Into the Crystal Mountains

A subtle tune to listen to as the story begins...

The Storyteller began to speak.

“A long time ago in our very land of Equestria, after the three equestrian nations had sworn their allegiance to a unified cause that created the empire we live in today…”

The Crystal Heart began to slowly expand outward as the fog formed an image of three ponies within the foreground of the Equestrian flag. As the still image spun around the auditorium for the entire audience to see, Dusty could tell that each pony was of a different race. Standing tall, they all wore metal armor with leather saddlebags strapped to their backs. They were filled with hefty loads of supplies.

“...Three explorers from each former pony government were sent out with orders from the new found Equestrian Counsel to explore the vast new territory they claimed to inhabit. Their goal was to survey…”

The fog shifted and twisted itself to form the three ponies being located near a large cliff side, overlooking a vast green valley while the ceiling above turned into a cloudless sky. The unicorn had a book and quill levitating within a blue aurora, constantly writing down notes. The pegasus hovered in space and was pointing into the distance while the earth pony was placing a hoof into its pack behind the two other ponies.

“...Gather intelligence about local ecosystems within the land...”

The image panned down and into the valley below the cliff. Producing a tree that stood tall in the middle of the sat, the earth pony could be seen digging into the dirt around the base. Beside the hardy equine, the unicorn was continuing to write down field notes into its ledger. As for the pegasus, it was sleeping on a thick branch in the tree.

“...And further help out with plotting townships so farmers from the old country of earth ponies would have a place to immigrate to and farm once more, leaving behind the harsh colds of the North.”

The three ponies stood on top of a hill with a single piece of long paper stretched out in front of them. Displaying a topographic map of the local area, the unicorn was using its hoof to point out certain details on the paper. The pegasus was beside the unicorn looking upon were the other equine’s hoof was being placed. The earth pony stood tall beside his friends while gazing straight out into the unknown.

“Self named the Gadabouts, their journeys from the new found city of Canterlot lead themselves to discover and explore the vast varieties of lands, creatures, and environments that existed within the borders of Equestria. Their journeys were quite legendary and still to this day talked about as the first ever true exploration into the home that everypony here has become familiar with. For without their bravery, some things might not ever been found.”

The sky above the auditorium began to change from daylight to nighttime with a full array of stars and a half crescent moon. Meanwhile, a single vine began to grow from underneath the water of the mirror pool. Towering its way up and into the ceiling before hooking over and dangling with small droplets of water, numerous patches of tall grass began to penetrate the surface of the pond. It began to transform into a small moist habitat. Filled to the brim with lily pads, moss, and small balls of light that represented fireflies, an indoor swamp had taken over the auditorium while the azure flames burned within the cauldrons.

Soaked up to the ankles, the earth pony and the unicorn stood within the water underneath the huge vine. Soaring above them, a ball of magic held together the group’s luggage and prevented it from being dampened by the water below. Within the same air, the pegasis was pointing in a certain direction that indicated where they should be heading. His figure was slowly flashing a golden aurora.

“Their first expedition sent them to the southeast side of the country. Facing the harsh marsh of the Hayseed Swamps during the peak of summer, the group almost lost its supply of canteen water and nearly half their food. However, since their pegasus, Aulus, was a swift flyer, he was able to help guide his fellow ponies out of the marshland and into the deserts of San Palomino.”

A ginormous gust of tan colored smoke began to spiral around the entire set, simulating an abrupt sandstorm that blocked out the vision of the audience while providing a gentle breeze throughout the auditorium. Dusty could feel the mist lightly touching his hair while a dash of warm air brushed over his skin. He could then see the fog beginning to die down and clear out.

An entire desert was erected upon where the swamp was located. Instead of vines and vegetation, there were cactuses and tumbleweeds being blown slightly around the environment. Sand had replaced the surface of the water and the midnight sky was turned back into daylight once more, including a burning hot sun that shined down from the roof. The humidity also changed from moist to dry while the flames within the cauldrons were nonexistent.

The three ponies stood within the middle of the scene. With all of their heads down, they looked like they had been walking through the San Palomino for days, making them pant, sweat, and cramp around their leg muscles. The earth pony’s figurine was illuminated.

“Meeting the heat of Celestia’s Sun, the three adventures carried themselves prideful and true to the mission of which they were tasked with. They managed within the sand to see the potential spot of were Appleloosa is currently located, only after the earth pony, Olona, managed to use her knowledge of irrigation to locate softened dirt below the valley of the Macintosh Hills. She single hoof-edly found water to refill their team’s spirits and needs for travel, along with a spot to temporarily grow and farm crops.”

The daylight turned back into the nighttime sky. While the desert remained in place, the three ponies were seen lying next to a campfire. Huddled up next to the flames, they wrapped themselves in their sleeping bags while the unicorn pointed to sky. His body was glowing.

“However, whenever they ever felt lost in their direction without any signs to put them back on course, the unicorn of the group, Scout Leader Darelittle, managed to use his knowledge in navigation and conquests under the rule of Princess Platinum to steer the team back on the correct course. It came quite in need a few times whenever the group passed through the mountains such as the Smoky…”

An image of a foggy mountain top appeared.

“...Fowl…”

Another picture of a clear top mountain appeared next to Smoky’s image.

“...and Crystal.”

Behind the scene of the desert, an entire mountain range illuminated before The Storyteller within a shine that glimmered like crystals.

“He managed to provide the usual, and often times more safer passages through the terrains that each cliff or ridge had to offer while also finding shelters within the gorges or caves nearby.”

“Thus, our story now focuses upon a particular instance that happened late in their expedition.”

The Storyteller paused as he inhaled. The set began to move from the desert and into the mocked upped version of the Crystal Mountains. As he exhaled, a sudden, abrupt rush of gust, smoke, and sand began to spiral from the middle of the stage and into the ceiling, creating cloud cover that blocked out the view of the roof. While the cauldrons bared chunks of clear blue ice, a large snow covered rock dominated the jagged, ice covered floor. The rock had a dark opening within it to signify that it held a cave within. Dusty could feel slight brushes of bone chilling wind.

“After scaling into the Crystal Mountains on an attempt to discover a safe trade route from Neighagra to Rainbow Falls, the harsh snow storms of the pass had forced the travelers to seek shelter within a stalagmite cave while waiting for the chilling conditions outside to die down.”

While the ice within the cauldrons began to crystallize with a simple change of color from azure to a luminous ruby, the entire room became the inside of a red crystal cave with the fog covered roof being converted into a rocky ceiling. The snow on top of the giant rock melted away as its dark gap began to show an image of a violent blizzard blowing outside of the entrance. Flakes would occasionally twist and drift into the cavern before falling to the ground.

In the middle of the set, a fire was burning bright as the three adventures huddled around the warmth with their supplies laying on the ground. Freezing and shivering, each pony had their blankets wrapped around them in an effort to prevent hypothermia due to the sub-zero temperatures. Olona and Darelittle were literally deadpanned while Aulus was in terrorized disgust, looking up into the atrium.

“Ugg, this place gives me the damn creeps,” he said with an annoyed tone in his voice.

Olona spoke up with the same accent as Aulus. “We could not have picked a better place, right?”

“Will you two just shut it?” snapped Darelittle with his accent. “If you guys rather wish to die than rather camp out in here, then be my guest and go back out there and stand in the cold. I’m sure it will welcome you quite quickly.”

“Look bub,” Aulus replied. “If you just stuck to the route before Griffkey’s way through, we would have clear out of the path before the head of the storm arrived!”

“Well excuse my Aulus, some of us don’t have wings, but near broken legs from the distance we have already traveled. Unless you want us to physically defy gravity by scaling the way through’s cliff, I think I’ll keep the realism on the ground.” The leader let out a huff.

Aulus could be seen with a stern look towards Darelittle.

He continued, “Besides, we should have stopped awhile back for a rest period anyway. So if you are done bitching about the decisions we made, let's help each other out by setting up the rest of the camp... so we can rest here for the night.”

He paused and looked back upon the pegasus. The hefty pony wanted some kind of a response out him as he leaned towards Aulus with his eyebrows raised and his head cocked to the side. “Shall we?” said Darelittle with an inviting tone.

“Ugggg, fine. But don’t expect anything more out of me,” replied Aulus.

I wouldn’t count on it, Darelittle thought.

Olona was seen on the other side of the cave, scratching at the dirt. “I already dug up spots for our tents if that helps.”

“It should….” Darelittle looked up at the ceiling before panning his head and viewing the storm billowing in front of the entryway.

“It should.”

The fire was burned out upon the scene of tents that surrounded it. The wind was still howling as the crystals continued to glow their ominous red throughout the cavern. Besides the bustling sound of the snowstorm, all remained quiet.

The storyteller spoke up. “After the fire had burned out and the Gadabouts were snuggled within their separate sleeping bags and tents, they rested their bruised and beaten bodies while munching upon their stored food and drinks. Once they were half asleep, Olona happened to wake up to the sound of a rather faint scream. Terrified by the noise, she peered out of her small tent and alerted the others, pointing in the direction of where it possibly came from.”

Aulus was annoyed to be woken up by his friend’s shouting. “It’s all in your head, Olona!”

“No, I swear I heard something in there,” she hollered, rather certain that her ears did pick up something similar to somepony crying out in terror. She pointed, “...Further on down this cave.”

Darelittle asked, “Are sure that you didn’t mistake it for the wind?”

“No!” Olona stepped out of her tent with her blanket tied to her armor, managing to let it cover her entire coat. “That scream I heard was clear as day, and it's coming from deep within this cave. I must check it out.”

“Why?” Aulus was perplexed by her decision. “It’s dark, foreign, and their could possibly be something down there that could eat us as a snack if it wanted to.”

The unicorn produced a ball of light from the tip of his horn, casing a white glow that lit up the cave “Or it could be somepony else in trouble…”

He pointed to the floor. “We seem to not be the only ones that have stepped in here before.”

About ten feet away from the camp, there were hoof prints that lead on further down into the depths of the cavern. Far enough away from the marks, the three explorers knew that their wasn’t any chance of them creating the same tracks which Darelittle saw. Since their arrival, they stayed within a tight circle around their campground.

“They look fresh as well,” Olona noted, noticing each print was pressed firmly into the snow.

She sighed. Pulling out a glow stick from within her pack and tossing it onto the ground, she stepped on it to activate its luminous green glow. Before she wanted to pick it up with her mouth, she said, “I will go and check it what made these marks… and if I am not back within ten-”

“No, Olona!” Darelittle intervened. “You know how we work, you simply cannot just go into that alone. It’s simply too dangerous and I simply will not allow this to-”

He was cut off by the sound of a female scream that reflected upon the crystals that surrounded the camp. Looking upon Aulus before turning to Olona, he could tell that neither of them produced the noise they all just heard do to the proximity of how close they were to each other. If Olona was the pony that had produced it, then the volume would have been a lot higher.

Due to the desperation within the shriek, Darelittle groaned as he changed his mind about going deeper into the cave. While he had doubts about the fact that they would actually find anything alive besides themselves, he had to assume their was something within their cave just crawling around and producing a noise loud enough for all of them to hear. Whether or not if it was friendly rested upon the group’s luck.

He whistled over at Aulus, “Come on you lazy pegasus.”

“Uggggg…” Aulus was not thrilled by the sudden change of plans.

The Storyteller narrated, “As Darelittle hit his horn and casted away the darkness further within, he lead his fellow comrades down into the depths of the cave while following the hoof prints as a guide. Leading themselfs pass the rock walls that shows signs of charred ash, hoof marks, and broken chunks of rock, the three began to wonder about the possibilities towards what might have caused the destruction to occur. One thing was for certain, there had to have been one tartarus of a fight.”

“It seemed like some pony went mad in here and shot up this place,” implied Aulus, flying above Olona and Darelittle.

“...Our it could be that some weird black magic tried to consume the mind of a some lonely pony and it fought in desperation to keep its own sanity!”

“Uh-um,” replied Olona.

The pegasus trembled, “OR IT COULD HAVE BEEN A MONSTER WANTING TO-”

“Oh will you pipe it down a notch!” snapped Darelittle, maintaining concentration upon his ball of light while not wanting to hear the concerns of his group.

“Sorry.”

Inside the auditorium, the giant rock that adored the stage faded away into obscurity and left behind the three explorers, their ball of light, and the rest of the cave that surrounded them. While the wailing wind could still be heard echoing throughout the cavern, Olona and Darelittle’s hooves clacked upon the ground as they journeyed towards a dead end.

The Storyteller declared, “After reaching a point where they couldn’t continue any further, Scout Leader Darelittle ordered his ponies to split up and search the place for any signs of struggle from whatever caused the markings to occur. However after they searched the grounds, they found nothing after looking around for a various amount of time.”

“This was pointless…” Aulus rebuttaled.

Another scream howled through the cave and caused each pony to have their hairs stand on end. Startled by sudden noise from the unknown source, Aulus quickly flew around the hovering ball of light and landed in the vancity of Darelittle, who was wide eyed and turning his head on swivel. Olona had ran off to the other side of the misty room since her eye managed to catch something that shined during the screech.

“I really wished I didn’t hear that.” Aulus tucked his wings in tight, shifting his eyes left and right in search of what Darelittle might be trying to find.

“Me too,” replied the unicorn.

“It came from over here!” shouted Olona, waving the others down.

“All three of them trotting over to the source of the noise, and what they discovered changed the course of their entire journey,” emphasized by the narrator.

On the stage, Aulus and Darelittle troted over towards Olona and meetup with her. She was nearly shrieking by what she found. While Aulus held the earth pony within his wings, Darelittle invested further by trying to redirect his only source of light over a dark figure that leaned up against a crimson slab of crystal. Once it became within plain view of his sight, Olona screamed in terror as both Aulus and Darelittle stepped back, nearly disgusted and surprised by what they found.

Frozen by the temperatures within the cavern, the corpse of a fallen equine laid in rest of the three explorers. Above the neck, the head of the pony was bashed inward, leaving only bits and pieces of a broken skull while the cranium was plastered on the red stalagmite. Below the head, the carcass remained a mess of bloodshed, slashed up fur, and charred skin that was rugged to the touch. The back hooves were completely cracked while the front hooves held onto a large object draped over with a brown cloth.

“What on Celestia’s green earth is that?!?” screamed Aulus. His eyes widened in shock while he pointed a shaky hoof at the frozen body.

“Well, obviously is a dead pony…” Darelittle wasn’t completely fazed by the sight as he inspected upon what remained of the equine. He stated, “He properly died from serious head trauma due to the wounds that were inflicted.”

“You don’t think he did that to himself, do you?” Olona asked, weeping at the site after being nearly terrified to death by it.

“I don’t know really... ” Darelittle used his hoof to touch the top of the bashed in poll. Feeling the solid flesh of ice and fur, the unicorn retracted its foot before using to scratch his chin. It's the only thing in here besides us, he thought to himself. And since their isn’t signs of another presence that could have bare witness to his death, like other hoof or animal tracks on the ground… He took his hoof off his chin and lowered his head, shaking it slowly as his eyes were closed. He could only feel sorrow for the conclusion he thought was the most likely at that second.

“Sad really…” were the only words Darelittle could speak before he sighed.

“Should we just leave it here?” Aulus spoke while still holding Olona within his wings. She had managed to recomposing herself within his grasp, reducing her sobbing down to slight sniffles. Her eyes were red from the crying she did.

“I’m afraid so…” replied Darelittle. “It wouldn’t do us any good to even try to lift this from where it lays. Probably will fall apart since its stuck to ice and I cannot have us taking this thing back down the mountain since it will give us extra dead weight.”

After seeing that she was going to be able to recover from her sudden trauma, Aulus took his wings off Olona as he walked over to gaze upon the body himself. Looking at the rather large drape that seemed to be covering an object, the pegasus pointed at while he had his head tilted to the side. “It seems to be holding onto something quite large… Here, let me see if I can pry it from his hooves.”

Pushing both of his front hooves against the drapes, he leaned into the solid object and tried to push the thing from the equine’s frozen grip. Huffing and grunting from the amount of force he put into each thrust, it seemed to Aulus that whatever was underneath the tapestry wasn’t wanting to move anywhere or anytime soon. However, the pegasus continued to try and pry at it without any signs of progress.

“Damn it,” he cursed. “The hooves are frozen to the grip! Darelittle, you give it a shot!”

Rolling his eyes, the unicorn lit up his horn and focused upon the cold hooves of the deceased pony. Using a simple heating spell, Darelittle began to warm up the front hooves of the dead carcass as the icicles began to melt away with the passing time. Before long, the strength within the grasp began to falter as the object should be seen slipping away from the hoofs of the equine. Aulus was then able to knock it out of its resting place and let slide onto the floor, uncovered from the blanket.

Out of all the things they never expected to unravel from the cover, the explorers soon set their eyes upon a glowing pink crystal shaped in a fashion that exactly resembled a heart. Lying on the ground in the middle of the room, the three explorers were almost immediately awe struck by the jewel as they approached it with newfound curiosity. Seeing it illuminate such a warm color that it made itself look like it was alive and beating with magic, the jewel managed to give off a certain mystic presence that radiated through Aulus, Olona, and Darelittle. It seemed to further encourage them to examine it closer.

“Woah….” Olona had the glare from the crystal within her eyes, mouth almost open by the beauty of it.

“What in tartarus is that!” Aulus has his forehead scrunched as he tried to process exactly what he was seeing in front of him, as if the dead body from earlier wasn’t hard enough already.

“It looks like a pink, Crystal Heart.” Olona tried to touch it with her front hoof, only to be stopped by Darelittle placing a hoof on her chest.

“Don’t touch it!” he declared, pointing at the object like it was toxin. “We don’t know what this thing is and by the look of it, it might seem very valuable…. Especially since this pony died with it clutched to its hoofs.”

“Um, no shit!” Aulus yelled, not being mindful of his language.

“I know,” Darelittle responded. “But I don’t want to run the risk of anyone’s lives being in more danger than the circumstances we are currently in… In the best interests of the group, I will say that I will take into the care of this thing until we get back to your base to further look into this thing. Is that understood?”

Aulus and Olona looked at each other before they nodded their heads in unison, unsure with what Darelittle could have tasked himself with.

“Good,” the unicorn sharply stated.

After levitating the heart off the icy cold ground, Darelittle and Olona had proceeded to leave the room, but stopped shortly after they noticed Aulus looking back over the dead equine which still laid by the crimson stalagmite. With a single huff of air, the pegasus grabbed the cloak that originally laid over the heart and threw it over the pony, covering it entirely with also a sense of serenity for the life which occupied the body. Joined by his friends, the three adventurers held a eulogy for the equine with words that simply described the meaning to life and how everypony should live it to its fullest.

With the conclusion of the memorial scene, the Storyteller continued his part once more. “After sharing some words of kindness for an unknown pony, Aulus, Olona, and Darelittle made their way back to the camp at the front of the cave’s entrance. Reaching their base with the heart in tow, Aulus and Olona saw Darelittle set the gem down beside himself while relighting the fire to bring back their light and warmth. In the burning azure glow, they all managed to gaze upon the craft of which they discovered. Each picking apart the details of the gem, they all agreed upon the fact that is was something not made from pony hooves.”

“It doesn’t even seem to be real, especially considering how smooth it looks,” Aulus remarked.

“It actually looks quite pretty, especially with the fire reflecting off the surface of the gem.” Olona noted, seeing how the flames glistened across the glass frame of the jewel.

“I concur as well, that pony certainly was holding onto something quite interesting.” Darelittle looked upon the crystal and peered his head around it, admiring the curvature and how the heart seemed to be flawless in its cuts.

“Do you think it's one of those priceless jewels the higher ups once talked about, or some long lost treasure of the Princesses...” Aulus almost fluttered his wings with excitement over the ideas that came to his mind. “...or maybe even a rare diamond that no one has found yet!”

“I don’t know.” Darelittle levitated the jewel into the air. “...but it might a fetch a good price at an auction…”

Aulus and Olona stared at him with discontent at the proposal he just stated. To them, they didn’t like the idea of just selling something they just found after prying it from another pony, a dead pony nevertheless. It didn’t seem right to anypony within the group to make a quick bit of the property of others regardless of the circumstances and whether or not the deceased equine actually owned it.

“Orrrrr...” The earth pony proposed, “It would be a great gift to the royals for their efforts in funding our expedition.”

“I concur,” Aulus hastily favored.

With the gem slowly hovering beside Darelittle, it began to dim and brighten its pink glow in a steady oscillating rhythm similar to a beating heart more noticeably than before. The group then sat up as they approached the jewel, again curious by it's properties. Standing around the thing as it spun in space, the three ponies wondered why it was producing light in such an interesting manner.

“Why is it doing that?” Aulus pondered.

“I really don’t know.” Darelittle was beginning to huff and puff as he tried to break his levitation spell on the heart. Sweat could be seen from his efforts. “But it's now…. starting to… attract my…. magic.”

“Let me see if I can help!” Olona reached for the jewel, trying to push it out of Darelittle’s invisible grasp.

“Wait, no Olona!”

Upon touching the heart with her hoof, Olona’s eyes began to glow as a ball of light appeared above the scene on stage. While everything below it turned turned grey and froze within their places, the sphere began to project the three explorers dresses in formal attire as they stood upon a golden altar in Canterlot. With confetti raining down upon the royal crowd that gathered within an auditorium decorated in a festive manner with beautiful glass stained windows, Princess Celestia could be seen in front of the three Gadabouts, giving a speech to the mass.

“It is with great honor that I bestow upon these three individuals the new Equestrian Medal of Freedom for their sacrifices they made to help bring home one of our fallen military veterans along with their contributions and efforts to expand and learn about the great kingdom of which we occupy.”

The ponies began to cheer as Princess Celestia draped Aulus, Darelittle, and Olona with a gold star that hung upon a blue ribbon around their necks. After the earth pony received her award, the vision began to fade out as the ball quickly contracted inward before dissipating above the set. Meanwhile, the scenery within the cave, the ponies, the heart, and other miscellaneous items around their camp began to regain their respective colors as Olona fell back first and onto the ground. Hastily scooting away from the pink stone, she was quickly breathed in and out while her eyes were as wide as they could physically be.

With Aulus and Darelittle quickly rushing to her aid, she laid on the freezing cold earth before finally being held within their hoofs. It was at that moment she was certain of the next thing she wanted to say to them as her mouth tried to utter out words despite her internal shock. A minute passes by and after Olona had a moment to calm down, the pegasus and the unicorn found out what she was trying to say. To which, they all soon agreed upon a choice after Olona told them what had happened.

“We need to back to Canterlot immediately.”