"
Amber Waves rolled his eyes and glared at his sister
"Of course! Nopony ever comes here and it's the last place they'd be looking for us. It's perfect. We'll be long gone before they even notice we're not home."
Ocean Waves sighed defeated and followed her friends slowly. Amber tried to stay brave for her but when even Ivory Rose looked around nervously, he felt a lot less sure about it. But they were too far to back out now so he walked on anyways.
The path through the cemetery was empty as always and the three foals tried not to look too closely at all the tombstones on each side. They passed the big statue in the centre and headed straight towards the boundary of the city and the Empire, when they heard a sound from the left.
Amber exchanged a panicked glance with Ivory Rose and then pulled his sister behind one of the tombstones. The filly squeaked surprised but her brother put her hoof on her mouth and peeked around. From the north, he saw a mare walk down the path. Her hooves were silent on the short grass but Amber now realized the sound was really the mare humming a song. The cemetery was so silent, the foals could hear it clearly. Ivory gasped when the mare got closer and Amber immediately knew why. Ocean Waves now took a peek as well and quickly pressed her tiny body against her brother again.
The mare who came closer to their hiding spot had a silvery-white coat and a long yellow mane that flowed down to her shoulders. On her forehead, the fillies could see a long silver horn poking up into the air. Amber Waves had only heard rumours of the crystal unicorn but his parents and most of the adults told him to not get too close to her. The other colts and fillies at school exchanged stories every day about the scary things she could do with that horn. Even though Amber didn't really believe most of them, he shivered when the horn caught the light of the sun and gleamed very dangerously. The fillies ducked back into hiding but Amber Waves was not quick enough, so the mare's head turned towards him before his sister pulled him down as well.
All three foals shivered and clung on each other. Out of all ponies they could have run into, the crystal unicorn was by far the worst. Well, maybe except their parents. Or the guard ponies. Or their teacher. It was a bad thing anyways.
The mare had stopped her humming by now and slowly passed the tombstone, then peeked around from the other side. All the foals gave a little shriek and backed away when the scary horn got so close to them, but the mare just walked around the stone without getting any closer. She looked surprised but she smiled as she watched the foals get back on their hooves. Amber Waves forgot about all the stories for a moment and wondered what kind of smile that was. It wasn't the smile his sister had when she was about to tell his mother he'd tried to get a cookie before dinner again. It also wasn't the mean smile of the older colts when they called him a blank flank. And it definitely wasn't the evil witch smile he had seen in his fairytale books either.
It kind of reminded him of the sales pony at the market when she gave a free treat to him and his sister. But could a scary mare really have a friendly smile?
"Hey there. What are you three doing out here all by yourselves?"
Amber Waves was again surprised. That voice didn't sound the least bit scary. It was nice and not angry or mean at all. It reminded him of his mommy when she told them bedtime stories.
The fillies remained silent but they stopped shivering even though their eyes didn't leave the crystal unicorn. Amber Waves' big brother instinct kicked back in and he took a step forward to stand in front of Ocean Waves. Ivory Rose did the same. The mare didn't seem too surprised by this and to Amber's frustration not the least bit intimidated. She just sat down on her haunches when she saw they weren't running away and kept smiling that friendly smile
"I'm Crystal Note. Nice to meet you."
Ivory Rose rolled her eyes
"Well, duh! Everypony in the Empire knows that. Ow!"
The white filly rubbed her flank where she had been poked by Amber Waves. He gave her a look that said 'Better not annoy the pony with the scary horn', but Crystal Note just giggled
"I guess it's pretty obvious with that thing on my head, right?"
She smirked and patted her horn with a hoof. Ocean Waves ducked down and covered her head with her hooves. When no explosion or thunderstorm happened, the tiny filly opened her eyes again and stared at the mare, with more fascination than fear this time. The mare giggled and met her gaze with that friendly smile once more
Amber Waves noticed this and sighed
"I'm Amber Waves. This is my sister Ocean Waves and my friend Ivory Rose."
Crystal Note smiled and bowed her head a little
"Nice to meet you all."
Ocean Waves smiled back and Ivory Rose relaxed but Amber Waves was not convinced yet. Even if the mare wasn't as scary as he thought, they might still be in trouble.
"Why are you here in the cemetery? Nopony ever comes here!"
Crystal Note turned her head to meet his gaze. Her smile changed, kind of like mommy smiled at him when he helped his sister. She didn't answer right away and when she did, her voice was calm
"I usually come here when I want to be alone. When I need to think about things that happened sometime ago."
Again Amber Waves thought about this voice telling him bedtime stories, but then Crystal Note asked
"And why are you here today? I'm pretty sure I've never seen you around before."
Ivory Rose sighed defeated
"We wanted to get out of town without being seen."
Crystal Note tilted her head and blinked puzzled, so Amber Waves added
"We're running away from home."
Ocean Waves nodded and looked down at her hooves.
Crystal Note blinked again, then nodded and went back to smiling. This time, the smile made Amber Waves think of his father when he confessed about breaking a cup while playing. His father had then helped him clean up the mess so his mommy wouldn't find out.
"Ah. I see. But isn't that dangerous?"
Amber Waves nodded and held his head up high
"That's the point! You can only get an awesome cutie mark when you do something awesome, right? So you need to do dangerous stuff too."
Crystal Note glanced over the three foals again and noticed they were all still looking for their cutie marks. She gave another nod but asked
"And you're sure running away is the best way?"
Amber Waves and Ivory Rose got more annoyed and both nodded heftily
"Of course! We can't try out new stuff here, so we need to go somewhere else and find new things to do!"
"And if we keep trying new things here, our parents just won't let us anymore."
Ocean Waves' ears pressed flat against her head at that and Amber groaned
"Not this again, sis! We talked this through remember?"
The tiny filly nodded but her ears sunk deeper into her deep blue mane
"But everypony says it's so dangerous."
Ivory now blew out her breath through her nose
"We'll end up stuck at home forever if we listen to that all the time. You said you wanted to see the places from your books."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we need to be reckless."
Amber pushed back into the conversation, his patience long gone
"Guys, we've come too far to back out now. I mean we're almost there anyways."
"But what about mommy and daddy?"
Amber swallowed another lump down his throat when he heard his sister nearly crying already.
"What about them? They can't help us get our cutie marks."
Ivory Rose nodded but she turned her head away. Amber knew it was probably to hide away some tears, he knew his friend was too proud to cry when somepony could see her.
Before Amber Waves and his friends started arguing, they were interrupted by gentle laughter from Crystal Note. It was not mean like the other colts at school but instead it felt nice and kind. The sound reminded Amber of the wind chimes in his sister's room and Ocean Waves smiled and looked back at the mare, her tears already forgotten.
Only Ivory Rose puffed up her cheeks in annoyance and called out
"What's so funny!?"
Crystal Note stopped laughing, much to Ocean's dismay, and went back into that kind smile she had before
"No, it's not funny at all. I'm sorry for laughing, but you three remind me so much of some of my friends back in Ponyville. They're called the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
The three foal's eyes brightened up at the name
"Cutie Mark Crusaders?"
"Sounds awesome!"
"Did they call themselves like that because they had some super special cutie marks?"
Crystal Note giggled and nodded
"Well, they have very special cutie marks today, but when they started calling themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they were young fillies and blank flanks just like you."
Ivory Rose frowned at that expression but Amber Waves didn't feel insulted by it. There had been no menace in Crystal Note's eyes or voice when she called them 'blank flanks', so he guessed it was really just an expression and she didn't try to hurt them with her words like the others at school.
Besides, there was something far more important to find out right now
"How did they get their cutie marks?"
Crystal Note smiled and laid down on the soft grass next to the path. The foals, all eager for a story, hurried out of their hiding spot and sat down in front of the mare, still at some distance but much closer than before. Ocean Waves sat down straight before the crystal unicorn and stared at her with wide open eyes, Amber Waves and Ivory Rose took the spots left and right from her.
Crystal Note closed her eyes for a moment and then began to speak in her best bedtime story voice
"The Cutie Mark Crusaders were three little fillies called Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom was a lively earth filly with lots of energy and lots of ideas and plans all the time, Scootaloo was a brave pegasus filly who always jumped head first into any obstacle life threw at her. Sweetie Belle was a unicorn filly with a very big heart who would sometimes remind her two friends to not be too impulsive. The three of them were the last fillies of their class to get their cutie marks and felt left out. Especially when some other fillies started calling them names. When the three first met, they immediately became best friends and decided they'd help each other get their marks and wouldn't stop until they did. That's when they first called themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
Ivory Rose and Ocean Waves were already enraptured by the story and the mare who told it. They giggled and looked at each other with a smile, but Amber Waves wasn't convinced yet
"But how did they get along when they were all so different? Even from different tribes?"
Crystal Note gave an understanding smile
"It seems weird to us, since we've only been among other crystal ponies our whole lives. Even during the Equestrian Games when ponies from all over visited the Empire, it couldn't convince most of us that Equestria has changed a lot during the last thousand years."
The foals looked at each other, all of them far too young to really remember the Equestria Games in the Crystal Empire. Amber Waves tried to remember seeing any other pony but all he could think of was Prince Shining Armour and Princess Cadence and the new Princess Flurry Heart. Everyone else he knew was a crystal pony.
He didn't get to finish his train of thoughts when Crystal Note continued
"I've been to a few places all over Equestria and while the tribes still have their own ways in some things, there is barely any separation between them anymore, expect the obvious ones of course. In Ponyville, all three tribes live and work together side by side in harmony. Even Princess Twilight Sparkle as an alicorn or a dragon like Spike the Brave and Glorious won't feel left out there, even though they are the only ones of their kind living in Ponyville."
Ocean Waves asked with a soft whisper
"Have you ever lived in Ponyville?"
Crystal Note smiled more brightly and nodded
"I did, it was the first place I stayed when we all came back and even when I started travelling I always ended up staying in Ponyville again. I've made lots of friends there and I visit them often. I guess you could say Ponyville is my second home."
Ivory Rose tilted her head and Amber Wave knew she was probably going to say something stupid next. Though he didn't really expect the next words at all
"So they are okay with you being around? Even though you're scary and weird?"
Ocean and Amber flinched but Crystal Note just blinked once and then fell back into her wind chime laughter from before
"I guess I am a little weird, hm? Being the only one around with a horn. But scary? Me?"
She laughed again and shook her head a little. Ivory Rose pouted in annoyance
"My dad is like a general at the guard and he says he has to send a squad after you every day in case you planned something!"
Crystal Note blinked at that and looked closely at the white filly for a while, which made Ivory Rose very nervous suddenly. But the mare just nodded and let out a small sigh
"Your father was a soldier even before Princess Cadence came?"
Ivory Rose nodded and Amber Waves noticed his sister leaning closer to him again to hide a shudder. The adults barely ever talked about the time before Princess Cadence had returned the crystal heart.
Crystal Note nodded again with a sad smile this time
"I understand. In that case, I guess I'm scary. But tell me, are you afraid of me?"
Ivory Rose blinked and tilted her head as all three foals thought about that. Ocean Waves was the first one to shake her head, Ivory Rose just a moment after. Amber Waves took a little longer, but with all the smiling and the gentle voice, he found it hard to be afraid of the mare even if he was still wary about that horn
Crystal Note smiled brightly again and Ocean Waves giggled and pointed at the yellow mane with her tiny hoof
"You're sparkling!"
The other two giggled as well and Crystal Note blushed a little before she joined in.
Crystal Note looked up at the sky and frowned
"Oh my, it's already later than I thought. I'm afraid it will get dark soon."
Amber Waves jumped on his hooves and groaned as he noticed the sun already began to set
"Guys, we need to get going!"
Ocean Waves pouted but stood up as well
"But we barely heard anything about the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
Ivory Rose shook her head
"If we wait longer, the adults will come looking for us."
She turned her head to Crystal Note
"Um, you're not going to tell them, right?"
The crystal unicorn looked each of them in the eyes
"If you're absolutely sure that's what you want to do, I won't tell anypony I've seen you today."
Amber Waves and Ivory Rose nodded quickly, Ocean Waves hesitated and looked away before she did as well
Crystal Note sighed and nodded
"Okay. I wish you all the best of luck then. I don't think anypony will follow you for tonight at least."
She looked up at the sky again and shook her head
"The fall storms are approaching fast and most likely we'll even get snow tonight. I hope you brought some warm clothes and blankets."
Amber Waves and Ivory Rose looked at each other and knew neither of them had such things in their saddlebags
"It's only fall. It's not that cold yet. Definitely not cold enough for snow."
Crystal Note gave a sad smile
"Not in the city. But once you exit the barrier of the crystal heart, the weather will be a lot harsher. The winds in fall are strong and icy cold. If you don't have blankets, you'll probably need a fire going for the night."
The foals looked at each other again and Ocean Waves mumbled
"Do you know how to make fire, big brother?"
Amber Waves shook his head and his ears flopped down. He never even thought about how the weather outside might be.
Ivory Rose turned back to Crystal Note
"Isn't there any way to get through without fire or blankets?"
Crystal Note thought for a moment, then frowned
"In the mountains south of the empire, you can find some caves. It'll still be very cold, but at least you'd be out of the wind and snow for the night."
Amber Waves nodded
"Then it's decided. We had for the caves tonight and the next city tomorrow then."
Ivory Rose and Ocean Waves didn't look too convinced but Crystal Note stared at him with a sad face he didn't like. It reminded him of his teacher when he tried really hard but didn't get any answer right on a test
"The next settlement lies 6 hours south from here, by train. You'll need days to get there walking and the weather will only get worse. Even the caves are a 20 mile walk from here."
Ocean Waves suddenly sobbed and slumped on the ground
"20 miles? But... that's so far."
The tiny filly fought hard to hold back tears, Amber Waves could tell she was already tired from running all the way through town. Ivory Rose turned to him and gave him a pleading look and her ears lay flat on her head as well
"Maybe..."
Amber Waves shook his head and frowned
"No! We can't give up now. We didn't even make it out of the city. We can't just go back with our tails between our legs."
He looked at Crystal Note who still looked at him in that sad way he didn't like
"The Cutie Mark Crusaders never gave up, right?"
The mare shook her head and replied softly
"Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders had to back away from a challenge sometimes, Amber Waves. Becoming who you really are doesn't mean you have to achieve everything you can think of on the first try. Sometimes admitting defeat takes more strength and courage than going down a foolish path to the bitter end."
Ocean Waves scrambled back on her hooves and stood directly in front of her brother. The tiny filly looked up at him with tired and watery eyes. Ivory Rose took a step towards Crystal Note. Amber Waves looked at her sister and felt that lump in his throat again.
None of the ponies said anything for a while. Then Amber Waves took a deep breath and mumbled in a tiny voice
"Maybe we need to prepare better first before we really go. Today was a good test run."
Ocean Waves managed a smile and nodded and Ivory Rose let out the breath she'd been holding. Amber Wave looked up and noticed Crystal Note smiling proudly at him
"That sounds like something a Cutie Mark Crusader would do to me."
Amber Waves knew she was trying to cheer him up, but it worked and he could smile back to his sister too.
Crystal Note stood up and began to slowly walk down the path to the iron gate and back into town. Ocean Waves hurried to her left side and Ivory Rose took her right. Amber Waves followed behind and felt more nervous and worried than he had all day long.
Crystal Note walked in slow and steady steps but the tiny filly next to her soon struggled to keep up. Ivory Rose on her other side didn't look much better than Ocean Waves. Amber Waves didn't notice the mare had stopped until he bumped into her. He walked around her to ask what's wrong when the silvery-white mare sat down flat on the ground with her legs tucked under her.
She looked at the two fillies next to her and the young colt now in front of her. Ivory Rose was the first to understand and carefully climbed onto Crystal Note's back. Ocean Waves tried to do the same but couldn't quite make it with her tiny hooves. Before her brother could help her, Amber Waves noticed Crystal Note's horn started to glow with turquoise light. He backed away a little and then he saw the same glow under Ocean's hooves. The tiny filly's hooves seemed to finally get hold with the glow and she climbed up. As soon as she did, the glow around the horn and her hooves vanished.
Ocean Waves curled up in a comfy position at the base of Crystal Note's neck and Ivory Rose found a spot further down her back. Crystal Note looked at Amber Waves but the colt just shook his head and turned around. He was six years old now, he could walk by himself and didn't want to be carried.
Crystal Note giggled a little and very slowly stood up, giving the fillies on her back the chance to steady themselves as she moved. She walked on with her slow pace but thanks to her longer legs was able to quickly catch up with Amber Waves.
They walked quietly for a while and Amber Waves saw his sister's eyes already drooping down from the rocking motion of Crystal Note's slow walk. Ivory Rose seemed to doze off as well but then the white filly asked
"You never told us how the Cutie Mark Crusaders got their cutie marks."
Crystal Note giggled and smiled again
"I wasn't in Ponyville that day but they told me later. They had tried many, many things to get their cutie marks. It never worked out but they ended up helping a lot of ponies young and old along the way. One day, they even helped the filly who had been very mean to all of them from the beginning. They are really good friends now these days."
Amber Waves thought of the older colts at school and shook his head
"So they got their cutie marks for being nice to a mean filly."
Crystal Note softly shook her head to not startle the fillies on her back
"No. They got their cutie marks when they decided helping others made them more happy than just trying out things. They promised each other to always help those around them if they could, cutie mark or not. At that moment, all three of them got their cutie marks at the same time."
Ivory Rose and Amber Waves gasped and looked at each other excited
"Maybe we'll get our cutie marks at the same time too!"
Crystal Note giggled softly and turned her head to smile at the filly
"You can never know but it's not impossible."
The three foals went silent again and Ocean Waves slowly drifted off, her head leaned against Crystal Note's neck. The mare smiled and started to hum softly, the song matching her slow and steady steps. Ivory Rose smiled and drifted away in the song as her eyes slowly closed down as well. Amber Waves barely even listened. While talking about the Cutie Mark Crusaders, he didn't notice they already left the cemetery and now walked towards the first buildings of the city again. He grew more and more worried with each step and Crystal Note noticed from the look on his face.
The mare stopped humming and asked in a very soft voice to not wake the fillies
"Amber Waves? Are you really running away from home because of your cutie mark?"
The yellow colt shook is head and looked down at the ground. The mare didn't pry and further and walked silently but she made sure she stayed close to the colt all times.
After they passed the first couple of houses, Amber Waves sniffled and whispered
"I'm afraid mommy won't have me back anymore."
Crystal Note said nothing but she leaned her head down so her eyes were closer to Amber Waves. He looked up and blinked away some wetness from his eyes.
"We had a fight last night and she yelled at me. I yelled back and I said some mean things."
He sniffled again and whispered
"I said she wouldn't want me to get my cutie mark because she liked Ocean Waves better anyways and that she wanted her to get her mark first so they could all laugh at me."
Amber Waves let his head hang down low and flopped to his knees. Crystal Note couldn't hug the young colt with two fillies on her back, but she gently put her hoof on his head and leaned down for a soft nuzzle.
Amber Waves looked up and this time couldn't stop some tears from spilling out
"I'm scared of going back home. I'm scared mommy and dad will yell at me even more."
Amber waves buried his face against Crystal Note's foreleg and the mare simply rubbed her hoof over the back of his head. The colt sniffled some more and Crystal Note asked in a very soft tone
"You were scared of me at first too, right?"
Amber Waves nodded but didn't pull away, neither did Crystal Note. She just whispered
"But then you talked to me and you found out there was nothing to be scared about. You were very brave and in the end it paid off."
Crystal Note gently put her hoof under Amber Waves' chin and directed him to look up at her eyes
"Do you think you can be brave again? For your mommy and yourself?"
Amber Waves looked up at the warm eyes and whispered
"For mommy?"
Crystal Note nodded softly
"I'm sure she's just as scared as you. She's worried about you and your sister. I'm sure the first thing she'll do when she sees you is hug you and tell you how much she loves you."
Amber Waves had listened closely and now whispered hopefully
"R-r-really?"
Crystal Note just smiled and nodded. Then she winked
"I'd bet my horn on it."
The mare and the colt giggled and Amber Waves rubbed away the tears from his eyes. They walked back towards the centre of the city when the sun finally set down. Amber Waves got a little closer to Crystal Note who just kept walking slowly as the moon rose up and its soft light illuminated their path.
By now, Amber Waves was feeling very tired himself from the long day, but also now that a heavy weight had been lifted from him. The colt almost nodded off while walking a few times before snapping back awake.
Crystal Note watched this carefully and then smiled. In her soft voice, she started to sing quietly to not wake the fillies on her back
You've been searching for your cutie mark for a while now
Wondering just how you fit in
So many things you tried before
But just keep on trying more
'Cause the Cutie Mark Crusaders don't give in
You'll make your mark
one way or another
you'll make your mark
And then you will discover
The ultimate reward
Of your cutie mark
Amber Waves smiled as he listened but when the song ended, his eyes finally fell shut and he slumped forward. Before he touched the ground though, his body was covered in a turquoise glow and Crystal Note gently levitated the young colt in her magic. She giggled silently when he curled up in her magic glow and continued her way into the city with the three foals.
Opal Waves nervously walked up and down in front of the steps leading up to the castle. Her husband sat at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes fixed on the crystal heart in some distance, but he had the same worried expression on his face.
Next to him stood their neighbours, Ivory Lance still in his guard uniform with a stoic expression and his wife's face messy from crying a lot. They'd both noticed their children not returning for lunch but didn't get too concerned at first. This happened when the three of them lost themselves in playing. Their worry grew when none of them returned for afternoon tea and cookies and turned into panic when Opal Waves noticed their saddlebags were missing.
They'd run to the market place and asked around with no success. A trip to the school later, the teacher told them the three foals had missed their classes today. At that point, Ruby Rose had broken into tears and Opal Waves had taken her to the guards asking for help. Her husband had helped calm her down and soon teams spread around to look for the missing foals.
Now it was four hours later and still no trace of them. The guards had searched all the main streets and plazas and Flash Sentry, the pegasus guard, had even flown a few laps over the city but found nothing. Opal Waves turned around again but this time her husband stood in her way
"Opal. You need to calm down."
She frowned and just stepped to the side and went back to pacing up and down
"How could I calm down, Flint? Nopony has seen them for hours. What if they sneaked into a train and are halfway to Canterlot already? What if they are hiding somewhere and are to scared to come out?"
Her voice broke into a sob
"What if they are out there in the storm? How could I be calm after all that happened?"
Nopony could give her an answer so they all fell silent again except for the sound of Opal Waves' hooves on the street.
One of the palace guards climbed down the stairs and approached them. Ivory Lance gave a salute but the guard captain just waved off
"You're off duty, Ivory Lance. You should go and get some rest."
"I won't be leaving without my daughter, Sir."
The guard captain sighed and nodded, by now the other three ponies stood around him as well
"I have no news for you unfortunately. Night patrols are informed and will keep their eyes open. That's all we can do for now. I'm sorry."
Ruby Rose started crying again and Opal Waves hugged her gently. Both stallions looked at each other and then back at the guard captain
"Are you sure there's nothing we can do tonight?"
The captain shook his head and began climbing up the stairs again
"You should go home and try to get some rest. There's still the chance they'll come home all by themselves."
Ruby Rose called out after the guard
"Why isn't the Princess doing anything?"
The guard stopped midway up the stairs
"Madam, Princess Cadence has to lead the entire Empire. I'm sorry, but she can't drop everything to look for three foals who went missing for a couple of hours."
Ruby Rose and Opal Waves glared up at the guard captain but then Ivory Lance pointed behind them with his hoof
"Maybe she won't have to. Look!"
The crystal ponies turned around and Opal Waves saw a strange bluish light come closer. She took a few steps towards it and recognized the mare who was the source of the light. The unicorn who was also a crystal pony slowly walked down a street and her horn glowed with magic.
Opal Waves then noticed something floating next to her in the turquoise magic. She shrieked when she recognized her son and galloped towards the mare
"Amber! Amber! Oh heavens, Amber!"
She heard the others behind her but she only had eyes for her son who was surrounded by magic glowing with his eyes closed. She reached the crystal unicorn within a few moments and gasped as Amber floated towards her. She reached out with her hooves and wrapped them around the colt when he was gently lowered into her embrace. As soon as she had him safe in her hooves, the glow around him vanished.
She cuddled him as close as she could and pressed her cheek against him, then she noticed his hooves stirring a little and his eyes opened. He mumbled in a sleepy voice
"Mommy?"
Opal Waves began to cry in relief and nuzzled him all over. She held him close, sobbing when he pressed back against her and buried his muzzle against her neck
"Amber, my baby, my heart, I was so worried! I'm so sorry I yelled at you Amber. Please don't ever run away again!"
She whispered into his ear as her voice broke from emotion
"I love you so much, Amber."
She cried more when his hooves clung around her neck and held him close.
She saw something else float towards her and as she looked up, her angel daughter was floating into the hooves of her husband. He nuzzled her softly but the filly just curled up against him and smiled in her sleep, so he remained silent and just rocked his daughter gently. Opal Waves looked up at the mare again to see the last missing filly on her back as well. The horn glowed up again and a sleeping Ivory Rose was lifted towards Ruby Rose who quickly plucked her out of the air as soon as she was close enough. The filly was snuggled between her parents and sleepily peeked one eye open. As soon as she noticed her mommy, she smiled and went back to sleep.
Slowly the tears stopped running down Opal Waves' cheeks and she saw her son had fallen asleep again. She wanted to tell him so much more and her daughter as well, but they were both safe and well and home again, they'd have time for that later.
She smiled and watched her foals sleep for a moment longer, then looked at the crystal unicorn. At Crystal Note, she remembered her name. Next to her, Ivory Lance gave the mare a wary glance before he turned around to leave. Ruby Rose at least gave her a thankful smile before she followed after her husband with their daughter still snuggled in her hoof.
Crystal Note didn't seem to mind, she just sat on her haunches with her forehooves flat on the ground and watched the families with a smile. Opal Waves noticed she hadn't gotten any closer though or even spoke a word. Her smile had wavered a little when Ivory Lance met her gaze.
Crystal Note turned her head to look at them and her smile grew wider at Opal Waves' grateful expression and her husband's sincere thanking. She bowed her head and got up to turn around and leave, but Opal Waves stopped her
"Wait! Please, Miss Crystal Note."
The mare stopped in her tracks and turned her head back again. Opal Waves, with Amber still in her hoof, walked up to her and pulled the mare into a hug
"Thank you so much for bringing my children home safely!"
Crystal Note blinked surprised but then returned the hug shyly. Her husband stood next to her
"If there's anything we can do to thank you..."
Crystal Note quickly shook her head and smiled. When she finally said a word, Opal Waves was surprised by the softness of the voice, just like her son a couple of hours earlier
"You don't have to do anything for me. Just keep loving your children as much as you can. Amber and Ocean are wonderful."
With that, she turned around and headed back the way she had come from. Opal Waves and her husband exchanged a look and a nod
"Would you like to visit us for dinner tomorrow?"
Crystal Note froze in her tracks again and blinked unsurely
"Um. Thank you for the offer, but I don't want to disturb your family time."
Opal Waves gave her a winning smile
"I'm sure Amber and Ocean would be thrilled to see you again. Please join us tomorrow?"
Crystal Note blushed deeply
"Really? You're sure you want me around?"
Both ponies nodded in unison and Crystal Note's smile and blush glowed more
"I... I don't know what to say. Thank you. I'd love to come."
The parents returned her smile and they agreed to meet at the market the next day, then left for their homes.