Crystal Empire Part 2: A Light in the Darkness

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By the time the Library team arrived at the Crystal Castle, the book had yielded more of its secrets. Perhaps because of the close proximity to the crystals that were discovered earlier, 5 more pages were now filled with text, each describing a new adventure of the mysterious Unicorn. As it was their only clue, several groups were chosen to head expeditions to the locations noted in the newly revealed stories to see if anything could be gleaned in relation to this book or the crystals that floated in their own, separate chamber.

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It was dark here. Very dark. There were no settlements for quite some distance from this point. The Unicorn hadn’t understood why, exactly. She had passed a large, open field that seemed to be perfectly fit for a town, at least a small one. Now, however, standing in this forest with a canopy so thick it turned this beautiful day black as pitch, she understood. There was something else in this forest. Something sinister and evil. Something wild and aggressive. She could feel it in her very bones. The forest itself wanted to eat her alive. Every shaky step she managed to take into the dense underbrush renewed her sense of terror. The Unicorn felt as though she would never see her legs again. Slowly, slowly, the remnants of daylight faded into a point in the distance behind her. She couldn’t see in front of her, not a single inch. Still, she kept going. She yanked and pulled her cart as the vines tried to tangle her wheels. The Unicorn was on course, and no force this forest could come up with would stop her. The yellow eyes watching her from the shade would be her witnesses. They would stand aside because she knew. He was here.

The story wasn't lying. The Everfree Forest was as dark and foreboding as it had ever been. Luckily, the town of Ponyville was just as lively as the forest was sinister. Still, as the train pulled into the station, the forest loomed in the distance, as if it knew why those who had just arrived had come, and it dared them to brave its depths to claim their prize.

[Time Turner]

So they were tasked with entering the dark and very mysterious Everfree Forest in order to track down an ancient crystal artifact from a legendary love story that may help to save a long-lost empire from being enslaved by a dark-magic unicorn? Even a Daring Do novel would have trouble reaching that level of fantasticness. And that all of this was happening with two of the Wonderbolts as companions? Even if not being a pegasi made them slightly less special, he still found their shows to be absolutely wonderful to watch. So much flying and stunts and twists and turns and it all just so amazing!

So to say that Time Turner was giddy with excitement would be an understatement. His trot definitely had an extra spring in each step, and for some reason he found himself barely holding back some slight giggling. Yes, he realized that this was all quite the serious business, but that still didn’t mean he wasn’t getting a slight adrenaline rush from it all. So when they group of them finally found their way to the edge of the forest, Time Turner was ready to take the lead.

”Right then, here we are! It’s going to be quite the challenge finding anything in this place, but the fate of Equestria is in our hooves! So let’s get in there and show the Everfree Forest just who is in charge here!”

After that little speech he began to head towards the forest again, but as he approached the edge of it he found his confidence slipping just a little bit. He was just a bureaucrat after all, random adventures aside. Bashfully turning his head back to the Wonderbolts, he gave them a slightly nervous smile.

”Of course, you two might be better suited for taking the lead on this…”

[Deleted]

Soarin' was a little bit nervous about this whole 'Everfree Forest' business. Not that he'd ever admit it, though! As far as anypony else knew, the daredevil goofball lieutenant of the Wonderbolts wasn't scared of nothin'! And Soarin' planned on keeping it that way. Still, the stories he'd heard from the Ponyville ponies that had made it to the Crystal Empire were a bit unnerving. Even a fellow flyer like Rainbow Dash or a gifted magician like that Twilight Sparkle unicorn seemed to get the willies from this place. Add in the whole 'looking for an ancient artifact to stop an evil king' parts and Soarin' felt particularly poorly equipped to handle living in the fantasy novel he'd just stumbled into.

But it wasn't all that bad. Soarin' had lucked out and good ol' Fleetfoot had decided to accompany him to the Everfree. If there was anypony Soarin' could rely on more than Fleet, he hadn't met them yet. And this earth pony, Time Turner as he called himself as they officially met on the train, had energy and pep for days. If Soarin' didn't know any better, he'd say Turner was looking forward to delving into the Magical Forest of Doom! On the one hand, that was a bit scary. What was this guy's deal? On the other, Soarin'd be lying if he said Turner's enthusiasm wasn't a little infectious.

So, there they were at the Woods' Edge. They'd traveled countless miles from the Crystal Empire to make it here. Now all they had to do was figure out how they were supposed to find a crystal in this place.

"Before anypony leads anything, lets come up with a plan," Soarin' said, stretching out his leadership muscle. "Rushing in isn't gonna help the Empire or ourselves out at all. My plan was that either me or Fleetfoot would cover the skies and give Time Turner and the other pegasus on the ground a bird's eye view of what's ahead in there. But to keep us from getting separated or lost, we'll switch positions on occasion with the sky pegasus and the forest one switching places. Fleet, Turner, what do you say? Either of you got any ideas?"

Soarin' was more than eager to hear what either could come up with...because to be honest, he didn't have too much faith in his own plan. He kinda just thought it up at the last minute and figured it might work...

[Deleted]

Of the three ponies, Fleetfoot was the least disturbed by the idea of wandering through the Everfree. Not because she was so much braver than the other two, she wasn't. Not because the Everfree wasn't creepy to her, it was. These trees were wild and malevolent, not at all like the delicate, graceful and meticulously cared for kind of tree she would keep in a pot in the garden.

But when you believe that you're the fastest thing on wings, there's always the knowledge that you can outrun any danger- if you really want to. Fleet would never abandon Soarin', who was In Charge whenever Spitfire wasn't around... Or even Time Turner, a civilian. Wonderbolts didn't run away in terror and leave their friends in danger.

But the reassuring knowledge that she was fast enough to outfly anything was still a comfort.

"My plan was that either me or Fleetfoot would cover the skies and give Time Turner and the other pegasus on the ground a bird's eye view of what's ahead in there. But to keep us from getting separated or lost, we'll switch positions on occasion with the sky pegasus and the forest one switching places. Fleet, Turner, what do you say? Either of you got any ideas?"

Fleetfoot glanced at the forest consideringly. "I don't know if an eye in the sky is going to work." she said, simply "As far as I can see, the canopy is practically a solid thing... it looks like night in there, even though its nearly noon out here. If you fly above that, not only will you be unable to see ahead, there's actually a good chance that you'll lose the team. And I don't much fancy shouting back and forth in there, and drawing all kinds of unwanted attention."

The Wonderbolt thought about it a moment more, then added "But having one pony slightly in advance, to kind of scout out the way...pick out a safe path, if there even is a safe path... does sound like a wise idea. If you want, Soarin'... I'll take point. If anything ambushes us, they'd go for the lead, and... well, I'd need the least head start of anypony, right?" Fleet smiled weakly.

[Deleted]

As Fleetfoot gave her analysis on Soarin' initial plan, he realized all the flaws in it. That canopy did look a bit rough. Thankfully for the group, Fleetfoot's curiously encyclopedic knowledge of plant life would be more than useful in this quest of theirs.

"Good point, Fleet. Maybe that's not the best plan of action. And you take point if you think you're up to it. I know you are, but it's all up to you," Soarin' smiled at his comrade as he gave her some encouragement. He turned back to look at Time Turner. "What about you, Turner? You got any strategies brewing? You're from around here, know anything about this place?"

Soarin' had a feeling that being informed about this place would pay off immensely...

[Time Turner]

Time Turner listened quietly as the two Wonderbolts began to discuss plans on how to approach the forest. By now he had stopped being so fidgety, reminding himself that exciting adventure or not, running into danger was not the smartest of ideas. He had a few misgivings about Soarin’s initial plan, the same one’s that Fleetfoot was quick to mention. Once you got deep into the Everfree, any hopes of being able to see through the canopy were rather shot in most places. Plus shouting all the time while in the middle of a forest filled with monsters was not a good idea either.

Eventually the attention turned back to him, since he was now apparently the expert of the group on the forest.

”Oh, well, let me think for a second…” he said, glancing back at the forest and trying to recall all he knew about it. Both from simply living near it, rumors and stories, and his occasional delving into it (but usually never very far).

”Well, Miss Fleetfoot here is right; once you get into the forest you’re probably not going to be able to fly around and see much. I mean there are some spots you could, but it’s inconsistent enough to be risky. Besides, the weather around the Everfree forest is not exactly under pony control, so if a freak storm or something happened it could be problematic for anypony who was flying.”

Well, that took care of the flying part of things. Now was there anything else about the forest that might be important…

”I also know of a few of the monsters in there. You got your manticores, although from what I’ve heard from Fluttershy they’re pretty docile. There’s also a sea serpent in the river, but again pretty friendly and apparently has a very nice moustache. Timberwolves are kind of problematic, but they’re made out of wood so not too hard to deal with as long as we stay in a group. That just leaves cockatrices, which all I can suggest is run if you see anything that looks like a chicken.”

Time Turner smiled, proud that he had so much knowledge about the forest. His eyes widened a little, however, as he remembered one very important thing.

”Oh, and whatever you do, stay as far away from any blue flowers you see. There’s this nasty little plant in there called Poison Joke that is capable of some low-level magic that makes it capable of causing suitably ironic pranks. Very nasty business that plant…”

That covered just about everything he could think of. If they at any point happened to run into Zecora that would be a wonderful thing, but he doubted that would be the case. Besides, he didn’t exactly know where she lived in the woods anyway…

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Fleetfoot listened to Time Turner's recital with growing respect and dawning admiration. For a few moments, she was speechless! The pony might have something of a bureaucratic air about him, he might not be a Wonderbolt, but dang! He sure sounded like the right stallion for this mission! "I am really glad you're coming with us!" The mare replied at last, frankly. Things weren't so bad after all. Aside from Timber Wolves and Cockatrices, even the monsters didn't sound too threatening!

With renewed confidence then, The Wonderbolt mare stepped forward to take point. The Crystal Empire couldn't afford to wait. "If I recall the legend we were given to go off of, there weren't any roads when she came through, so I don't really suppose we need to follow any now..." Fleet said, though she was still (understandably) reluctant to step off the old dirt road that was there... "Still, I suppose we'll travel faster if we stick to it as much as possible." she added.

"I got a kind of weird question for you." Fleet called back softly, as the forest closed around them. "The legend- you guys read it too, right? Well it goes on and on about how much this unicorn loved this pony... But I keep wondering- did he return her feelings? If he didn't... why did she follow him so far? And if he did... why didn't he ever look for her? You know?" It bothered the Wonderbolt, in a vague, uneasy kind of way.

[Deleted]

Although Bon Bon hadn't grown up in Ponyville, as many other residents had, it didn't take a lifetime to learn to be nervous of the Everfree. No, she figured that out within her first year. "Wild weather" was unnerving; "total darkness" was downright scary. She already didn't want anything to do with it.

...But, what really set her teeth on edge? It was the creatures. Though there was a good number of monsters known to roam the forest, and she knew for the most part how to deal with those, for every creature known there were ten that nopony had any idea about. That's why she stuck to the "safer" parts of the Everfree by the borders whenever she had to gather special ingredients—well, "safer" insofar as anywhere in the Everfree was safe, at least. But she hadn't had any major incidents yet.

It was one such trip that had brought her to the border that day. Even in the broad daylight like this, she got pins and needles in her hooves whenever she couldn't see. (Or maybe that was because her saddlebags were too tight. She made a note to loosen the strap on her way back out.)

She rummaged quietly through some brush just off of the path, gathering some leaves with her mouth and placing them in her saddlebags. Tumtum leaf extract was always a big hit around this time of year, its earthy and sharp-yet-sweet flavor being the main ingredient for a lot of Nightmare Night-themed candies. The only trouble was the bushes; for some reason, they attracted these awful little vines that tangled up like nobody's business. So she had to be careful.

Okay, I'm nearly done, she thought. All I've got left is to get some snozzberries, but... they can wait, can't they? She shook her head to get the cowardly notions out, squaring her shoulders. No! Put on your big-mare saddle, Bon Bon. Nightmare Night is coming up and I need to make sure I'm stocked. Besides, if I get a lot, I won't have to come back when the storms start getting... wait, what the hay?

Bon Bon peeked through the bush at three ponies, all standing out at the edge of the Everfree. There were three other ponies standing by the edge of the Everfree, which was weird enough on its own. But one of them had a tie and two of them were dressed in rather familiar-looking blue jumpsuits. What in the sweet-and-salty Celestia are the Wonderbolts doing here? Maybe there's some kind of weather emergency...? Gah, I should go ask!

She tried to step out of the bush to meet them, but her front hoof suddenly snagged and sent her pitching forward. She landed on her chin with an oomph and a great deal of bush-shaking.

"Uggh..." She looked down at her hooves, trying to ignore the brand new throbbing in her jaw. In her curiosity about the Wonderbolts, she hadn't paid attention to where she was standing, and she'd gotten her hoof caught in one of those vines. "Aw, horseapples," she muttered.

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The forest seemed different today. Light gusts of air emanated periodically from the trees, but whether that was the wind blowing between the massive trunks, or the collective breath of hidden creatures awaiting one that one misstep that would bring the travelers off the beaten trail and into the thick darkness which they called home was still up for debate. Looking ahead, they could see the path darken unnaturally quickly, as if the light itself refused to breach into this realm. The darkness ruled here. Red eyes occasionally blinked out at anyone or anything nearby. And just before the party truly delved into the depths of the forest...

A particular bush rattled quite nearby and quite loudly, and a muttering sound could be heard, though the fact that it was a voice, and that it spoke words, would be lost.

[Deleted]

"I'll say," Soarin' said, agreeing with his teammate. "Between your knowledge of the area, Turner, and me and Fleet's skill, we'll have the Empire saved in no time! That Sombra jerk ain't gonna know what hit him!"

Any bit of Soarin' usually unshakeable and damn near cocky levels of confidence that had been lost had quickly returned. It had just taken a little push from his partners on this journey to get the fight back into him but now he was right as rain. With little hesitation, Soarin' trotted into the woods, following Fleetfoot and Time Turner.

They weren't too far deep into the underbrush and dirt road of the forest before casual conversation started up again. Fleetfoot wanted the others' take on the story of the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Heart and how they all managed to get into this situation.

"I dunno, Fleet. Love is a weird thing that makes silly, irrational choices seem like the best possible course of action. Action that might not always work out in the end," Soarin' said, delivering a bit of hidden wisdom. "I don't truly know how the story ended, so I can't say if it worked out for her or if he loved her. All I know is that we're, right now, writing a new chapter of the Crystal Empire's story and it's up to us to decide how it ends."

Soarin' had finished his little speech and a few moments had passed before he realized something.

"Did that make sense to either of you? I kinda got caught in a train of thought there..."

He didn't have anytime to ponder his tangents, though, as he soon heard a loud rustling, rattling noise from nearbye and what sounded like someone or something mumbling something under their breath. The Wonderbolt stopped in his tracks and looked around.

"Did you guys hear that too, or is the forest already driving me mad?"

[Deleted]

Lucky Rabbit had always found Everfree Forest a little unnerving, but never truly scary. Besides, it would be the perfect spot to spark inspiration for his latest story, The Legend of Pony Hollow. He could just picture Mickabod Crane being chased through the forest by The Headless Shadowbolt. However, the deeper Lucky went into the forest, the more afraid he became.

There was something about this place that slowly started to freak him out. His eyes started to twitch as he heard the cricket chirp in a way that sounded like little voices saying his name. A raven's crow sounded like the word "beware".

"It's OK, Lucky," Lucky said to himself, "Nothing to worry about. It's not like The Headless Shadowbolt is just gonna pop into reality and take my head."

When Lucky looked straight ahead, he saw what appeared to be the shadow of a headless pegasus, which in reality was a small misshapen tree.

"THE HEADLESS SHADOWBOLT!!!," he yelled, running for dear life in a random direction, hoping it would get him home.

[Time Turner]

Why thank you Miss Fleetfoot. With Ponyville living so close to the Everfree, we get pretty good about learning what kind of things live there. Especially since they seem to get into town about every other week,” he replied, giving a slight laugh before joining her in stepping towards the Everfree.

It didn’t take long before the forest began to close on them, leaving them only with an old dirt road as guidance. Even if he was a pony whom liked the occasional walk into the forest, Time Turner wasn’t in a rush to go off the path. “Adventurer” or not, he understood walking into the wilderness of the Everfree was rather risky business. At least with two pegasi alongside him getting out would get a little easier, what with flight and all.

With not much else to talk about, the group began to talk about the legend itself. Time Turner hadn’t put that much thought into it, but Fleetfoot had a point. Based on how things were going, there was a good chance that the story was not going to end particularly well. But still, sometimes even the darkest stories ended up with a happy end.

”I think Soarin’s right; at this point in time all we can really do is keep pressing forward and hope for the best….although hopefully the story does end on a happy note. I mean, we’re basically following it right now and all.”

As they kept going, a rustling sound disturbed them out of their talk. The additional sounds of muttering didn’t really help, especially in this atmosphere.

”I heard something too, sort of like mumbling. Maybe there is someone else in the forest?”

[Deleted]

Fleetfoot was on point. That made her the leader, she reminded herself. Not like the decision making kind of leader or anything, Time Turner and Soarin, she was sure, were better qualified for that by far. But she was the go-first kind of leader. The one who'd make sure things were safe. So when Soarin and Time Turner complained of muttering and rustling, the Wonderbolt stopped, took a deep breath and examined the foliage around them closely, one plant at a time. No, no, no... aha! that one there. It just moved.

The slender pegasus unfolded her wings and extended them unconsciously- an old instinctual habit to make herself look bigger- and marched up to the bush. If there was something in there that had a taste for ponies, she told herself, she would prefer that it ate her instead of a civilian or her superior. The fact that the superior was Soarin had nothing to do with it.

So she told herself.

"Who's there?!" Fleet demanded, sharply. "If you're a pony, speak up and identify yourself. If not, well, don't hinder us or you'll regret it! We don't want to start any fights, but we sure can end a few, if it comes to that!" Fleet thought uncomfortably of the snapping jaws of timber wolves, and wondered how it might feel to be slowly turned to stone by a cockatrice... but still she faced the unknown and defied it!

[Deleted]

Uh oh, she thought, shaking her hoof a bit to try and get it free. Think they heard me... just be cool, Bon Bon! You aren't doing anything illegal! ...Right now.

It wasn't much consolation. She struggled to no avail, the vine was sticky beyond belief—and she could hear one of them coming closer. Marching, in fact. She turned and tried to get a look, but all she saw was a bunch of blue and some yellow and oh, Celestia, her heart was starting to twist around like a dreidel. All hope of not being noticed was shattered in an instant, as the Wonderbolt spat sharp words at Bon Bon's general direction.

"P-pony!" she shouted the instant the Wonderbolt finished talking. Her voice shook a bit, and she tried to settle it down—but Bon Bon wasn't a good faker. She writhed a little more and got a part of her face peeking out of the bush. The muzzle and an eye, at least. "I'm a pony! I was just in here looking for leaves and berries... a-and I fell over."

But seeing the group more clearly now just made her even more worried. What in Equestria was going on that needed a chunk of the Wonderbolts walking into the Everfree Forest? And from the sound of things they weren't just going on a little nature walk...

[Deleted]

Fleetfoot took her job as point seriously as she located and flew towards the disturbance Turner and Soarin' had heard. A bit reckless, yes, but it proved Fleet certainly had the initiative for point duty. Just as Soarin' expected.

Luckily for Fleetfoot and everyone else, frankly, the source of the commotion was just another pony. Not even a particularly malicious one, at that. In fact, she seemed to be a little clumsy, having gotten herself in a bit of a predicament.

"Hey, you okay over there?" Soarin' asked the bush pony as he trotted a little off the path and closer toward her and Fleetfoot. "Need any help?"

Now, Soarin' knew they were on a mission right now and they shouldn't be getting sidetracked. But somepony was stuck in a dangerous forest! He couldn't, in good consciousness, just leave this pony here! Who knows, maybe whoever this was might know something about the forest, too. If she was heading into the forest to get berries, she probably knew enough about this forest to be of some use as a guide. You figure she had to know how and where the berries she needed grew, so she'd have more reference to this place's topography than he or Fleetfoot did.

Best case scenario? This whole journey would go by a lot faster and smoother.. Worst case? She was some sort trap set by the forest...somehow. And that seemed very unlikely.

...Better safe than sorry, though.