From the writings of Neighstradamus, Century X Number 78
Sudden joy to sudden sadness,
It will occur by Crystals for the graces embraced:
Grief, cries, tears, weeping, blood, excellent mirth,

Contrary bands surprised and trussed up.

Twilight Sparkle lay upon a soft rug in the center of Golden Oak Library. Her eyes drooping slightly, she shook her head and stretched her wings. Shadows stretched across the library toward her as the sun crept down toward the horizon. Levitating a bookmark onto the book, she closed it and slid it toward one of the stacks that she was still working on reading through.

“I know Princess Celestia always had something in mind when she would send me books to read,” she said to the stack pleadingly, “but I was usually able to figure out why in a few hours, not a few days. All this literature about the Crystal Empire is fascinating, but it’s nothing substantial! It’s all lore speculating about the its founding, all myths and old pony’s tales. What are you really supposed to be telling me?” she begged the books. Her shoulders fell with a sigh. The weary unicorn considered herself with a chuckle; “You’re talking to your books again Twilight. Maybe it’s time to take a break.”

Wandering into the kitchen, Twilight’s magic quickly summoned an apple from the fridge and a glass of water from the sink. She sat at the table, cracking her back and trying to wake her sleeping wings while she munched on the apple. Spike should be back from Sweet Apple Acres soon, she though, as long as the Crusaders didn’t really screw up while trying to get their orienteering cutie marks. I’ll have to ask him what he thinks about the books Celestia sent. I must be over-looking or over-thinking something . Content with that simple explanation, Twilight finished her apple and wandered back into the main room.

Surrendering to the books for another day, she decided to wash up and prepare to call it a night. She headed for the stairs, and was passing another stack of books detailing the mysteries about the early history of the Crystal Empire. She hesitated as the top book caught her eye. “The Quatrains of Neighstradamus? Why is that in the stacks Celestia sent me? I didn’t think any of his predictions had anything to do with the Crystal Empire. Most of the academics in Canterlot consider him to be a loon. He couldn’t even prophesize the return of Nightmare Moon! Still, maybe Celestia thinks one of his prophecies will be coming true.” Knowing that she would need to have her wits about her if she were to make sense of the vague and cryptic stanzas, she decided she could tackle it tomorrow.

Twilight had made it to the bathroom upstairs and was halfway through washing her face when she heard the door open downstairs. She heard the familiar voice of her baby dragon coming from downstairs.

“Twilight? Twilight, are you home?” Spike asked to the empty library. He had nearly made it to the kitchen when Twilight addressed him from the top of the stairs.

“Spike, I’m up here. How were the Crusaders? Were they able to handle the orienteering course?”

“No, they got lost in the orchards. I’m still not sure how Apple Bloom can get lost in her own orchard. Anyway, they don’t have their cutie marks, but they want to try again somewhere with a better variety of landmarks. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo say that all the trees look the same,” Spike ended with an eyeroll.

“Well I think they should be commended for their perseverance, Spike. If they set their mind to it, I’m sure they can accomplish it. Do you know how many times I had to retry that shield spell before it was able to completely repel a simple bucket of water?” Twilight asked, a hint of pride creeping into her voice.

“Yeah, 24 times. I was the one dropping the bucket, remember?” Spike answered in monotone.

“Right,” Twilight said, trying to hide her embarrassment, “but the point is that I stuck with it and was eventually able to conjure the shield no problem.”

“Yep, and after that you weren’t a wet-behind-the-ears filly anymore,” Spike replied, starting to head up to his bed.

“Exactl-Hey! Very funny, Spike,” Twilight grumbled as she followed the drake upstairs and to their beds.

Twilight awoke early the next morning, trying to remember the dream she had been having. She had been chasing somepony through streets and alleys, but they were always out of reach. She could see the orange-colored mare in her mind, but the details of her face were fuzzy. Rubbing the sleepers from her eyes, she wondered if she had ever met this pony before in her life. A rumbling from her stomach derailed her train of thought.

Wandering to the door to downstairs, Twilight was first greeted by the aroma of cooking hash browns and onions. The smell was so enticing, she imagined herself floating along, following it back to the source. As she landed in front of the kitchen door, she became aware of the fact that she had been floating toward the kitchen, as she folded her wings back against herself. At least no one was here to see that, she thought to herself, crossing the threshold.

“Mmmm… Breakfast smells delicious, Spike. You've really outdone yourself again. You’d make quite a popular little chef here in Ponyville if you wanted. I appreciate that you put in the extra effort for me, though.”

“Well I've gotta make it really well if I can’t be using gems as seasonings on everything,” Spike said, silently wishing that he had access to more gems for his cooking. Giving the shredded potatoes another turn, he added, “I did use the last of the potatoes though. And the onions. And evidently we’re out of apples, too. I’ll run out to the market while you’re doing your reading this morning.

“Good idea. Can you also stop and get some supplies for the alchemy lab? I’ve got a list of the things I’m running low on. The list is downstairs on the bench," she finished. Moving toward the cupboards, she levitated down plates and dishes, and drew the utensils from the drawer, setting the table in no time with her magic. She sat down as Spike was moving the hot pan to the table to serve.

Spike placed a heap of the browns onto each of their plates, then sat down to dig in. In between bites, he inquired about her studies, "so any luck figuring out why Celestia sent you two dozen old books about the Crystal Empire?"

"No, not yet. There's a lot of speculation and myth surrounding the Crystal Empire. I was thinking about actually going to visit their library to see if I can't find something more substantial. I'll do that if the rest of these don't shed any more light on the subject. The one book seems out of place, though. I don't know why Celestia would send over a book by Neighstradamus. Most of his writings were prophecies from what I hear. And generic sorts of predictions at that." Twilight took a moment to savor the savory hash browns. "Oh, and pick up extra of whichever spices you added to these, they're amazing."

Finished with breakfast, the pair cleared the table. Spike started on the dishes while Twilight went into the library proper. Twilight started her studies that morning with the Quatrains of Neighstradamus, figuring that the oddest book in the pile must have some obvious sort of tie-in to the rest of the stack. If she could just find the theme or common thread, she could figure out what Celestia had wanted her to learn. Most of the older passages referred to Feifdoms and Duchys that no longer existed, or hadn’t been called by those names in years.

"All this babble about Reins and Prance and sun-worshippers. If he was such a fortune teller, why couldn't he write less cryptically? I mean, listen to this, Spike;

Century IX Number 52

Peace is nigh on one side, and war,

Never was the pursuit of it so great:

To bemoan stallions, mares innocent blood on the land,

And this will be throughout all Prance.

"I mean, if he wanted to warn Prance about an upcoming battle or war, why not just say it? 'Hey Prance, if you attack the Gryphon kingdoms in this year, it's not going to end well for you.' Is it that hard to be more specific?" Twilight ranted.

"But Twilight, the Prench-Gryphon Conflict happened less than a century ago. And Prance did lose a lot of earth and pegasi ponies attacking the gryphons' mountain fortresses. Neighstradamus was spot-on!"

"Hardly, Spike. Do you know how many times Prance and the Gryphon Kingdoms have been in conflict, if not outright war?" Twilight asked the young dragon. Seeing his eyes light up, she quickly continued, "That was rhetorical; the point is, this could apply to any one of their conflicts. The only thing Neighstradamus managed to be in these passages is vague."

Walking toward the door, Spike replied, "Alright Twilight, you're the expert on prophecy after all. I'm going to the market for food and to restock some of your alchemy supplies. I'll be back by lunchtime."

"Okay, and please remember the difference," *SLAM* "between eye of stoat and eye of newt this time," Twilight finished, now addressing the closed door. With a sigh, she turned back toward the book. "Now, Neighstradamus, what did you have to say about the Crystal Empire?" Twilight inquired to herself, settling in on her favorite cushion to begin reading once again.

After a dull hour of reading about princes and nobility and the conflict of countries, she finally found a mention of the Crystal Empire:

Century X Number 78

Sudden joy to sudden sadness,

It will occur by Crystals for the graces embraced:

Grief, cries, tears, weeping, blood, excellent mirth,

Contrary bands surprised and trussed up.

"Joy to sadness? Excellent mirth, contrary bands trussed up? It almost sounds like something would return and ruin the Crystal Faire," Twilight said to herself. A chill ran down her spine at the thought of Sombra's brief and unsuccessful return during that first Crystal Faire. "But he failed, he didn't return. Nopony was tied up, and the grief didn't last." In her mind, a continuation of that thought sent a dart of fear straight into her heart; Not that time it didn't. Suddenly possessed of great clarity, Twilight rose and sought out one of the books detailing the history of the Crystal Empire. And it will not under my watch, she thought to herself.

Spike returned to the library, weighed down with bags loaded with food and alchemy supplies that were clearly not food. He opened the door to find open books scattered across the library floor. Twilight was standing, but had her nose buried in an old-looking tome on the floor. Her eyes were intensely focused, racing across the pages, a look of worry fought with the wrinkles of concentration that lined her face.

"Twilight, I'm back. I got everything that was on your list, including the eye of newt."

"Spike!" Twilight shouted in shock, not having hear the door, "quick, send this letter to Princess Celestia. I need to know if there have been any major battles outside of Equestria recently. It may be a sign of the return of Sombra." Her magic levitated the scroll frantically into Spike's face.

Before sending it, Spike looked to Twilight, "What gives, Twilight? When I left, you were talking about how Neighstradamus's writings were vague and meaningless. Now you look like you've seen Sombra's ghost."

"We don't know for certain that Sombra is dead. Some of these passages refer to the return of a king. A king that will hold his people 'captive and hostage', that 'contrary ponies will be surprised and tied up'. And there's references in the same passages that it will happen during festivals! They can't be just coincidences, not this many.

"The return also sounds like Sombra's style. I looked up what I could in our library. According to the history books, Sombra led a group of ponies that were loyal to him in sowing discord and disharmony amongst the ponies of the Crystal Empire. After he had weakened the magic of the crystal heart, he led his great army to the Empire and claimed the throne. That was the start of the Dark Age of the Crystal Empire. These prophecies predict that he will do the same thing again," Twilight finished, worry in her voice.

Spike looked at her, confused, "But Twilight, all that already happened, Sombra's rise and fall."

Twilight began stacking all the books she had been reading through into one pile while addressing Spike. "Spike, Neighstradamus was born almost 200 years after the fall of Sombra. Neighstradamus couldn't have been referring to something that happened in the past. I need to know from Celestia if any armies have appeared or if any major battles have taken place that might be tied to the prophecy."

"Well why not warn Cadence and your brother while you're at it?" Spike asked. "I mean they're the ones that are supporting hope and unity in the Empire. They should know if anything strange is going on."

"Not yet," Twilight answered, "they have their hooves full with the Equestria Games coming up. They don't need more stress and things to worry about right now. Besides, if I do end up reading this wrong and blowing it out of proportion, I don't want to have been the cause for more problems for Cadence and Shiny.

"Just send the letter. I promise I won't worry any more about it until we do hear back from Celestia. I’m going to join the girls for lunch at Sugarcube Corner. Faust knows I need to take my mind off of this for now. Want to join us?"

Spike did as he was told and sent the letter in a burst of green flame. “Thanks Twilight, but I’m just going to hang around here. I found a new comic book shop with some cool comics, so I want to see how they are.”

“Alright Spike. Just remember to eat something for lunch. Don’t get too wrapped up in those comics.”

As Twilight was walking out the library door, a pony far away was walking in through another door. A few hundred miles away, in the unicorn city of Horning, an orange-colored mare walked into Miller's Crystals, a store that prided itself on selling 'Specialty crystals for all your magical and ritual needs.'

Author's Note

Wanted to try a sort of novel concept for a fic. Chapter 1 should be coming along shortly, I'm just trying to work at least a chapter ahead so plot-holes are caught ahead of time. Point out any mistakes in comments and I'll fix them when I see them.