From the writings of Neighstradamus, Century VIII Number 4

A king entered very far into the new land
while the subjects will come to bid him welcome;
his treachery will have such a result

that to the citizens it is a reception instead of a festival.

Topaz Gleam had always been partial to her orange coat. She had banished long ago any concern that it was too bright, that it made her stand out. She had learned to control her appearance, her mannerisms, and now felt that her bright coloring helped her to hide in plain sight. Not that hiding was an issue for her out here in Horning. Nopony this far northeast had any reason to be looking for her. It would be a different case back in the Crystal Empire.

Topaz had felt her master as soon as the Empire had returned. Everypony had been disoriented when the city returned, not sure what had happened. Her proximity to and familiarity with the magic crystals around the city allowed her to figure out what had happened far more quickly than the common crystal ponies. She also knew that if the Empire was back, Sombra would be returning. She needed to be in a position to help him when he struck. She was in position to charge the necessary crystals, but it was too little too late. Cadence and Shining Armor had already established their protections on the city, and Topaz alone wouldn't be able to counter the magic of a royal alicorn. She did what she could to weaken the position, but ultimately she had to flee the city or be caught by Shining Armor's guards.

She also felt the defeat of her master due to the power of the crystal heart, though she knew he was not gone for good. That just meant she had even more work ahead of her. As one of Sombra's crystallomancers (she still hated how silly the term sounded, she preferred ‘crystal mage’), she had an obligation to serve her lord. She had learned everything there was to know about crystallomancy while studying under Sombra, and he always took good care of his mages. It was a symbiotic relationship for sure; Sombra relied on the crystal mages for power and focus, and Sombra provided them with wealth and protection in return. Now that Sombra had been weakened, she needed to bring him back to safety and restore his strength. At the outskirts of Equestria, Horning was the perfect place for this.

Stepping into Miller's Crystals, she assumed her ponysona of a high-class urbanite with a taste for exquisite gems. She greeted Peridot, the seafoam-colored unicorn mare who stood behind the counter: "Peridot, my dear, any good-looking crystals come out of the mine recently? I could really use a dazzling piece of alexandrite for my collection."

Peridot Bragg regarded the regular with a smile, "Nothing new since you stopped in yesterday afternoon. Besides, haven't I already sold you three nice pieces of alexandrite in the past month?"

Topaz was already wandering the shop, looking over the familiar gemstones. A foot-long amethyst crystal hung from the ceiling. Perfect as a resonance crystal, but Topaz had enough of those for the ritual. "They were nice, yes, but they weren't flawless. You could always see the slight impurities when they caught the light," she trailed off, ending with a disappointing sigh. She passed by a collection of quartz pillars arranged in a familiar focusing pattern. While she still needed a few pieces of quartz, she would have to go elsewhere for them; she couldn't come up with a reason why an urbanite of her stature would be interested in such a common crystal. She settled on a large, cut emerald with nearly perfectly symmetrical faces. As she held it in her levitation field, she felt the crystal humming with power as it absorbed and released energy under her practiced touch. She approached the counter with the emerald in tow.

Peridot beamed with pride as she saw Topaz pick out the finest emerald they had in the shop. "An expert eye as always, Ms. Gleam. You know, such a beautiful gem doesn't just have to be for display. It does have practical uses in crystal magic you know. I could teach you if you're interested," she said with a hopeful smile.

"Yes, I'm sure it has its uses in your little rituals and magicks," she declined in a haughty tone," but I'm not interested in silly little things like 'aligning my energies' or whatnot." Besides, she thought, you can't even begin to comprehend the true power and uses that these crystals have. She produced a large stack of bits from her saddlebag and left them on the counter, "Now if you do get a nice alexandrite in, please do be a dear and put it aside for me, won't you?" The emerald found its way into her bag as she turned to leave.

"Sure thing Ms. Gleam! Have a nice day, see you soon!" Peridot said with far more enthusiasm than she felt. As Ms. Gleam left the store, Peridot felt her heart sink a bit further. "She buys up all of my nicest gems that would be perfect for experimenting with crystal magic, and yet doesn't care a thing for it. If only there were a better way to get access to these crystals and still be able to afford to eat at the same time." She walked over to the arrangement of quartz crystals and put the one back where it belonged in the focusing pattern. "I wonder where she's getting all those bits. Either she has a great inheritance, or Mr. Gleam is loaded."

Twilight sat across the table from where Applejack and Rainbow Dash were hoof wrestling. She giggled at the intense expressions on their faces, each trying to outdo the other. Rarity and Fluttershy were talking about something that Twilight had missed, and Pinkie Pie was bouncing back to the kitchen to get a fresh batch of cupcakes from the oven. With all they had been through, she was glad to be able to call them her friends. She knew that no matter how bad things
got, they would always be there for her, just like that first time when they defeated Nightmare Moon. Even if they didn't physically have the elements anymore, she was still connected to each of her friends. That thought brought a relaxed smile to her face.

She had been so lost in her thoughts; she didn't realize Fluttershy had been talking to her.

"So how does next Thursday sound?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes swelling with hope and eagerness.

“I, umm, well I think next Thursday is… what are we supposed to be doing next Thursday?” Twilight confessed, confused.

Rarity’s response drowned out Fluttershy; “Why, our next pony-pet play date! Opalescence is feeling better thanks to Fluttershy’s tender loving care, so I would love to get her out there and playing with the other pets. She has missed them terribly, I know. Plus, we really need to take advantage of the nice autumn weather before the winter moves in.”

“Of course we can have a pet play date! Owliscious always loves flying around with Tank. And I really should be getting him more exercise.” Twilight’s face lit up with excitement, “Can we turn it into a picnic too? With daisy sandwiches and tea and little cakes! We haven’t had a picnic since before my coronation.” She looked at the two, and saw their smiles grow at the mention of the word ‘picnic’.

Fluttershy responded first, “ Oh, of course Twilight. We’ll make a long afternoon of it. I’ll make lemonade and some hay fries.”

“A picnic sounds like a marvelous idea, Twilight. I’ll bring my tea set, and make the daisy sandwiches,” Rarity volunteered.

Across the table Applejack turned her attention toward the other three, “And ah’ll make some apple fritters and bring some fresh apples.”

With Applejack distracted, Rainbow saw her opportunity and quickly tried to force the win by pinning AJ’s hoof. There was the slightest give by Applejack, but her hoof stayed put otherwise. Settling for a continuation of the stalemate, Rainbow replied to Applejack, “Well gee, that’s a surprise AJ; you bringing apples and other apple things.”

With a smirk at Rainbow’s sarcasm, Applejack’s hoof began a slow but inexorable journey down to the table… overtop of Rainbow’s hoof. As Rainbow began to lose ground, panic spread across her face. Her brow furrowed in concentration. I will not lose to Applejack, she thought to herself. Despite her best effort, her hoof found the table. With adrenaline pounding, she jumped up from the table, hovering slightly back from Applejack. “What the hay was that AJ?? Where did that come from? Were you just toying with me the entire time??” she asked, failing to temper the disbelief in her voice.

Before Applejack could respond, Pinkie bounced back into the café with a tray of cupcakes on her back and a party hat on her head. She slid the tray onto the table and turned to Rainbow, “You let yourself get distracted, silly! That’s how evenly matched you are, you’re both just one itsy-bitsy, teenie-weenie distraction away from beating the other.”

Applejack reached for one of the fresh cupcakes, topped with the usual pink icing and sprinkles. “Now Pinkie, ah think you’re being a might generous there… to Rainbow,” she goaded.

Rarity spoke up to diffuse the tension, “ Pinkie, these cupcakes look absolutely delicious, how do you get them to look so perfect every time?”

Pinkie smiled, and leaned in closer to the group. “Do you really want to know?”

“Why, yes, dear. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know,” Rarity replied.

“Do you Pinkie Promise that you won’t tell anyone else how I do it?” Pinkie asked in a hushed voice.

Nervously, Rarity nodded. She lowered her voice to a whisper, “Yes, I Pinkie Promise,” she declared, now unsure of what Pinkie’s method could be, that it needed to be a secret.

Pinkie leaned in over the table so that only her friends could hear her. “The secret to making perfect cupcakes is…”

“Yes?” the whole group asked, leaning in to match Pinkie.

“The secret,” Pinkie said with a smile, “ is practice. Lots of it!”

The five others looked at each other and started to laugh almost in unison.

Catching her breath, Applejack reached in to take a cupcake and said, “Well then, ah guess you just volunteered yourself to make cupcakes for the pony pet play date picnic, Pinkie.”

Applejack held up her cupcake as if to toast with it, and the others took and held up their cupcakes.

“To picnics.” Applejack declared.

“To picnics!” the others echoed.

Breaking down into giggles and laughter again, they started on their cupcakes.

Near one side of the room, Lyra was sitting at one of the tables, her milkshake barely touched. She was gazing at the six friends toasting with cupcakes, her mouth agape, confusion on her face. Sitting across from her, Bon Bon was finishing her milkshake. Growing tired of Lyra’s staring, she finally spoke up.

“What’s wrong, Lyra? Something wrong with the milkshake?”

“How… how did Pinkie Pie BOUNCE in from the kitchen and slide that tray onto the table without dropping or disturbing a SINGLE cupcake?!?” she asked incredulously.

Twilight returned to the library alone, all worry forgotten. She was looking forward to the picnic with her friends and their pets, and had all but forgotten about Neighstradamus, his prophecies, and Sombra. She looked toward the sun as it made its way toward the horizon. She sometimes wished that Celestia would slow the sunsets down, make their beauty last longer. Maybe she could put in a special request to Celestia about that, from one princess to another. Thinking about Celestia caused her thoughts to jump back to the letter she had sent. Inwardly anxious, she stepped through the door, and called out to Spike.
“Spike, I’m home! How was your afternoon? Did you remember to get lunch?” she asked, waiting to ask the question that was really on her mind.

Spike poked his head out from the upstairs landing, "I'm here, Twilight. How was Sugarcube Corner?"

"It was great, Spike. We made plans for another pony pet play date picnic next week. Any word from Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked nervously.

"Yep, I already read the letter; I thought that if it was important, I'd come and get you right away. She said there's been no indications so far. We can relax then, right?"

Twilight picked up the letter to see Celestia's exact words:

My dearest Princess Twilight,
I've received word from many of our diplomats as far as the Gryphon Kingdoms and elsewhere. Beside the usual military maneuvers by the Gryphons, there have been no reports of armies being raised or marching. I believe you might be reading too much into the prophecies of Neighstradamus. I was hoping that with some of the literature I provided to you, that you would be able to put together a speech about the founding and history of the Crystal Empire that you would present at the opening ceremonies of the Equestria Games. I hope your studies are going well otherwise,
Your friend,

Princess Celestia

"Well, I guess that puts my fears to ease. And Celestia actually told me what she wants me to do with all the books. So that mild panic attack," she glanced at Spike, almost daring him to challenge her, "did result in me finding out more about the assignment. It wasn't a total waste."

"Yeah. Does that mean we can have the night off?"

With a sigh of relief, Twilight responded, "Yes, Spike. I think we can take a night off. I'm going to draw a nice warm bubble bath. Don't eat all the ice cream while I'm relaxing."

Topaz Gleam had returned to her temporary home on the outskirts of Horning. The small, yellow, one-story cabin was far from spacious or luxurious, but it was a temporary setback. The true value of the property for her was the large basement, which allowed her to set up the necessary crystal arrangements for the rituals she needed to perform. She now had everything she needed to reconstitute her master, and only need cast the ritual. Once he was back to his full strength, it was inevitable that they would be the rulers of the Crystal Empire.

She entered the spartan home, furnished with a simple couch, table and chairs, and her bed in the back room. Looking at the bare walls and the worn carpet, she pondered how far they had fallen. When Sombra ruled the Crystal Empire, his crystal mages lived in the lap of luxury. They had the best wines made from crystal berries, some of the best foods imported from all corners of the world, and access to the crystal caves under the city in order to further refine their arts.

It was that last resource that Topaz would have loved to have access to right now. Having to scavenge for second-rate crystals from souvenir shops had slowed her progress on the restoration ritual. After almost eight months of gathering bits and crystals, she was finally ready to initiate the ritual. Once she imbued the arrangement with the initial magic spark, she need only wait for the resonance and amplifier circuits to fully charge. Once that was done, she could slide the diamond into place and she would once again be kneeling before her lord. That is, if one of the others hadn't already finished the ritual. She would have been aware of Sombra's return if that had happened, though.

Descending into the basement, she felt for a moment like she was back in the Crystal Empire. Her array of crystals dominated the space, with candles lining the perimeter. She placed the alexandrite in one of the empty circles on the edge of the arrangement, and the last quartz crystal she found at the other crystal store was placed near the center hexagon. She stepped back to admire her work, and double check the arrangement. She had been practicing crystal magic for upwards of twenty years, but she had never needed to develop and arrange this kind of ritual. She had never thought it necessary; Sombra was unbeatable.

Tracing the lines connecting the crystals, it took her practiced mind the better part of an hour to be satisfied with the setup. Once the resonators reached the proper frequency, she could place the activation diamond in the pattern and greet her master. Satisfied, she carefully channeled a burst of magic into the circuit. She stepped back as the light travelled between the crystals, pulsing with magic as the power built up.

Stepping back, she admired her work. There was a certain beauty in the harmonic pulses of magic. As her pride at her accomplishment grew, she wondered what she should do with the hours that it would take the system to reach its full capacity.

"Might as well get something to eat, and wash up. I need to look my best for Sombra's return."

Twilight enjoyed her relaxing evening. She lounged in a warm bubble bath until the bubbles had all but popped, then settled in for some leisurely reading. Daring Do hadn't been at the top of her literature list, but she had grown to like the adventure series, as the heroine reminded her a lot of Rainbow Dash. As she progressed into the fourth chapter of the night, she had to put down the book before she fell asleep in it. Marking her page and placing the book on her nightstand, she looked to Spike's bed. Spike was already fast asleep, snoring into the pages of one of his comic books.

Twilight smiled, knowing that she could relax for the time being. Sombra hadn't made his return. Her and her friends had a lot of fun to look forward to. And the Equestria Games were just around the corner. She turned off the light, and her happy thoughts followed her into her dreams.

Topaz returned to the basement several hours later. She had prepared a delectable pizza, something she had never saw fit to try while in the Crystal Empire. She had also taken a short shower; she hadn't had the luxury of a long, hot bath since she and her fellow mages had scattered from the Empire. Yet there she stood, as content as she could be on her own.

As the circuit reached its full potential, Topaz smiled. "Now, we begin to retake our position of power on this continent." She levitated the largest, clearest, most perfectly cut diamond she could obtain into the center of the pulsing crystals. Arcs of magical power leapt from crystal to crystal, passing through or being diffracted by the diamond. The beams diffracted from the diamond started to form a coherent circle above the whole arrangement, a circle that flashed with magic power. Inside the circle, a dark form appeared and started to grow.

Topaz used her magic to fine-tune the power coming from the crystals, and the dark form began to take shape. The shape morphed and became pony-like, then grew to an even larger size. As the last pulses of magic faded, Topaz looked up briefly at the dark form that was now her master. The green and purple gaze fell toward the floor, eventually settling on the bowing head of Topaz Gleam.

"You have done well, Topaz Gleam. For your services, I am in your debt. Now, let me begin to repay it with the riches of all of Equestria."

Author's Note

This starts the lore and background information about the crystal magic system. The history of it will be discussed next chapter. Thanks for reading