No Place Like Home

by Overthinker

Rating: everyone
Tags: Original Character, Adventure, Shining Armor, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance
Length: 4993

1000 years ago, refugees fled the Crystal Empire before it vanished. Now, their descendants return to find a living, breathing city.

One thousand years ago, King Sombra ripped the Crystal Empire from the world, leaving the crystal ponies a nation without a home.

One year ago, the Empire returned and Sombra was defeated, thanks to the valiant efforts of Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Spike the Dragon.

Today, a handful of the Crystal Empire's lost children finally find their way home

Published 2013-12-17 04:50:04 UTC
Last updated 2013-12-20 23:22:17 UTC

Chaper 1: Diaspora

As the sun set over the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor walked the castle grounds, ensuring all doors were locked that were supposed to be, making sure every guard was at their posts, and his favorite part of the job, keeping an eye out for any suspicious characters or changes to the environment. In other words, he was performing a routine security inspection. As the co-ruler of the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor now had ponies to do that for him, but as a long-time Captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard (a title he was not entirely sure he still held), old habits died hard. This was a different castle from the one in Canterlot, but the intent was the same: Ensure the safety of the princess.

In any case, those feelings partly contributed to his nightly rounds, a job Shining Armor undertook with Winter Vigil, the Captain of the Crystal Guard. During tonight’s survey of the castle grounds, however, Shining found his fellow guard to be unusually silent, staring off into space and doing little more than nodding in reply to Shining’s attempts at conversation.

“Hey Vigil… You okay?” Shining looked back over his shoulder as they walked down one of the more remote hallways of the castle, where they could speak in relative privacy. Vigil blinked and regained his focus, turning to Shining Armor.

“Yes sir,” Vigil replied. “I’m quite alright.”

“Well… You’ve been spending an awful lot of time staring out at nothing,” Shining said, with more than a bit of concerned skepticism. “You’ve got something on your mind. What is it?”

A moment passed as Vigil considered his words. “It’s about this Saturday, sir.”

Shining Armor smiled. “Worried about the anniversary festival?”

That day marked the passage of a full year since Sombra’s final defeat, thanks to the Crystal Heart and the efforts of Shining Armor’s friends and family. While Shining had clearly done something important after the true Crystal Heart was discovered, he preferred to downplay his role in those events. The adrenaline rush obliterated any memory he had of contributing to the victory, and secondhand accounts of his heroic actions seemed extremely unlikely (though alarmingly consistent.)

Vigil shook his head. “Not quite. We’ll have our hooves full keeping everything in order, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. Especially with Flash and the rest of the Equestrian detachment. It’s just that… Well, it’s my daughter’s birthday...”

“A daughter? I didn’t know you had a little filly.” Shining smiled. “A couple of Twiley’s friends have little sisters of their own. Maybe they could all play together.”

It took a couple seconds for Shining Armor to realize that his steps were the only sound echoing in the hall. “Vigil?” He turned around. Vigil had stopped walking. His face was a perfect stone wall betraying no emotion, but his crystal pony nature betrayed him. Vigil’s sparkling ice blue coat was now dulled, all the shine having faded in an instant, along with whatever joy he held.

A few moments passed before Vigil shook off the feeling, and a little bit of the shine returned to his coat. “I wish she could play with them, but I’m afraid that my wife and daughter left the Crystal Empire with the other refugees when Sombra started taking over.”

Shining Armor paused. “I’m sorry to hear that. I can’t imagine how much you miss them.” Vigil nodded. “Sombra’s gone, so it’s safe now. We can start looking for the refugees. I’m sure they’ll be glad to see you again too.” As soon as the words left Shining Armor’s mouth, the shine left Vigl’s coat once again, and he realized his mistake.

“With all due respect, Captain… And I mean that with the utmost sincerity… I’m afraid that’s not possible. The Crystal Empire, and everyone in it, vanished. For a thousand years. My wife, my daughter, and everyone else who was outside the Empire when Sombra laid down his curse… They’re... gone, Shining. My family is gone.”

Shining Armor felt his stomach drop as he fully comprehended Winter Vigil’s implication. “I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry, Vigil.”

Vigil shook his head. “That’s all you need to say, sir.” He paused, refocusing himself, and some of the shine returned to his coat. “I’m not so bad off. I’ve had a year to cope. Tomorrow just... reminded me. That’s all.”

“If you need the day off, you’re welcome to take it,” Shining Armor offered. “Just let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”

“I’ll consider that day off,” Vigil replied, weighing the idea in his head. “But I was hoping you could answer a question that’s been troubling me for the past year.”

“What’s that?”

“When the refugees were evacuated, we split them into two groups,” Vigil explained. “That way, if Sombra tried to pursue, at least one would escape. We went one south to Equestria…” Vigil swallowed, almost afraid to ask. “Did they make it?”

“I… I don’t know,” Shining Armor admitted. “Until I came to the Empire, I’d never seen a crystal pony. I hadn’t even heard of you until Celestia sent me up here, either.”

“I see,” Vigil replied simply. There was no grief or outburst of sorrow in his voice. Just quiet acceptance of a possibility accepted a long time ago.

“Hey, now. I didn’t say they didn’t make it. I just don’t know,” Shining rushed to explain. “Equestria’s a big place. I’ve never seen a diamond dog, but I hear there are loads of thriving packs, and until three years ago, I’d never even heard of bat-winged ponies. Just because I haven’t heard of them doesn’t mean there aren’t whole towns full of them.” Shining gave his best reassuring grin. It worked.

“I guess so.” Vigil gave a sheepish grin back. “What about the northern refugees?”

Shining Armor blinked. “North?”

“North. We sent the refugee groups in opposite directions, so Sombra would have to go in opposite directions if he wanted to chase them.”

Shining Armor shook his head. “No, I meant the... Frozen North?”

“It’s no more frozen than the immediate south of the Empire,” Vigil explained. “If you go south far enough, you enter Equestria. If you go north far enough, you enter…”

“The Tribelands,” Shining Armor finished with a frown.

Vigil blinked. “Yes. I assume your relations haven’t… improved in the last thousand years?”

Shining Armor shook his head. “They don’t talk to Equestria, and Equestria doesn’t talk to them. We stay out of each others’ manes, and everything’ll be just fine.”

“So… I can assume you know nothing of what happened to the northern refugees,” Vigil responded quietly.

“Not really,” Shining admitted. “But I think this is something that concerns the entire Crystal Empire. I’ll bring the idea up to Cadance, but I think I’ve got a plan.”

“A plan, Captain?”

“Tomorrow, at the anniversary celebration, I’d like to make it official. Let’s start looking for those crystal ponies.”

Darkness. All that existed was darkness. An intelligence floated in the void. It was warm here, and so the mind found the darkness pleasant. It floated for an eternity in the darkness, a sensation it had enjoyed forever, and it expected to enjoy it forever in bliss.

“Seven.”

A sound, muffled and distant, rang out and rippled through the darkness. The thought-being barely noticed. It did not distress the intelligence, but the darkness began to fray at its infinitely-distant edges. Another eternity passed in warmth and contentment.

“Seven.”

The sound, though only slightly louder this time, tore through the darkness like a hurricane, and the intelligence let out a small groan. No, not just an intelligence any more. It was a pony. A mare. She attempted to retreat back to the pleasant darkness.

“Hiding under that blanket isn’t going to make it any less morning. It’s time to get up.”

The void was blasted completely away. The primal darkness was reduced to the inside of her eyelids. But at least she was still warm. “Just a little longer,” she muttered reflexively, not truly understanding her words.

“That’s right. Just a little longer until we’re there. Now come on, Seven.” She felt some of the warmth lift away, letting in horrible cold that seeped into her back hooves. “The blanket’s going up. In T-minus three…”

“Muuuh…” she vocalized.

“Two…”

She wobbled feebly in protest.

“One…”

No no no no no!

“We have liftoff!”

The warmth disintegrated completely. Cold air rushed in to fill the void, and everything good about the world was obliterated in an instant. Seven (for the pony had remembered that was what she was called) curled into a ball and blearily opened her eyes, only to almost instantly regret it. There was nothing but brilliant sunlight reflecting off pure white snow and blasting directly into her retinas.

“Oh come on, Pearl!” Seven clamped her eyes nearly shut, allowing just a bit of light through until they could adjust.

That earned Seven a soft giggle from the other pony. “I’m Garnet, not Pearl,” the other pony gently corrected her. Seven turned her head in the direction of the voice and and opened her eyes just a bit wider. Deep cherry-red coat. Cutesy wavy lavender mane. Teacup cutie mark. It was Garnet Glow, alright. Even more glowing today with all the light blasting straight through her crystal coat, lighting her up like a miniature sun to Seven’s bleary eyes.

Seven clamped her eyes shut again as she shook off the last vestiges of sleep and pulled herself up. When she heard a crunching of snow slowly approach her, she slowly opened her eyes again. Garnet was approaching her with a pair of goggles in her mouth. Seven smiled and closed her eyes. She felt the goggles press against her face and the cloth straps being adjusted behind her head before she opened them again. The world was still bright, but at least she could open her eyes fully without cringing. “Thanks, Garnet. Sorry about the mix-up. It just seemed like kind of a Pearl thing to do.”

If the identity confusion offended Garnet, she was doing a good job of hiding it. “Oh, it’s no problem. You just woke up, after all,” she said with a cheery grin plastered just underneath her own snow goggles. “Let’s get packed. We need to catch up with Amethyst and Pearl.”

“Right,” Seven moved to do just that, packing away her bedroll. “Where are they, anyway?”

“They’re just a bit ahead”, Pearl explained, pointing a hoof south to the general direction of Freedom Ridge. “Pearl figured that while you were still sleeping, she might as well use the time to get a head start on finding some more food.”

Seven raised an eyebrow at that. “We packed plenty of food. How much did you eat?”

“Um… A lot,” Garnet admitted sheepishly. “But there’s at least two weeks of food left, and the pilgrimage is half done!”

“Nearly half done,” Seven correct her, waving a blue foreleg at the ridge. “And we’re going to be camping out for a while once we get there.”

“Aheh… Sorry ‘bout that.”

Seven shrugged. “Well, what’s done is done. We packed extra anyway. If every tomato were terrific, we wouldn’t have ketchup,” she said as she finished packing up the last of her gear into her hefty saddlebags. “”Let’s go catch up!”

The pair trotted through the snow at a brisk pace toward a pair of small glimmering lights in the distance: One lavender, and one iridescent.

“You’re late,” Winter Pearl greeted her companions as they finally arrived. The sparkling white crystal pony did her best to dramatically toss a carefully styled red forelock in annoyance, but her heart really wasn’t into it. Today was too important to care about a petty little thing like that. Much, anyway.

Garnet looked away in slight embarrassment, while her deep blue companion just gave the best roguish grin she could muster. “It’s an important day. We’ve gotta be fully rested,” Seven explained.

A tall lavender mare next to Pearl just looked Seven in the eye and raised an eyebrow.

“Come on, Amethyst. I just overslept a little.”

Amethyst frowned.

“Okay, a lot.”

Amethyst nodded.

“Yeah… Sorry about that. But the important thing is that I’m awake now, so we can finish the pilgrimage, right?”

Amethyst smiled softly and nodded, and Seven’s shoulders relaxed. Amethyst turned and continued walking up the ridge. Everyone resumed their hike.

“Hard to believe we’re nearly there,” Garnet spoke quietly.

“Well, believe it,” Pearl smirked. “Just because it’s legendary doesn’t mean it wasn’t real.”

Seven looked back. “No one’s saying the Empire never existed. Quit teasing her.”

Pearl giggled at that as Garnet’s face flushed as best it could against her dark red skin. “But it’s so fun,” Pearl grinned.

Amethyst looked back and spoke in a husky but rarely-heard voice. “This is a solemn place.”

The others quieted down, and Amethyst’s expression softened.. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry ‘bout that,” Pearl apologized. “There’s just a lot to take in, you know?” Amethyst nodded in agreement, looking ahead with anticipation in her eyes.

“It’s just so hard to imagine,” Garnet said. “An entire country of crystal ponies, you know?”

“The Enclave’s technically a country,” Pearl corrected her. Amethyst let out an exasperated sigh, but before Pearl could continue, Seven piped in.

“The Crystal Enclave is a country, but it isn’t our country,” Seven interjected. “It’s just land we’re renting out. The Empire… That was our home.”

The four continued walking in silent contemplation as the top of the ridge grew closer. “Your aunt went on the pilgrimage too, right Seven?” Pearl looked at Seven with curiosity. “What’s left of the homeland? What should we be looking out for?”

Seven thought back to her aunt’s stories. “A tremendous flat plain, just covered in snow, stretching for miles and miles. At the top of the ridge, you can see the outlines of the old roads making the six-point snowflake.”

Garnet’s eyes widened. “And all that used to be ours?”

Amethyst peered back and nodded with a smile. “Yep.”

“She said the roads were barely visible, but you could still see the central hub where the Crystal Castle used to be. If you start there and look a little to the east, then…” Seven stopped as she reached the peak. “What in…” Seven stopped dead in her tracks.

Amethyst picked up her pace, trotting up to the top. She let out a gasp.

Garnet and Pearl picked up their pace, rushing to the top. “Seven? What’s going on?” Garnet exclaimed.

“It hasn’t been desecrated, has it?” Pearl asked, with very real worry.

When they reached the top of the ridge, they too were struck speechless. Stretched out beneath them was a vast snowy plain as Seven’s aunt had described, but it could hardly be described as empty. Carved out of the snow was an enormous ring of spring and sunshine. Roads forming the six-point snowflake could be seen, and their edges were clear as day. Between the roads were the rooftops of countless buildings made of geometric forms particular to crystal pony architecture, and in the center of this massive settlement, a sparkling white tower stretching into the sky.

It was impossible, yet stretched out beneath them them stood their birthright, the ancient homeland lost to their people for a thousand years.

The Crystal Empire.

Author's Note

Hello everyone. This is my first story. I haven't done any creative writing in years, so bear with me. I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 2: Arrival

The first to break the long stunned silence was the dark blue crystal mare. “Are you seeing this?” Seven asked as she lifted the snow goggles from her eyes. She tried her best to remain calm, but her hoof was shaky, and the strap tangled itself in her ice blue mane. Seven didn’t notice.

Garnet Glow did, however, and helped untangle Seven’s goggles before removing her own. It gave her something else to focus on. “I see it, but I can’t believe it,” she said, returning her gaze over the Crystal Empire below. “How is this possible?”

“Empire syndrome,” Amethyst stated bluntly. Garnet and Seven looked up at her with confusion before Pearl butted in, eager for something she could understand and explain.

“A minority of crystal ponies on the pilgrimage to the crystal capital, upon reaching their destination, are overwhelmed by the sense of history,” Winter Pearl said, lifting her head with a smirk. “They experience anxiety and vivid hallucinations as the weight of their cultural heritage grows too great to bear.” Pearl waved her foreleg at the city below.

Seven stamped her right hoof down. “So what you’re saying is we’ve all gone crazy?”

Garnet’s brow furrowed in worry. “I don’t want to be crazy. If I’m crazy, then who’s going to take care of the tea house?”

Pearl sighed, rolling her eyes and tossing her forelock. “First of all, being hit with Empire syndrome doesn’t make you ‘crazy’, which, by the way, is an extremely loaded term, any more than catching a cold makes you infirm. Secondly, there are plenty of ponies with mental illness living happy and productive lives. Thirdly…”

“What are the odds we’d all see the same hallucination?” Amethyst interrupted cooly.

Pearl shrugged. “Practically nothing.”

“So if we’re all seeing the same thing, then it must be real?” Seven piped up. Amethyst nodded.

“We haven’t actually said what we saw, though,” Garnet brought up with concern.

Seven waved a foreleg. “Easy. We do a count of three, then we all say what we see down there. One… Two...”

“The Crystal Empire!” Garnet and Pearl exclaimed.

“Three,” Seven finished. “The Crys… Yeah, what you said. What about you, Amethyst?”

Amethyst nodded in confirmation.

Garnet swallowed. “So it’s true, then. That really is the Crystal Empire.”

“We’re home,” Pearl whispered. “We’re home. Our people finally have a home.”

Seven sat down. “How long has it been, Pearl?”

Pearl snapped out of her daze. She put on her best confident look, but her voice couldn’t help but still waver slightly. “Somewhere between 1015 to 1032 years ago. Going by the most reliable records. Date-wise, I mean. The events in Sapphire Frost: Hero of the Exodus might be exaggerated, but the time period-”

“Ahem.” The sound of a throat clearing grabbed their attention. Garnet, Pearl, and Seven turned to look up to Amethyst. “The pilgrimage.”

“R-.... Right.” Garnet gulped.

Pearl pawed at the snow anxiously. “Well… That… is what we came here for.”

Seven looked down at the city of their ancestors and steeled her nerves. “Come on, girls. Let’s go home.” With that, the four crystal ponies walked over the peak of Freedom Ridge and toward the Crystal Empire.

On the opposite side of the Empire, Twilight Sparkle and her friends stepped off the train from Equestria and took a moment to stretch their legs and take a breath of fresh air.

“I must say, I’m rather excited to see another Crystal Faire,” Rarity said with a smile as she looked around the city. In the distance, near the Crystal Castle, she could see stands staffed with crystal ponies selling funnel cakes, crystal berry pies, and other snacks.

“Especially seein' as we ain't the ones who gotta put the whole shindig together,” Applejack added.

Twilight nodded in agreement. “And this time, there’s nothing at stake.” Last year, the six of them had to learn the crystal pony traditions and throw a hastily-improvised Crystal Faire to remind the crystal ponies of what life was like before King Sombra erased their memories and enslaved them. This year, they could finally just relax. They didn’t have to worry about jousting, flugelhorn-playing, basket-weaving, pie-baking, or Crystal Heart-finding.

“I wouldn’t say there’s nothing at stake,” Rainbow Dash said, forelegs crossed across her chest as she flew just a bit higher for a better view. “I’ve gotta defend my jousting title, after all.”

Fluttershy looked up. “N… No, you really don’t.”

Rainbow Dash smirked. “I’m not going to just surrender it without a fight, Fluttershy.”

“Well, what I mean is… Um. I’m not… asking for it.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Then what’s the point of the rematch?”

“Um… I don’t really want one.”

Rainbow Dash returned to the ground. “Spoilsport.”

The harsh sound of an improperly-tuned and poorly-played crystal flugelhorn diverted their attention. “Spikey!” Pinkie shouted, lowering her instrument. “Come on! You’re gonna be late for the Crystal Faire!”

That was when a yellow Spike-sized ball burst out of the train doors, rolled across the platform, and bounced off Twilight Sparkle before rolling to a complete stop. Twilight blinked, not quite expecting the ball to be quite so… plush. She trotted over and examined the ball when a pair of green eyes poked out of the side, looking incredibly nauseated.

“Spike? What are you doing in a ball of… Is that yarn?” Her only response she received was muffled grunting, but the answer came soon enough when three little fillies stepped out of the train.

“I guess scarf-knitting isn’t going to get us our cutie marks,” Applebloom said with some disappointment.

“Or sweater-knitting,” Scootaloo added.

“Or sock-knitting,” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

“But I’m not going to let that get me down,” Applebloom declared proudly. “Because we’re finally back in the Crystal Empire!”

Spike’s eyes widened.

“This time, we can finally enjoy it!” Scootaloo declared.

The yellow yarn ball began to wobble as Spike thrashed around inside.

“Ooh, I hope they still have those snow globes!” Sweetie Belle said hopefully.

A burst of green fire burned away the yarn covering Spike’s face. “Boy, I sure hope you have loads of fun on your first trip to the Crystal Empire,” Spike said through a forced smile, nodding (and wobbling) fiercely.

There was a brief pause.

“Yes! Our very first trip!” The fillies nodded as one and began talking over each other about their hopes for their first visit.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What was that about?”

Rarity shrugged. “Little fillies being silly. By the way, Sweetie Belle. Splendid color choice. The yellow really complements Spike’s scales.”

With that, the ponies walked toward the Crystal Castle and the festivities, rolling Spike along the way.

Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Seven wandered the city, their eyes wide with wonder. It didn’t take long for them to realize some kind of festival was taking place. Everywhere they looked, they saw merchant stands, performances, colorful banners, and other eye-grabbing displays. Food stands were stacked with fragrant treats they had never seen in their lives. They were awash in new sensations from every direction.

“This place feels just like a dream,” Garnet Glow whispered as they found a quieter street corner. “Crystal ponies, just… everywhere!”

Winter Pearl nodded. “I know just what you mean. The architecture, the art, the… Everything.” She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and letting it all out. “Is this what being a crystal pony is supposed to be like?”

“You bet!” Seven shouted with a wild grin on her face. “It’s just like the old legends said! A crystal city of crystal ponies. A heart of warmth beats back the heart of winter and brings all four seasons. The six-point crystal, you know the rest.”

Amethyst nodded in agreement.

A shadow passed over them, and they turned their heads up. An orange winged pony, distinctly non-crystal, flew by overhead. “Well, not exactly like the old legends,” Garnet thought out loud. “I didn’t expect to see the Windrider tribe here.”

Pearl shrugged. “Makes sense. The Crystal Empire used to span the whole continent. It isn’t weird that some of the other tribes would be living in our capital. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw the occasional Lifeshaper or Spellweaver either.”

Seven nodded. “If they’re subjects of the Empire, I guess this is their home too.”

“Still, wonderful as all this is… There’s just one little question that’s bugging me,” Pearl wondered out loud as she looked to the top spires of the Crystal Castle.

Garnet blinked. “What’s that?”

Amethyst answered for Pearl. “How?”

The crystal ponies fell silent.

For a thousand years, the Crystal Enclave dreamed of re-establishing the Empire, but without the Crystal Heart to provide enough warmth and light, it was impossible to resettle the frozen wastes. All they could do was pass down what they could of their history and culture to the next generation and journey to where their home once stood to gain a better appreciation for what their people once were. Practically every crystal pony had given up on the Empire as anything other than a sad reminder that their people once had a nation. The idea that the Empire could just suddenly come back and everything would be fine was unthinkable.

“Well,” Garnet pondered. “I guess… Time travel?”

Pearl raised an eyebrow. “Time travel?”

Garnet flushed. “I didn’t say it was a good guess. Do you have any ideas?”

Pearl shrugged. “Hypothermic hallucinations.”

Seven grimaced. “That’s kinda grim, don’t you think?”

“Only if someone doesn’t rescue us before it’s too late,” Pearl replied.

“Ugh. Okay…” Seven rubbed her head. “What about… a hoax?”

“This seems a bit … ornate for a hoax,” Garnet replied, tilting her head and placing a hoof under her chin.

Everyone looked at Amethyst, who simply shrugged.

Seven looked around slowly. “I’m not really sure it matters how the Empire reappeared. I mean, it’d be nice to know, but… Well, why do we need to figure this out now?” She gave a wide grin. It was infectious, and Garnet and Pearl found themselves nodding in agreement. “The situation right now is nice and simple. We have a home again!”

“For how long?” Amethyst asked flatly.

Garnet, Pearl, and Seven looked up at Amethyst. “Wh… What do you mean?” Garnet asked, afraid of the answer.

“How long. Do we have. A home?” Amethyst said, slowly and deliberately. Slowly, but surely, the implication dawned on them. Their coats dimmed as they realized their fears.

“If we don’t know why the Empire is back,” Pearl began, “Then we don’t know that it wouldn’t just… disappear again.”

Garnet gulped. “It… It could even take us with it. M-Maybe it already has.”

Seven stomped a hoof down. “Shine up, girls. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. No. Even less than that. We finally have a home again. If it’s going to vanish again, then we need to do whatever it takes to keep that from happening, even if we have to smash some creepy artifact, or do some quest, or… or… or fight the Enslaver.” Everyone shivered at the name, and Seven fought down an unfamiliar and unwelcome sensation in her gut. “Whatever it takes.”

“I’ve got to admire your spirit,” Pearl began, as the shine returned to her coat, “but what’s step one?”

Seven sighed as she closed her eyes. “Well, we don’t know if it’ll vanish again, but… Ugh… Come on… What would Sapphire Frost do?”

“Kick an ursa major in the teeth?” Pearl suggested.

“Scale a cliff with her bare hooves?” Garnet pondered.

“Learn,” Amethyst stated.

Seven scratched her head. “Well… the first two sound more like things she’d have done, but given the circumstances, let’s go with that third thing. So… gathering intel. How do we find out how the Empire came back? Any ideas?”

Pearl gave a confident smile. “The best solution is usually the simplest. Let’s ask somepony.” She gestured at the crowds all around them.

Garnet put her hoof on her forehead. “Of course!”

Seven grinned wildly at her white-furred friend. “You’re a genius!”

Pearl, never one to refuse flattery (as undeserved as it may be), gave a smugly modest reply. “Please. I’m merely a crystal pony putting her considerable talent to use for the benefit of her people.” She gestured to her cutie mark, a golden magnifying glass with a crystal lens. “If my people need answers, it is my humble duty to find them.” She tossed her red forelock dramatically. “Now watch and learn!”

With that, Pearl, with her friends in tow, strode confidently to a moderate herd of ponies lined up in front of what appeared to be a pie vendor. She approached a crystal pony at random. “Excuse me, sir. My companions and I just arrived from the north. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind answering a few questions.”

The crystal pony looked back at her awkwardly. Garnet, Amethyst, and Seven gave each other nervous glances. The pony in the line gave an apologetic smile and a reply. The four crystal pilgrims felt their stomachs drop. The reply was sincere, but incomprehensible. A few words stood out, but the rest of the syllables ran together without any discernible structure.

Pearl swallowed. “Well. I apologize, sir. I… you can’t actually understand me, can you?” She gave an apologetic wave, and looked back to her friends, an anxious forced grin on her face. “I… Uh. Well, let’s ask somepony else.”

“How about those two?” Garnet pointed to a pair of Lifeshapers that looked friendly enough. One was pink with the fluffiest tail and mane she had ever seen. She was chatting amicably with an orange shaper wearing a wide brown hat.

Pearl nodded and went further back in the line to approach the two. “Hi there. You two look friendly. My friends and I are new in town, and we had some questions we were kind of hoping you could answer.”

The orange shaper gave her a confused look. In some foreign tongue, she asked a question to the pink one (At least, Pearl assumed it was a question, when her pitch rose near the end), and the pink one shook her head, then gave them a friendly wave and greeted(?) them in a friendly tone before suddenly wrapping her forelegs around Pearl in a tight hug.

Seven looked at Garnet and Amethyst. She sighed. “Girls, I don’t think they speak Equish.”