After the revival of the Crystal Empire, Fade and Gearbox decide to visit the city. Fade's unclear intentions are soon revealed.
Some time after the revival and liberation of the Crystal Empire, it becomes open to ponies from all over Equestria seeking to find out more. Two of these ponies are Fade and Gearbox, a couple of seemingly no-ponies. Fade's motives for visiting the city are unclear. When they are made clear, it's already too late.
“So, you heard the news about the Crystal Empire thing?” A light-grey stallion asked to break the silence. He wore goggles with a greenish tint and his mane was a simple dark brown. He was messing was a contraption that looked merely like a box full of cogs and screws.
His companion was a dark-grey unicorn with a jet-black mane, one that hung over this stallion’s left eye with jagged edges. He was flipping through blank white pages with half-opened green eyes as he replied, “No, Gearbox, what is a Crystal Empire thing?” His tone and expression would imply that, though he was asking, he really didn’t care about the response.
“So, like a month back, some whole city just popped out of the snowy regions, apparently it’s the home of some crystal ponies! Doesn’t that sound interesting?”
“Not really, but I’ll humor you. What is a crystal pony? Why did the city pop out? What happened next?”
Gearbox put a lid on his contraption and slid it to the side on the table. The table itself stood under the only lamp in the room. The room was large, but cramped due to dozens of shelves stacked with bins of contraptions and parts, displays of finished gadgets, and stacks of comics. What wall wasn’t covered by a shelf had various colored tubes hanging from them filled with dimly-glowing liquids and apparently rock fragments. The ceiling had criss-crosses of metal beams from which more tubes and nick-knacks could hang from. The floor was covered in paper, stacks of booklets and comics, and various art utensils such as brushes and pencils.
Gearbox answered, trying to sound like he was telling a horror story or some old legend, “A thousand years ago, the crystal ponies lived in their own empire. Apparently they’re kinda like earth ponies but can be all….crystally. Anyway, the city had disappeared after their evil King Sombra got sealed away by the princesses. Then I guess Sombra unsealed himself and brought the city back. Apparently he was back to his usual evil stuff, whatever that was. Causing fear and stuff.”
“Uh-huh. And who...or what was Sombra? A dragon? Alicorn? Another Draconequus?”
“Actually, I heard he was just a regular unicorn. But I mean, if he’s from the Crystal Empire, he must’ve been some sort of crystal unicorn, ya know?”
“Regular unicorn, eh? Yet strong enough to get the princesses’ attention.”
“Yup, and guess who showed up after that?”
“The heroes of Equestria?”
“Yup! In addition to the Captain of the Royal Guard and his wife.”
“Does this end with the powers of love and friendship blasting Sombra to kingdom come?”
“Pretty much. The Crystal Ponies all shared their energy with something called the ‘Crystal Heart’ and apparently that thing defends the whole city. When it activated, it blew Sombra to pieces.”
“Why didn’t they just use it from the get-go to get rid of him?”
“Apparently Sombra hid it…or somebody hid it. Sombra hid like an entire stairwell with his anger-fear magic. Even then, the crystal ponies all were all scared and unhappy so they couldn’t power it right away. Our favorite heroines basically threw a whole festival to make ‘em cheer up. Then I guess Princess Cadence used some love magic or something. I don’t exactly know, and the pony who told me about it didn’t know much about it either.”
“He knew enough. But what’s this about anger-fear magic?”
“Yeah, apparently it’s something different from the usual magic that all unicorns use. Sombra used it and apparently any unicorn can use it to make some pretty nasty stuff happen.”
“Well I guess that’s one more thing for you to look into.”
“Pfft, it’s hard enough just trying to make NORMAL magic, let alone friendship and love magics. Now there’s this weird dark magic? I’ve got my hooves full.”
“Maybe that’s why it’s magic and not some gadget that you can just throw some nails and screws in.”
“No way dude, I’ve almost figured it out. Magic can TOTALLY be made artificially. At the very least if I can’t remake it, I can imitate it.”
“Yeah, yeah I’ve heard it before.” The darker pony got to his feet and nudged the papers aside as he looked over to Gearbox, “So, do you want to go?”
“Go?” Gearbox said, tilting his head.
“To the Crystal Empire. It might yield some clues for you. I’d like to know more about this ‘Sombra.’ “
“Holy haystacks, you actually want to go out and DO something!?”
“Is that unusual?”
“It’s completely unheard of! Fade Black never wants to do anything ever! You’re more boring than watching paint dry! I still can’t even IMAGINE where you find the material for your books and comics! How can you make such hilarious and amazing stories when you’re as dull as a rock outside of them!?!?”
“It’s a mystery. The world may never know.” Fade said as he made for the only door in the room.
“Argh! Maybe I should try to make something that can read your mind instead of trying to make magic!” Gearbox headed for the door behind Fade.
“I’m sure you’d need magic for something like that.” Fade used his magic, creating a green glow from his horn that lifted the latch-lock. He then pushed the door open and closed his eyes more, groaning as the sun shone. When he opened his eyes, he looked around at the gravel road and then towards the city nearby.
The home that Gearbox and Fade inhabited was a simple wooden box just outside of Manehatten that the two had constructed. It was close enough to where they could walk into town easily, but far enough away for no real cement roads to extend to them.
Gearbox called out, “We should probably get some heavy coats and scarves and stuff. I hear that between the train station and the Crystal Empire is nothing but snow, snow, and more snow.”
“Alright. We’ll do some shopping and head off…” Fade looked upward towards the sun, but not directly at it. The sun was low, just above the horizon. Fade groaned as this meant that they’d have to wait before leaving. “It’s almost night. We’ll get some snow gear and head off on the earliest train tomorrow. We’ll stop by the station to check the times, understood?”
“Roger!” Gearbox raised his hoof in salute and the two stallions headed off city-ward.
Something surprising has happened for the first time in a month! Fade, the same dark, dull, dust-collecting corner stump actually wanted to GO somewhere. We nabbed some warmer clothes for we're headed to the recently-arisen Crystal Empire. I'm completely dumbfounded by what could make him want to go there. Sure, a whole city and culture just popped out of the ground, but it could be raining gold and diamonds outside and he would never so much as think about stepping outside. He did ask me if I wanted to go, and I definitely do, but there's no way he's going because I want to, as depressing as that is. I guess he's genuinely curious about it. He did ask quite a few questions about it, way more than the usual topic allows for. I guess what we do is ultimately up to him; he's the main source of income and I'm really just freeloading.
But enough about him, this new plan for departure poses some valuable chances to gather materials and maybe even find the secrets to these gems and crystals and what gives them power, or at least what makes them special. Since my last entry, I've made little progress, but not zero. Energy cycling efficiency has been increased by 7% and overall output increased by 2%. Attempts to utilize this power have yielded making a flower's petal turn slightly more orange than yellow. The experiment in question was to turn the flower blue. I'm really hoping this visit to the Crystal Empire will yield some helpful insight. I've still made no progress as to acquiring a dragon of any kind to study its digestive abilities and how it harnesses simple jewels for nutrition.
There's not much else to report. I'll make sure to keep regular reports regarding our visit to the Crystal Empire and any hints I might find. I hope I can get some samples. If it's true that everything there is made of crystals, I'm not sure I'll be able to distinguish a rock on the ground from a pony's hoof. We'll find out tomorrow.
The following morning, Gearbox and Fade took the 9 o'clock train to the Crystal Empire. Like almost all trains heading in or out of Manehatten, it was decently full, there were very few empty seats.
Gearbox sat with his head and front hooves on the table. He'd packed all that he needed for this trip except for something to do on the train ride. Fade sat across from him, his head propped on his hoof while levitating his pencil around as he drew comics. Gearbox lifted his head again, desperate to spark some conversation to make the time pass.
"Remind me again," he said, "Why are we going to the Crystal Empire?"
"We're going because you want to go." Fade replied bluntly.
"Yeah but I've wanted to go to other places before! Why didn't we go then?"
Fade said nothing and merely shrugged.
"Yeah, see!? We didn't go because YOU didn't want to go! But now we're going because there's some reason YOU want to go!"
"I suppose it's mostly curiosity. Maybe." Fade's expression had not changed, even though he'd been caught.
"I'M going for curiosity, YOU'RE going for something else! So spill it, buster!"
Fade stopped drawing, his gaze unshifting, contemplating whether he should tell Gearbox or just shrug it off again. He put his pencil down and looked up at Gearbox. "It is partially for my own curiosity." He started.
"Partially. And the rest of it?"
"For information. I have questions that need answering."
Gearbox's excitement died down to a start of serious interest and curiosity. He stayed quite so Fade would continue.
"I have reason to believe one of my ancestors came from the Crystal Empire."
"Woah, what? Really? You never told me about this!" Gearbox expressed with surprise.
"It never came up as a topic."
"So how do you know? Or should I say, what is this 'reason' for believing?"
"A diary, from a long-deceased grandmother. There are a number of mentionings of the Crystal Empire. Much of it is worn and difficult to read, due to the diary being almost a millennium in age."
"How much of it were you able to read? What's her story? Shouldn't she have been taken down with the Empire?"
"She would have been, had she been in the city when it went down. She wasn't. I could only coherently read about 30% of her diary's entries. Most of its contents, from what I could tell, were typical of a diary. The last few entries explain what happened."
"And? What happened?" Gearbox was unwittingly leaning in, expecting some kind of exciting story."
"She was an ordinary crystal mare named Emeraude. She sold crystal berries and related products. One night she had a run in with some stallion. Or a nightmare. The entry regarding the event was hardly legible. In any event, sometime later it seemed she became pregnant. The father was someone dastardly, but it is not clear who it is. Apparently the fact that she was pregnant with this stallion's child made her the subject of much criticism and harassment. He sales suffered and she could hardly support herself. She ran away, fled the Crystal Empire, heading to someplace where nopony knew her. Being out of range of the Crystal Heart, she lost her crystal-like quality and appeared as some regular pony. Apparently she was taken in and cared for, then, the entries simply stop. That's the end."
"Wow, I didn't know you had such a history in your family."
"Go back at least a thousand years and I think everypony has some sort of history in their family."
"Yeah. But still, wow, tied to the Crystal Empire huh? I wonder if you'll turn all crystal-y when we get there."
"I Highly doubt it. We've had, what, ten generations at least of meeting nothing but regular, non-crystal ponies? I doubt there's much of any crystal pony blood left."
"Who knows! There's magic everywhere! But if you do turn all sparkly, I'm taking a picture!"
"I'll destroy the camera and make you sleep outside for a week."
"I'm not taking a picture!"
"A wise decision."
The train eventually came to a stop, having reached its destination. Many ponies got off and just as many got back on. Gearbox and Fade got off the train, looked around, looked at each other, then, looked at their luggage. It was warm here. Very warm. Far too warm for the cold-weather clothes that they brought. Meaning they bought these clothes for nothing and get to carry them around all day. It was not a pleasant realization by any extent.
I know it has been some time since I last wrote to you, but I have been trying to keep you a secret from my caretaker. I have not revealed to him where I am truly from, or what I am, and I'm not certain as to if I ever shall. I feel awful for deceiving such a kind pony, but he simply cannot know. It would bring all kinds of attention, attention like that which I have so tried to escape.
It is warm here, both to my body and my heart. It already seems as though it has been so long since I was last in that shimmering city. I do miss it sometimes. It was my home, though it is a home I cannot return to. I caught news that the city had vanished, though I know not how. I have no choice but to stay here, and it is nothing to complain about. I think...maybe I love him? He is so very kind, and charming. Even in the Crystal Empire, I never met a stallion so gentle. He even declared that once I give birth, he would take care of the child as well, if needed. I know he would be a wonderful father, if it were possible. I must confront him, I must know his feelings for me. It makes me so nervous, thinking like that, but it is something I must do.
This shall be my last entry for as long as I stay here. This diary represents all the memories of the days passed in my life as a crystal pony. I am no longer that, and shall begin my life anew. I am sorry we shall part this way, but do not worry, I am confident in the future of myself and my child. Wish us luck.
"So what's the plan, chief?" Gearbox said as the two headed down the glistening streets toward the castle.
"I'm assuming you want to go look around the whole city?" Fade said in his usual unspirited tone.
"Yeah, if you don't mind."
"We'll split up then. You can have a look around and I'll head straight to the library. Make sure you book us a room for the night and meet me at the library when you're done."
"You sure you don't wanna come with?"
"I'm sure. I came here for information and it's most likely to be in the library. You can do whatever you wanted to do." Without another word or time for a reply from Gearbox, Fade headed to the library.
Gearbox headed off as well. He had picked up a map of the city from the train station and headed off. As the city was shaped somewhat like a circle, he decided go around the whole city until he wound up back where he began.
As he explored, things seemed a bit less fantastic than he was expecting. There were spas and bakeries, sweetshops and clothing stores, farms and grocery stores, fruit stands and theaters. It was all much like any other city, except everything had "crystal" in front of it. Crystal spas, crystal bakeries, crystal clothing stores, crystal etcetera. It seemed very....thoughtless? As if no creativity was put into the naming of these things. Sure it was all smooth and sparkling all the time, but that seemed to be the only trait. Even the Inn he reserved crystal rooms at was the Crystal Crystal Inn. It was NAMED the Crystal Inn, but it's also a Crystal inn, hence the double Crystal. It was just so stupid.
He collected a few crystals from a small stand for souvenirs and also research samples. He wondered why they were even souvenirs since everything was crystals, even the rocks. Or were they 'crystal rocks?' Gearbox felt too embarrassed by the question to bother asking.
He had finished his tour and headed to the library, or Crystal Library. In it, he searched through the various rows until he finally found Crystal Fade. Er, just regular Fade. He had made a small fort of stacked books in the furthest corner. Gearbox had long since stopped wondering how Fade could read books in the dark.
"Find anything useful?" Gearbox questioned, sitting on the floor.
"Not a whole lot more than what you'd already told me." Fade responded.
"I mean about your ancestor Emeraude."
"Oh. No, they don't seem to keep much in the ways of ancestry books."
"Then what're you still reading for?"
"Some of this information is still interesting."
"Like what?"
"Well, did you notice anything as you saw the crystal ponies?"
"Only that they're not very creative with naming things."
"Did you see any unicorns or pegasi?"
"Hmmm....now that you mention it...no, I didn't. Not crystal ones anyway."
"Mhm. Apparently they don't have any sort of unicorns or pegasi here. I suppose the crystal ponies are supposed to be their own unique variant. For example, earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, and crystal ponies."
"Well I guess they do have that whole sparkly business going on."
"That and they're all a little bit magical, though not to the extent of unicorns."
"Well I guess that's interesting."
"Still not getting it?"
"Getting what?"
"Sombra."
"What about him?"
"He's a unicorn. A unicorn from the crystal empire."
"Wait, that's right! Then maybe that's why he's so powerful?"
"That's my theory. The texts do state that crystal unicorns do happen, though extremely rare. From what I can tell they're typically about as strong as one of the Princesses. Though weaker."
"So weaker than an alicorn, stronger than a run-of-the-mill unicorn?"
"Yes, with Sombra being the exception."
"I wonder why."
"I imagine it's because of his hate and fear magic."
"Oh right. Well that's all cool. Find anything else?"
"Somepony called H. Trotter."
"What about him?"
"He was a crystal unicorn, older than Sombra. He seemed to be capable of great feats of magic, but left the Crystal Empire for some reason. The books say that his spells were wild and frightening to many and his presence was akin to misfortune. Maybe they kicked him out."
"Maybe. So hey, this is all interesting and everything, but it's getting late. We should head back to the room."
Fade shut his book abruptly, "Very well. But first, one more stop."
"Where at?"
"The Crystal Heart."
"Oh right! I can't believe I forgot to visit that."
"Well now's your chance."
"Right, let's go!"
The sun was beginning to set when the two ponies arrived at the spot where the Crystal Heart was spinning away. Gearbox moved a bit closer, "Ooooo, so this is it huh? I really wish I could get a sample."
"You'd probably be arrested for it," Commented Fade.
"I know I know, but it's the only thing that's a crystal and DEFINITELY magical. Aside from random amulets that are pieces of junk 80% of them time."
Fade remained silent.
"Well, I guess we're heading back now?" Gearbox asked as he headed towards the Inn, but stopped.
Fade was not moving, merely staring at the Crystal Heart.
"Hellooooo, anybody home?" Gearbox now moved towards Fade.
Fade spoke up, "I've been wondering about something."
"Hm?"
"Why did Sombra use fear and hatred as his magics?"
"Come again?"
"Think about it. They're two opposing effects. One makes you cower and avoid something while the other makes you aggressive and resist something. While both are negative, why use them if they conflict?"
"I dunno. Maybe he had a lot of anger and caused a lot of fear?"
"It seemed like a grave mistake..."
As he said this, Fade's horn began to glow.
"Fade, what are you doing...?"
"Experimenting."
"With what??"
"The different kinds of magic." Fade's eyes began to turn and glow green while a wisp of pure black haze began to emit from his eyes. The glow of his horn also turned black. A smirk appeared on his face.
"Fade, stop! What are you doing!?"
"The reason why he was defeated was because of the failure of a combination he used. If you want to take over a city you need to use fear..." Fade reared his head back.
"Fade!!"
"Fear and DESPAIR!"
From his horn, Fade launched a stream of black directly at the Crystal Heart. It consumed the light radiating off of the Crystal Heart and caused it to slow down. It then began to rotate again in reverse. A black and green haze started coming from the Crystal Heart.
"I forgot to tell you, Gearbox." Fade said as he watched the Crystal Heart.
Gearbox could only watch in shock and awe.
"I did find out a bit about my ancestry. It was in the history texts."
Gearbox turned to Fade.
"The pony who got my ancestor pregnant? His name was Sombra."
The Crystal Heart erupted with its blackest haze. It burst upward in a column as it normally would, but instead of hope and joy, it was dread and terror. It spread and fell upon the city, taking away the crystalline qualities of the crystal ponies and afflicting them with a sense of despair that shook them to the core.
