Author's Note

Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.

-Oscar Wilde.

The Crystal Empire

Daring had The Optiquest on full speed after running into the reject poachers. Our ship only sustained some minor damage on the right side, by the cannons, so we would have to get that fixed as soon as possible. Secondly, the fact that Daring had someone on her tail began to unnerve me; surely as an explorer, I would think the list of people with the urge to want to kill you is low. And then there was the elephant in the room; the uncertainty of getting back to Detroit.

And stop my tyrant of a sister.

The skies were clear as far as we could see, Rin and Echo looking out on the front of the ship, talking and smiling. Blank was talking to Yuu and Hanabi while Grass Song wa showing Ai, Snow, Takiko and Ko how certain parts of the ship works.

And I stood by Daring, the cold wind on my face forcing me to stay as still as possible as not make it any worse.

"So, h-how much longer until we g-get there?" I asked, Daring looking at me to frown.

"Pansy." Daring said. "Not much longer, the bulk of the trip is over with, but we should be seeing the outskirts any second now. And, you may want to go below deck for some furs."

"Furs?" I asked. I looked at Daring and she was pretty much covered from head to hoof in furs, even the brim of her hat was covered in brown and white shaggy fur, blowing with the cold wind. "I'd rather not look like a puff pastry," I joked, chuckling.

Daring clicked her tongue, going so far as to walk away from the wheel and nudge me to the side of the ship and give me a unamused look as the sights whizzed by without a care in the world.

"Look to your right," Daring said, sitting down. "Tell me what you see."

I did, fighting the wind pushing my eyes to see what looked to be The Crystal Empire, along with what looked to be s-snow?

Wait. I'm not ready for this.~

"So, uh," I began looking at Daring frowning at me. "About dem furs-"

"No deal, do not pass go, do not collect 200 bits or any of my safely procured furs," Daring trotted away, leaving me hanging.

"Come on, Daring; you gotta understand from my side. I have no hair, no protection, and I can't speak for myself but-" I was cut off again.

"I understand you are a heathen," Daring spoke in a low tone, showing a small smile. "But, you're a part of my crew now, so I gotta take care of you. Head down there, rookie. . .I think we have something that can fit you."

I did just that, Snow appearing by my side as I took the brown, reinforced stairs.

"Hey there, Snow," I greeted, the little Wisp nipping at my ear as I immediately spied an open chest with what looked to be furs sticking out besides a folding table by the kitchen area.

"Snow!~" Snow helped me rummage through the chest, his efforts turning hats and leg warmers that were way too small for me. "Snow, Snow!" Snow frowned, his small white ears folding as he shook his head.

"I hear ya, buddy," I pulled out a purple fur hat, rejecting it. "None of these really do it for me, putting the color aside. But maybe they'll have something when we touch down."

Snow and I continued to go through the spacious trunk, discarding furs that were either too small to for me or would clash in a bad way. I had almost given up when I spied a piece of the bottom of the chest sticking up. Working my fingers to get a good grip, I pulled, the wood taking it's time to peel off until I lost my grip and got slung back a little, hitting my back.

"Damn," I cursed, feeling my fingers to feel that I got a small cut on my ring finger. "Maybe that was a bad idea."

"Snow!~ Snow chirped, sounding happy that I managed to hurt myself. And here I though we were friends.

"You little munchkin," I commented, ignoring the long black fur coat that looked to almost fit me to a t. "I should. . .wait,'' I got up and walked over, picking the coat up, feeling how smooth the fur ran against my fingers, smiling. ''Well, I guess found just what I needed. . .I wonder why it was put away like it was, though,'' I wondered, looking around the bottom of the ship until I heard Daring's voice call out for me.

''Hey, Jamir; you might wanna come up here now, or you're gonna miss the best part!''

''Let's go,'' I said to Snow as I jogged forward to the stairs, slipping on my new coat, the fit being just right as the length stopped a little bit past my knees and the sleeves came right to my hands. Being down there for the few minutes that I was certainly was enjoyable because of the heat, however the cold outside wasn't that bad with my coat on.

''What's going on?'' I asked, Daring smiling as she motioned behind her.

''Look for yourself,'' Daring said, The Crystal Empire finally coming into view. And in a way, it was worth the small wait to see.

''Whoa,'' Rin said, her eyes wide and smile wider than a mile. ''This place is awesome.~ So how long are we going to be here?''

''Not that long; just long enough that we can talk to Graceful Wind, giver her the Alicorn Amulet, possibly find somepony who help us help you and Jamir get back home,'' Blank began to sort some supplies on the deck.

''Make sense.'' I said, rubbing my sleeves, Rin eyeing my coat. "So would it be ok for us to come with you?"

"Yea, because the quicker that Graceful sees the two of you, the better," Grass Song levitated the walking plank over as The Optiquest began to settle down onto the ground, a slight rumble of the ship following.

"So i'm guessing it's always cold here?'' Rin asked as we began our walk off the ship, seeing the oddly shaped houses and road that looked to be made of crystal.

''Yea, this is one of the more colder places, well here and Yak-Yakistan,'' Blank flew, carrying the amulet in its case with her hooves. ''It almost was never known about at all until more recently.''

''Why?'' I asked.

''The Crystal Empire was enslaved by a tyrant, and it was saved by the power of 6 ponies and the power of friendship.'' Blank frowned, giving a look of knowing. The power of friendship? I highly doubt that your friends embracing the fact that you're all friends can stop somebody from controlling your life. But then again, I was in a world with talking animals, so just maybe something around that can be possible. ''I can tell by your lack of interest you don't believe me.''

''You're right, I don't, '' I frowned. ''But depending on long we're here, I can be proven wrong.

''So what's with the shine with everybody, and why aren't you guys the same way?'' Rin looked confused, pointing fingers between our crew and the few ponies walking the streets.

''Since the Crystal Empire is a place founded on the basis of how magic is today, they found a way to unite together and use that as power, which brought the Crystal Heart. However, a fallback of that was bringing the snow and nearly making all of their hard work seem like nothing,'' Daring commented, gesturing some ponies passing by. ''The heart reflected that back, and you get Crystal Ponies.''

We continued on, looking at the giant castle in the dead center with a kind of large dome building behind it as we ventured down one street with numerous amounts of carts and vendors, some with some kind of food and others offering clothes, but as we passed by, the hustle and bustle by the ponies that were already here began to die down as we approached a bookstore.

''And why are we here, to buy books or something?'' Rin wondered, her eyes wide with interest. Daring and the rest of the girls continued on, ignoring our questions except Grass Song, who as usual was nice enough to tell us something with some weight.

''This is where Graceful Wind lives. Or really, where you can find her most of the time. So we should be in and out with a way to get you guys back home.'' Grass Song skipped inside, smiling.

''You sure you believe that?'' Rin asked me, halting me from going inside until I said something. She hung her face low, the possibility of being stuck here beginning to dawn on her. And to be honest, it did with me, too. ''Really think this is the best way to go about it; and with them?''

I pushed her arm off my chest with a little bit of force, Rin looking surprised. I spoke in a low tone, looking her dead in her eyes. ''It's our only option, Red,'' I called her nickname, the shock seeming to go even further. ''Either we go with this, or the bloodshed back home will be worse than we can ever imagine. . .and coming from shadows when it's all said and done is not my style. You may not still trust them, but one of us has to,'' I walked forward, frowning as well. ''It's time.''

Rin closed her eyes and sighed, walking with me. ''Okay.''