The Crown of Sands

          The shadows curled and bubbled up to the ceiling as they fled. The glowing crimson horn dulled its light to a faint glimmer, and the piercing emerald eyes slid shut. The Nightmare found it impossible to keep its mind from the stinging burns all along its dark form.

How did I let a filthy griffon take me by surprise? The Nightmare brooded, flowing around a low archway before pooling back to the ceiling. And from the shadows no less... I am the shadows! It paused for a moment, picked out a particularly nasty fate, and then promised itself the next griffon to challenge it would be dealt a terrible death.

These damned chambers all look the same! How am I supposed to find- The Nightmare's silent rant was cut short by another presence in its mind, something pulling at its train of thought. The Crown Chamber has been opened... It's mine!

Those intense green eyes sprang back open, glaring through the dark as the horn flared back to life. It darted down from the ceiling, throwing open the doors before it and pouring through in a cascade. It was getting close to the Crown, it could sense it!

Finally, it closed around one final, immaculate stone door. Beyond, the Crown's presence was so intense, it was like a shot of energy straight to the Nightmare's brain. It shuddered and danced about in anticipation. At last, I can rule again! Chroma, my dear, your king is coming home! A set of intense white fangs split open, and a tongue licked the lips around it before the shadows flung open the final door.

The Nightmare took in the scene. A long marble walkway, lined with pillars supporting both it and the vaulted ceiling far above. Gems of a uniform cut, color, and clearness set into the pillars providing a steady white light. A griffon glaring out from the tall open doorway at the other end of the room. A cutlass glinted in the white light from the gems. Too easy.

There was a flash of crimson light from the darkness, and Nolan tightened his stance. Well, they found us, he noted grimly. His talons gripped the sword fiercely as his paws pressed hard on the marble floor. He was ready to pounce on the first beast to present itself.

There was the sound of stone shattering. Something moved in Nolan's periphery. Too fast, impossibly fast, for him to dodge. Lances of the glowing crystals shot at him, piercing his legs at the calf and his arms at the shoulder, pinning him to the floor. The cutlass escaped his grip, clattering over the edge. The deep, dark red of griffon blood spattered the clean white walkway.

The shadows were upon him, pressing down, crushing him to the marble. Nolan held his beak shut. He would not give it the pleasure of eliciting a scream. His ribs cracked and broke, and his spine strained under the impossible weight of the shadows pressing in around him. Nolan tasted a thick, warm coppery taste filling his mouth, and then everything went black.

The Nightmare lurched downward one final time for good measure, savoring the wet snap as the griffon went limp beneath it. One more piece of half-breed trash gone from this world, it celebrated, sweeping the body over the side of the walkway. It took a few moments before the limp form impacted on the stone floor far below, shattering an urn full of sand. Now, the Crown...

A sapphire glow, painfully bright, filled the chamber. The shadows thrashed and boiled on the floor. What's holding me!? It hurt like a sun going supernova just behind the Nightmare's eyes. It pulled them shut, shrouded them in the darkest part of its incorporeal form, and the light still burned them, still pierced through it.

“What's happening!?” The Nightmare howled. To its shock and chagrin, a matronly voice answered it as a stark white frame came into view through the beaming blue haze.

“I'm sending the Crown somewhere safe. Somewhere the likes of you will never reach it.” Celestia's voice had just a tint of pride to it. Damn her, did she really have to gloat?

“Burn in Tartarus, you sick celestial bi-” The Nightmare's tirade was cut short by a renewed torrent of pain. “Gahh!”

The light grew ever more intense, until from an intense blue it grew to a pure white. The whole of the Catacombs was lit with this impossible light for only moment before it went out. All was still and silent as the Nightmare felt the Crown's presence slipping further and further from its grasp.

~ ~ ~

The low hanging blankets on the line fluttered as the little cream-colored filly dashed through them. She stifled a laugh as she slid behind a pair of crates set against the cool stone wall. The intense desert sun glared down fiercely, and she shifted to be in the shade of the stone shop. Her curly brown mane bobbed as she peeked out from her wooden hiding place. She clapped a hoof over her mouth to keep from giggling aloud at the sight of her friend searching.

“Where are you, Maple?” The green older filly called, sing-song. She pulled aside the blankets and stuck out her tongue in concentration, peering around the little walled off yard. “You can't get out that way! There's not another door this way!”

The older filly's blonde tail swished as she exaggeratedly staggered into the courtyard, stirring up little clouds of dust on the tiles. Her clear eyes scanned the far wall as she stumbled toward the crates. A devious grin spread over her face as she heard Maple snickering.

“Got you!” The green filly shouted, vaulting over the crates and landing on Maple in a pile. They tumbled a bit before the older filly finally pinned Maple underneath her.

“No fair, Sevens! Your cutie mark makes you stronger!” Maple whined, squirming. Her golden eyes went wide as Sevens started to tickle her sides. “No! St- stop it!” She managed to get out between peals of laughter.

“My cutie mark is just my name, it doesn't do anything!” Sevens smiled before letting Maple squirm out of her grasp. Her flank had a pair of silver sevens on either side of a larger, golden one.

Sevens rolled over onto her back next to Maple. They laid there for a bit, looking up at the thin, small clouds lazily drifting through the deep blue sky. After they had caught their breaths, Maple launched into another lengthy explanation of why it was no fair that Sevens had always had her cutie mark.

“Well, think of it this way,” Sevens answered evenly, “You get to find out your special talent. I don't even know what my cutie mark means.” Maple stammered for a second, unable to come up with an eloquent response.

“Well... it still makes you too strong!” She decided triumphantly, crossing her front legs over her chest and pouting.

“I'm sure when you get your cutie mark, you'll be even stronger than me. Who knows, you might just need to start taking care of me instead!” Sevens beamed at Maple as the younger filly pondered the thought for a moment before grinning.

“Yeah, I forgot! You're getting too old! I'll have to take care of you!” Maple smiled from ear to ear, her eyes squeezed shut. Content, the duo looked back up at the scarce clouds. There are never enough clouds, Sevens thought to herself, It's too hot for them. I remember there being more... Maple almost nodded off to sleep before an older voice called from inside.

“Maple, Sevens, please come in here!” The voice was insistent and firm.

“Coming, Mommy!” Maples called, springing to her hooves and trotting through the back door beyond the drying blankets.

“Yes, Auntie!” Sevens chimed in, not far behind her.

Inside the dimly lit store, Maples' mother leaned on her front hooves against the counter. The tables lining the small storefront were cluttered with sweets and baked goods of various descriptions. The air was thick with the scent of the various wares; sweet, minty, sour, spicy, savory, all blending together in a homely smell that set the mind at ease.

“What is it, Auntie Bon Bon?” Sevens asked, a quick glance around the room not presenting any mischief the fillies may have caused.

“I'm going down to the docks. The supply caravan is due to arrive soon,” As she talked, Bon Bon stepped out from behind the counter. Her creamy coat nearly matched Maples, and her blue and pink mane was curled just like her daughter's. “I need you two to watch the shop.”

“Yes, Mommy!” Maple chirped, clambering over the counter and taking a spot behind the register.

“Good girl, Maple.” Bon Bon ruffled Maple's mane playfully before turning to Sevens. “Please take good care of things, alright Sevens?”

“Of course, Auntie Bon Bon.” Sevens crossed to a seat beside the counter and sat herself down in it. “You can count on us!”

“Thank you. I'll be back in an hour. Just make sure that anypony who takes something pays for it, alright?” Bon Bon was at the door, but she still hesitated to leave.

“Yeah, we'll make them pay!” Maple growled, reaching up to smack a hoof on the counter. Her mother chuckled at her efforts to be menacing.

“Alright, just don't be too tough on them. Love you two, I'll be back soon.” With that, Bon Bon pushed open the wooden door. The fillies watched as she passed by the big window in the storefront, headed down the dusty cobbled road.

“I'm bored,” Maple announced, hopping down from her spot at the counter. “Can I go upstairs and play with my toys?”

“Sure. Just take care of any mess you make.” Sevens let the younger filly pass before taking her spot at the register. Maple didn't ask twice, instead darting up the old wooden stairs behind them and into their living room.

“Sevens!” Maple called down. The older filly pushed herself down from the counter. “Come look!”

“What is it?” Sevens asked as she stepped off the staircase. The living room was already cluttered with building blocks, Maples' favorites. “You already made a mess.”

“Not that!” Maple was perched in the window-sill, the decorated curtain pulled aside. She thrust a hoof out, gesturing to the horizon. “That!”

Sevens looked out over the rooftops of the houses and shops of their neighborhood, until finally she saw what the younger filly meant over the dunes in the distance. A toiling, thrashing mass of energy shimmered and danced from somewhere deep in the desert, an intense blue mass.

“What is that?” Sevens asked, mouth agape.

“Pretty!” Maple chirped. Suddenly, the energy flared dramatically, and a small point of intense light shot out, leaving a trail of sparks in its wake as it arced over the sky. It darted away like a shooting star, vanishing over the horizon almost as soon as it had appeared.

“What was that?” Sevens shook her head, scanning the horizon for any more disturbances.

“Very pretty!” Maple repeated, pushing herself down from the sill. She gathered up a decent pile of blocks. “I'm gonna build it!”

“I think we should get your mommy,” Sevens decided, pulling Maple toward the stairs. Maple pulled against her, straining to reach her little pile of blocks. “She'll want to know about how pretty that was, too, don't you think?” Maple stopped struggling, instead hopping down the stairs and taking the lead with a big grin.

“Yeah! Maybe Mommy saw it, too!” The two fillies cantered out through the door, and Sevens quickly turned to switch the “Open” sign to “Closed.”

The duo darted across the street and through an alleyway between the storefronts opposite theirs before slipping past the post office and down a flight of stone steps. Finally, they crawled under a thick wooden fence and found themselves at the docks.

Sure enough, three tired-looking airships dominated the docks as workers and deckhands scrabbled about, checking the mooring ropes, refilling the ships' energy tanks, checking the balloons, testing the rotors, performing any number of menial tasks. Maple yawned. It was tiring just to watch them work.

“There!” Sevens pointed a hoof to the deck offices. Through a window, she could see her Aunt Bon Bon conversing with the port master.

The port master was a large middle-aged stallion with a badly thinning mane and a drooping stomach. He didn't like children very much, and had a habit of chasing Maple and Sevens away from the port at least once a week. Once, he had been so cross at their snooping he hadn't stopped chasing them at the gates, instead hounding them through the streets. They had gotten away, but when Bon Bon found out, the pair were grounded for a week.

Careful not to raise any suspicion, the fillies made their way to the offices door, creeping under the window-sill to avoid detection. They could faintly hear Bon Bon explaining for what sounded to be the hundredth time that the airship caravan had supplies that she was looking to purchase, and that she had the money with her in her saddlebags. The port master contemplated this for a moment before rebutting that it was strange that Bon Bon should know so much about the caravan without even talking to any of its members. Bon Bon planted a hoof into her forehead.

“I was asking you if it would be alright if I go in and speak with them?” Bon Bon prodded gingerly, trying to jog the old stallion's memory.

“If you haven't spoken with them, how do you know they'd be willing to trade?” The port master pondered this for a moment. Poor young lady must be confused.

“Because they're a trade caravan, and one that I've done business with in the past,” Bon Bon explained carefully. The port master bit his lip and furrowed his brow as he considered this. Maple giggled as Sevens copied the goofy expression, adding crossing her eyes for comedic effect. Bon Bon's ear twitched.

“How have you done business with them before?” The port master dug around one of the piles of papers on his desk, as if looking for the answer.

“We've met here at the dock before.” Bon Bon could feel the long conversation painfully drawing to a close.

“I've let you in?” The stallion seemed surprised.

“Yes, you've let me in.” Bon Bon nodded, carefully keeping her tone from assuming that of when she had to explain something to Maple.

“Ah, alright. Why didn't you just say so?” The port master crossed to the door and popped it open. Maple and Sevens pulled back as the old stallion waved a hoof through the door. “Go right ahead, miss.”

“Thank you, sir.” Bon Bon stepped carefully down from the port offices' doorway. She waited for the door to close before turning to face the two young fillies. “Why are you here?”

“Mommy, we saw magic glowing in the desert, and a lot of it! Then, a star shot out of the magic and flew away!” Maple explained breathlessly, nodding vigorously the whole time.

“Some sort of energy out in the desert. Something magical got launched, but I'm not sure where it went,” Sevens elaborated, nodding a bit less enthusiastically.

“Alright. Since you're here, would you like to help me?” Bon Bon sighed. The shop wasn't in any danger, but it still bothered her to leave it empty. Maple nodded even more vigorously, and Sevens smiled. Suddenly, a sound like a thunderclap rattled their bones.

The ground shook, and Bon Bon pushed the fillies to the ground before standing over them. It was like the desert had just for a moment turned to an ocean full of waves. The airships shuddered and shook in their moors. One slipped, and its hull scraped along the dock. The port offices' window rattled in its frame. The deckhands and shipmates gripped the ships and the mooring ropes tightly, both for their own protection and to keep the ships from jostling any more.

Beyond the desert stretching away from the docks, a pillar of absolute darkness climbed into the sky. It was darker than the pitch-black of a moonless midnight, and it toiled and writhed like something alive. Clouds of sand burst from its base, like it was escaping from below the dunes. A horrible, blood-curdling howl rent the air, carrying over the shimmering heat of the desert to chill the crowd to the bone.

Finally, it all stopped. The pillar vanished, and the howl petered away in the faint wind. Bon Bon looked down at the two fillies, eyes wide and face pale.

“Girls. Go home.” It wasn't a request; it was a demand, and the fillies hastily did as they were told.