Rarity knew today was going to be a good day. Sweetie Belle hadn’t personally annihilated her fabrics, Opal was being a good cat for once, and Twilight wasn’t barging in waving some spell book in her face ranting about some unknowable spell- like she did every week for the last month.
Kaboom.
The white unicorn curled up in a fetal position as a new hole appeared in Carousel Boutique. As the dust settled, she carefully glanced around. Not seeing anything and carefully getting to her hooves she began to call out for help.
“Hello? I would like some assistance- is that you Rainbow? I don’t want you to break something like my wall without my permission.” Rarity quickly walked over some debris while trying to total the damages in her head. Before she could scream out in frustration at the horrid mess that was going to take ages to clean up properly.
Rarity’s eye began twitching as she looked upon her living room. And entire wall was gone and the Boutique was listing to one side in protest while her fabric were on fire with some purple flames. Her beautiful drapes were in tatters and she knew who to blame.
Mostly because the purple pony princess that had given her house this beating was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. “Rarity, I’m- uh- very sorry for the mess.” Twilight was pulling some sort of crime to fashion out of her frizzled mane. “Dash always makes it sound so simple to pull off a Rainboom- well technically I did a Sparkle Boom or something- and, well, I just forgot how to land.” Twilight tried not to look at Rarity in fear that the unicorn mare would be angry.
Rarity was trying to hold back her anger as she thought about the predicament. “And so this is what happens when Twilight is given wings.” Rarity’s mind went on full lockdown mode. All thoughts of screaming at her friend for the mistake of creating a gaping hole in her entryway was replaced with a cool detachment as reality set in.
“Fine. What did you want?”
Twilight’s ears perked up. “You aren’t mad at me?”
Rarity’s eye twitched as she continued to breathe deeply. “I am but I know that judging by you tearing a hole in my wall and chomping at the bit to get here that you caused a Sonic Boom- it must be important.”
Twilight’s horn glowed with her magical aura as she opened her saddlebags and levitated out a very important and ancient looking book. Rarity gasped as it landed gently on her floor and discovered that the entire cover was made out of crystal precious gemstones.
“Twilight, what is this?”
“It’s a fashion guide on the Crystal Ponies. There might be some other things of interest but I just haven’t had time to look at it completely because of all the random Princess duties Celestia and Luna have put on me. So I thought that who better than you to learn what it says.”
Rarity wanted the book. It held so many secrets that she just needed to know. The history of the Crystal Ponies, the culture, the oh so shiny and radiant crystals, the fashion. . . “Twilight. Can I please have it? It’d be so useful with my designs and I just couldn’t let such a book fall into undeserving hooves. . .”
Twilight chuckled. “Okay. Okay. Here you go. Oh and before I forget-” Twilight’s horn glowed again with a greater intensity as the broken boards and gaping hole was slowly mended. Right in front of Rarity’s eyes, her shop went back to its normal splendor. And then Twilight disappeared.
“Teleportation without saying goodbye? How rude. I’m going to have to ask the Princesses to stop giving Twilight too many tasks. She’s been seeming a little bit off lately and I don’t know why.” Rarity quickly looked around. Nopony was going to need her for today. She just wanted to glance at the book and learn about the Crystal Empire.
It couldn’t hurt to just peek at it.
Rarity shook off that feeling of dread that had been quietly building up in her mind. “No- Twilight would never give me a dangerous book.” She slowly floated the book toward her and opened the cover. She was greeted with a unreadable wall of text that hurt her eyes and a note from Twilight.
“Seems to be early Equestrian. Translation spell?”
Rarity’s horn lit up and the letters danced around the page as they rearranged themselves into sentences that a modern pony could understand.
Diary of Asbrom, Cout Mage of the Platina Kingdom
“Asbrom?” Rarity thought the name sounded familiar. Maybe her grandmother had spoke about some old story with him as the protagonist? She read on.
“I have found what Princess Platinum wants. Searching through the archives, I stumbled around an abandoned room with a strange blue crystal. After a few experiments, I found that the crystal would hold the Windigos at bay and keep us safe.”
Rarity flipped through the boring stuff. She was never a fan of politics. But as she flipped through the pages she noticed something. The diary was nearly blank- outside of the cover page and introduction there was nothing except from some gibberish that looked like a spell but probably wasn’t.
Rarity weighed the possible outcomes: no inspiration for dresses or reading a blank book. So she read it, “Crystallum pulchritudinem tactum, incarnatus est. Omnia me tactum vertitur in crystallum.Stultitia mea me in solitudinem erit, Væ misero mihi.” Rarity just was confused. “Now what did that have to-” She stopped and stared the book.
It was glowing with power. The book began to quietly hum as it slowly rose up and little arcs of electricity were shocking the white unicorn as she watched transfixed upon the words. She tried to move away but she was rooted to the spot and stuck within the spell matrix. Slowly the nice and soothing electrical sparks began to hurt, and the nice blue light soon changed into a black aura as what looked like blood dripped slowly on Rarity’s floor.
“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. . .” She tried to slowly breathe in and out to help with the terror being trapped in an uncontrollable spell usually caused. “Not good.”
Then the unearthly screams started. She began to see flashes of a white stallion in her mind. He looked regal as he cast magic against the Windigos with a large blue heart. Then the view changed as she saw the Princess tell him to create Crystal Ponies. “No.” Anger began to seep into Rarity’s mind as she knew who the Princess was. Platinum.
*
Asbrom sighed heavily. His work was complete. The Crystal Heart stood resolute against the enemies of his Majesty. The Line of Platinum was safe. He was tired. Oh so tired as he walked into the throne room. The room was covered in jewels and gold filigree ran around the room like vines reaching for the sky. In the midst of the splendor sat a lithe and regal mare. Her silver mane was long and flowed with regal grace. Her cutie mark was of a golden crown and her white coat glistened because of her daily oil bath.
“Good work Asbrom. We believe our Windigo problem has went away. In celebration the lords and us will have a feast praising my beauty and grace. We order you to use your tricks to regale us with tales of your skills. We think a spell that turns ponies into crystal is magical enough. . .”
*
“Asbrom?” More flashes. More pain. This time Rarity felt short of breath as the flashes sped up. months of time flashed by as the tragic play resumed. More bickering. More time spent in the magic tower alone. Finally he found it. The spell to turn ponies into crystal.
*
He sighed as he finished up his work. The task of transmuting a pony was daunting- even for one such as himself. He heard the feasting trumpets blow as he slowly opened the door and looked upon the corpulent ponies that constituted the rulers of this land. A twinge of anger flared. Why should these ponies who had never been in the war rule? They didn’t know what it was like to be a pesant. He saw the peasants everyday. . .
*
Rarity began to walk in circles as her body moved independently. She began to etch the runes to finish the spell. Her mind had been opened after the thoughts of Asbron began to bleed off the page. The spell was unfinished. And would always be.
Another flash as she saw more.
*
Platinum smiled as she looked upon the nobles and ladies of the land. She was the greatest and most beautiful of them- of course- and she saw her rule as an extension her dead father’s rule. She had ascended to the throne ten years before as her father lay dying from a Windigo attack that laid him low. She had taken the throne and instituted the harsh taxes that let her Kingdom survive into the present day.And she grew complacent.
“And time for the main event. See my great Court Mage turn a pony into crystal.” A line of chained ponies trudged into the room. A line filled with starving pegasi and earth ponies looked up at the Princess as she twirled a hoof through her mane.
*
Black tendrils began to wrap around Rarity’s horn as they probed deep into her mind. Silently screaming, Rarity tried to kick her way out of the ooze that had wrapped around her forelegs and began to search for what made her tick. Her horn began to shoot off blue sparks as the black tendrils tainted her magical reserves.
*
This was wrong. There had to be another way. Princess Platinum cleared her throat.“Asbrom. You have to turn somepony into crystal or else our noble friends shall become bored. And after all the work we had to do hyping up this magic. . .I wonder why my dear father saved you from the gutter those years ago.
Asbrom bristled. The fair King saved him from death and now his fair daughter was besmirching his name. Filial piety. . .and she wanted him to turn ponies into crystal to satisfy her desires of beauty? “Yes, Princess.” Turning around towards the throne of jewels he began to slowly walk towards the charging The Touch. “For my next trick, I shall turn a pony into crystal.”
Princess Platinum tried to fire up her horn with a defensive barrier but she was too late. As the nobles watched Asbrom gently stroked the silver hair of Princess Platinum. Slowly her hair gained a shine that no amount of care could replicate. Streaks began to fall listlessly to the sides of Platinum's face as her hair began to stay together in clumps of heavy metal shine. As her hair slowly became a solid mass, her head began tilting to one side. The white unicorn began to sob uncontrollably in fear. Asbrom just whispered into the ear of Princess Platinum and touched her one final time in her eye.
The nobles were stunned. “Hello fellow nobles. As you can see, our fair Princess is currently experiencing some health issues. I am taking the throne and no longer will I be called Asbrom. Call me-”
*
“King Sombra.” Rarity whimpered as the tendrils ended their business and slithered out of her mind. They crawled back into the book and the white unicorn collapsed. Her eyes were unfocused and stared at nothing. She slept and barely moved.
Though wherever she did move, little crystals sprung up. For she had gained The Touch.
