Prologue: Beneath The Empire
Cold drafts of air seeped through the cracks and blew around the chamber. Water that had seeped through the ground and deep beneath the Crystal Castle dripped onto the floor, quietly echoing throughout the damp, dim room. The cold air made me shiver. The droplets of water are my sole company. It’s so boring down here.
Curses seem to be a part of the family business. First dad, now my sister. If it wasn't for the fact we were magically locked down here, I’m positive the Crystal Empire and the rest of Equestria would be destroyed, well, maybe. I don’t know where it all went wrong. We were a happy family one day, the next, it was like our worst nightmares had come true. Poor mother, I don’t think she made it up there on her own, even though she was a very capable mare. I hate my father, it’s really all his fault for letting this all happen. Then again, I don’t even know what happened, so how could I hate or blame him?
Being locked below a city in the dark leaves me with plenty of time to think about anything comes to mind. The bad thing about it is I’m stuck behind a wall, knowing the evil that lurks down here is waiting and watching for the perfect moment to escape, and I can’t do a thing to stop or prevent it. Maybe that’s why I hate my dad, for locking me down here with my sister. I wish dad would’ve disabled our magic completely instead of making it to where we just couldn’t use magic to leave, especially since sis has dad’s curse. I say it’s a curse because I don’t know what it is. It could be a spell, or maybe it really is a curse, or perhaps a sentient being of some sort.
But I know one thing. I’m safe where dad locked me up. Our dad put my sister and I in different chambers deep beneath the castle. Even though we’re in different chambers, I can still hear everything going on in hers, and I don’t like what I hear. I wonder if she even remembers me, or that I’m down here. I half of me hopes she doesn’t, but yet the other half of me hopes she does. If she doesn’t, that means I’m still safe where I’m at, but at the same time, if she does remember me, maybe it’ll snap some sense into her or something, I don’t really know.
Every day it’s something different yet always the same, if that makes sense. I hear her planning and the speeches she gives to who knows what. I don’t really know if that matters now. Some kind of event must be happening above, I hear lots of talking and music. I have this bad feeling deep in my gut. Maybe it’s nothing and I’m just paranoid. Being isolated for so long could very well do that to my brain.
Laughter echoed around the room. Sis must know something’s happening above. I think the bad feeling I had earlier might not be paranoia after all. Something’s rumbling, what is it? Is the wall breaking? Something black and gooey-looking is seeping through. No no no, she’s escaping, isn’t she? This can’t be happening. This can’t be...
Author's Note
The prologue and the first couple of chapters may feel a bit rushed, they probably are, but don't worry, everything about the story will become smoother and better polished as it goes along.
Also, for future references, The "∞" sign symbolizes the story is transitioning to a different plot or character(s), and the "*" sign symbolizes a time leap is occurring, meaning the story is going further ahead or backwards.
The warm afternoon sun shone brightly over the Crystal Empire. Ponies bustled about the streets. Today was the Crystal Faire, so the streets were lined with booths selling various items. The crystal ponies mingled with tourists from different parts of Equestria. One pony in particular from a far off village, 10 days by train from the Crystal Empire, was given strange but friendly looks as they trotted through the streets. The pony was a mare who looked like a zebra but had a unicorn horn. The mare's coat was soft primrose color, the unique Zebraic markings, and horn a dark tan. The mare's mane was a soft pink and creamy white color pattern and was long and somewhat curly, however, the mare had it pulled back into a large ponytail, her tail a similar style. To add onto her strange appearance, the mare's eyes were two different colors, a stunning gold, and bright lime green color.
Ponies gathered around the Crystal Heart, looking at it in awe and sharing stories about it. The zebra-looking mare walked up beside a pink pony with a swirling looking mane with balloons for a cutiemark and a white mare with a fancy styled purple mane and diamonds for a cutiemark. The two were talking about the items they had bought at the Faire.
"Excuse me, do you know where the library booth is?" The zebra-looking mare asked the pink pony, her voice having a tint of Zebra to it. The pink mare giggle-snorted at the other mare's appearance.
"I've never seen a pony like you before!" The pink pony declared cheerfully.
"You do look rather odd." The purple maned mare spoke. The zebra-looking mare chuckled.
"I've been hearing that all day. My name is A'azuri, I come from a village 10 days by train from here. I heard a fair was going on and that the library had a booth selling books." The mare spoke.
"You came all this way for some dusty old books? You'd be good friends with Twilight. My name is Rarity and this is Pinkie Pie." The white mare spoke.
"Come with us! We can show you the way to the library booth!" Pinkie pie said cheerfully.
"Thank you," A'azuri said happily.
The three mares started trotting past the Crystal Heart, but before they could get fully past it, a large wall of black crystals blocked their path. They tried to turn and run the other way, however, another wall of black crystals blocked their path. Soon, the three mares were trapped and surrounded by strange black crystals. A'azuri's ears flattened against her head as her eyes widened in fright. Rarity furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the black crystals.
"What in Celestia's name is happening?" Rarity asked.
"I dunno, let's ask the evil looking pony over there!" Pinkie Pie replied cheerfully.
"What evil-looking-" Rarity paused when looked over and saw the figure to their left "Who are you? What do you want?" Rarity demanded. The figure was a tall unicorn mare whose horn was large and curved, tipped with black, and looked similar to King Sombra's. Her coat was a dirty pink color, her mane and tail a dirty purple. A black crystal crown with a red jewel in the center adorned her head. Wings adorned her back, however, they looked fake and velvety. Red jewels adorned the center of the top portion of her wings. Black gooey-looking tendrils surrounded her wings and writhed around and tangled around down her legs and hooves, which were adorned by silver shoes. Lastly, her eyes were a dark purple. The mare laughed and walked over to three mares.
"Give me the book, and you will all be free to go." The scary looking mare spoke.
"Book? What book?" Rarity questioned.
"That book that zebra-unicorn looking thing has." The mare snickered.
"Nuh-uh, no way you're getting my book. It's a family heirloom. And I'm not a thing, I'm a Zunicorn. Or a Zebricorn. Whichever you prefer." A'azuri said defensively. The mare laughed. Without a warning, the mare cast a spell that slammed A'azuri into the black crystal wall with such a force, it knocked the Zunicorn out. A'azuri groaned and slightly curled up before she lost consciousness. Her satchel came unclipped and the book she had been carrying slid out.
"How did you know she had that book on her?" Pinkie asked.
"I have eyes in many places." The mare simply replied, lifting the book with her magic, the aura a green-purple. "What do you plan on doing with that book?" Rarity questioned. The mare looked at Rarity and smirked.
"Why spoil the surprise when you can find out later?" The mare snickered. Before Rarity or Pinkie could say another word or move a muscle, the mare, the book, and the Crystal Heart was gone.
Pinkie gasped. "The Crystal Heart is gone!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"I can see that Pinkie. Helping A'azuri is a bit more important right now." Rarity spoke, looking at A'azuri, who was still unconscious. Pinkie nodded in agreement. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor teleported in front of them.
"Rarity! Pinkie Pie! What happened?!" Cadence demanded softly. Rarity explained all that had happened as best she could. Cadence sighed and looked at A'azuri.
"We'll worry about the Crystal Heart later, let's make sure this mare is okay." Shining Armor spoke. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Cadence nodded.
* * *
Everything was all blurry as A'azuri opened her eyes. She blinked a few times, her vision returning to normal, and sat up. She was clueless as to where she was, however, the room being made of crystal told her she was still in the Crystal Empire.
"Excuse me, are you okay, miss?" A voice asked softly. A'azuri looked over at Princess Cadence. The Zunicorn bowed her head respectfully.
"I'm fine, Princess Cadence. I only have a small headache." A'azuri replied, lifting her head. Cadence gave her a small smile.
"That mare Rarity told me about took a book that belonged to you. What was it about?" Cadence asked.
"It was about folklores, myths, legends and fairytales. It was a family heirloom. You see, my family has been the local storyteller of my village. I'm only a child, so it's my responsibility as storyteller to keep the book with me and read to the children." A'azuri explained.
"So it's nothing more than a book for children? Then why would that mare want it?" Cadence thought aloud.
"I dunno, but I need that book back," A'azuri said. Cadence looked at A'azuri.
"Twilight and her friends will be able to fix this, and soon, you'll have your book back," Cadenced assured.
"No," A'azuri said.
"No what?"
"I can't let somepony else fix something that was my fault."
"None of this was your fault."
"It was. If I hadn't come to the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Heart would still be where it was."
"You don't know that."
"You're right, Princess, I don't. Besides, that's my book, and I was given the responsibility of taking care of it. It's my duty to get it back."
Cadence sighed. "Fine. You can fix this if you desire to do so so badly. But how are you going to-" Cadence was interrupted my two guards bursting into the room with a regal looking stallion behind them.
"You're majesty! We found this scoundrel lurking the halls!" One of the guards exclaimed. Cadence looked over at them.
"Scoundrel? I am no scoundrel, I assure you, miss." The stallion spoke.
"Who are you?" Cadence asked.
"My name is Astral Ice, miss. My father was King Sombra, but I take it you've dealt with him since the kingdom looks like it's flourishing greatly." The stallion spoke. "Sombra had a wife and a son?!" Cadence gasped.
"And a daughter too. Her name was Orchid Jewel." Astral spoke.
"Your sister. Where is she?" Cadence asked. "I have no idea, miss. Probably causing chaos if I'm out of the Chamber." Astral replied with a shrug. "Chamber? What Chamber? Come with me and explain to me everything you know," Cadence said to the stallion as she turned to A'azuri "When you feel like you're able to, come meet me at the place the Crystal Heart used to be." A'azuri nodded and looked at Astral Ice, who gave her a shy smile.
The other ponies left the room, leaving A'azuri alone. She sighed, knowing what Cadence was going to ask. How was she going to get her book back and ultimately save Equestria by herself? A'azuri didn't even consider herself the hero type, so she had no idea where to even start if she was going to do it alone. A'azuri sighed and got out of bed, then trotted over to the door and left. After taking a few wrong turns and getting lost along the way, A'azuri finally made it to the spot where Cadence told A'azuri to meet her. As she approached the Princess and Astral Ice, she took a deep breath in. While she had been finding her way to them, she had come up with an idea that was crazy enough it might just work.
The warm afternoon sun began to set behind the northern mountains of Equestria. A small cool breeze blew gently, softly tossing the Princess’s mane, as well as Astral’s and A’azuri’s.
“By the look on your face, I take it you’ve come up with a plan?” Cadence questioned.
“Yes, I have Princess.” A’azuri replied with a soft smile. Cadence returned the smile with a small grin.
“First, let’s have our friend here explain to you what he’s told me.” Cadence said, gesturing at Astral Ice. The stallion gave A’azuri a shy smile.
“Seeing how we’re rather pressed for time, I’ll give you the short version.” Astral Ice began. The unicorn stallion looked at the place the Crystal Heart used to be. His icy-colored mane tossed gently in the breeze.
“My father was King Sombra. He was a good king until the day he suddenly changed. Neither mother, my sister or I knew what had really happened, but mother said she suspected he’d researched some magic and found something awful. When he snapped and succumbed to the magic that had cursed him, my sister tried to protect my mother and I. Orchid did her best, but father was stronger than her, and sent both me and Orchid to chambers deep beneath the Crystal. He casted a spell on our chambers so that we couldn’t use magic to escape. We could still use our magic to summon food or something to do if we got bored. Father was a monster, but he still had a heart.
Anyways, while we were down there, it was impossible to know what was really going on up above on the surface. Father’s magic keep us separated, but my sister and I could still chat if we shouted loud enough, so we knew what was happening down below with us. Up until the day Orchid became like dad, we were always bored and dreaming of the things we’d do with mom, if she was alive still, and on our own whenever we finally escaped. I don’t know why dad chose her, maybe it was because she was the oldest child, I don’t really know.
But just like dad, she succumbed to the curse too. For countless years, day after day after day I could hear the evil that used to be my sister scheming and waiting for the perfect moment to escape. She couldn’t use her personal magic to escape, but her twisted little puppets, shadow ponies, or Umbrums as she called them, could writhe and wriggle their way out and hide in the darkest parts of the world, searching for a way for their queen to escape. About a month ago, I could hear them talking about a mare with a book in some far off village, and I’m assuming that mare was you, A’azuri was it? Anyways, they said the book contained stories she could take and use for her own sick and twisted needs.”
Astral looked back at A’azuri and Cadence. “One more thing I need to mention,” He said “I heard them mention something about establishing a base of operations in some place called the Arimaspi territory, near the Forbidden Jungle.”
Cadence stared off into space, thinking for a few moments, then looked at A’azuri. “So tell us the plan you thought of, A’azuri,” Cadence spoke. A’azuri nodded and gave them an assured smile.
“Well, I have a friend, her name is Crystal, and she’s a dragon. I was thinking maybe we could find her, and you could have Twilight’s dragon, Spike I think his name was, send Crystal letters about wherever Orchid Jewel has struck, using my storybook against the innocent. And then I could go there and fix the story somehow. It’s not very well thought out but it was the best I could come up with.” A’azuri explained, looking at Cadence.
The Princess opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Astral.
“You’re not going alone. No one knows my sister, the old her, or her in general, better than I do. And as her brother, I feel it is my responsibility to confront her and return her and my family back to normal, or as normal as I can possibly make it.” He spoke, flaring his nostrils a bit. A’azuri nodded her head slightly and looked back at Cadence.
“It’s a good start for taking back your book, and for saving Equestria, but I’m not so sure it’ll work out as well you might intend for it to. First of all, once you get to wherever you need to go, how will you ‘fix’ the story and whatnot?” Cadence spoke. A’azuri looked at her hooves, thinking hard about what she would have to do. Honestly, she didn’t get that far with the plan.
“That’s exactly what I thought the answer would be. Take the rest of the afternoon to search the library for a spell or two with Astral, then meet me in the throne room up in the castle after you find something.” Cadence said softly. A’azuri nodded her head and began to trot off to the library she had yet to find with Astral following along with her.
∞∞∞
A hard wind blew through rocky mountains, shifting small pebbles around and blowing the mane of Orchid Jewel right into her eyes. The mare huffed, getting annoyed having to move her mane out of her eyes every five seconds. The wind was the sole thing that annoyed her about the location her advisor, Valystine, had chosen for their base of operations. As Orchid, Valystine and Kal’tank, Valystine’s timber wolf companion, made their way steadily up the mountain side, Orchid thought about the things she would do once all of Equestria was hers. She was the type of mare who didn’t want anything in particular, power, an army, et cetera. Orchid was the type of mare who simply just wanted to watch the world burn, and by her own hoof.
Finally, they reached an area that looked promising enough to create and establish a base of operations. It was flat and vast with a few piles of different sized rocks that had most likely fell from the higher mountains above. Orchid looked out over the edge and down at the world below. For miles, all she could see were the trees of the Forbidden Jungle and the outlines of Macintosh Hills. Still thinking of things she would do to Equestria, her thoughts drifted her into a trance as she stared at the scenery. Valystine coughed, snapping Orchid back to reality. Stepping close to the edge, Orchid Jewel used her magic to create a large castle made entirely of black crystals.
Black crystals exploded and bloomed out of the rocky earth. Crystal roots embedded themselves into the ground and surrounding mountains, stabilizing the rest of the castle. Black crystals shot high up into the sky and bloomed out like a tree. The dark minerals rose and formed into a weeping willow shape. Inside, decorative rooms and long corridors formed. In all, the castle looked menacing, but yet it also looked oddly beautiful and welcoming.
Orchid’s magic aura flickered and stopped once she was done. Creating her castle took a lot of energy out of her, causing her to almost collapse, however she caught herself. She took a few moments the recover, then slowly stood back up. Valystine walked out over and put a hoof on Orchid’s shoulder.
“You did excellent, your majesty. When your powers grow much stronger, you’ll be able to do twice as much, as well as crush Equestria with a single hoof.” Valystine praised, looking up at the castle.
Orchid Jewel walked up to the oak doors of her the obsidian-colored castle. Using her magic to open the doors, she stepped inside. The interior was beautiful in Orchid’s opinion. The floor was marble and had a chestnut red and dirty gold color pattern. The carpet at the entrance had an intricate deep red and royal yellow color pattern. The hallway was L-shaped, and here and there along the hallway, knight armor statues stood decoratively on miniature pedestals, sometimes in between them were oak tables with golden cups and pictures of Orchid Jewel.
Here and there, large paintings of Orchid Jewel, Valystine, Kal’tank, and a group picture of five mares Orchid didn’t recognize hung. She turned to Valystine and took a moment to observe her loyal advisor. The unicorn mare had dark green skin and deep red eyes that seemed to look right through your very soul. Her mane a dark blue mane and the aura around her made her seem menacing. Valystine was wearing a simple dark brown hood and a sheath that held a wooden staff with an oddly shaped blue-ish-purple stone on the end held in place by an intricate wood pattern that was apart of the handle of the staff.
Orchid looked at Kal’tank. Her advisor’s pet was twice as large as your average timberwolf. Kal’tanks eyes, however, were not like your typical timberwolf’s. They were a deep blue color. Black-blue crystals jutted out of his body here and there. Overall, his appearance was frightening.
Orchid blinked and looked at Valystine again. “Valystine, who are those five mares in that painting over there?” Orchid asked. Her advisory gave her a sly grin. “You’ll meet them soon, your highness,” Valystine spoke, her sly grin getting bigger.
∞∞∞
Books messily piled up on the oak tables of the Crystal Empire Library.
“Have you found anything yet?” Astral asked from behind his pile of books.
“No, nothing so far. Any luck over there?” A’azuri asked, flipping the page of the book she was reading.
“Nope.” Astral replied. A’azuri sighed in frustration. There HAS to be SOMETHING in one of these books!, she thought angrily, tossing yet another unhelpful book aside.
A’azuri was on the brink of giving up until Astral said, “Hey, I think I’ve found something!” The unicorn mare quietly trotted over and looked at the book Astral had in front of him.
The large, closed book had the color of worn oak, strong enough to make one wonder if it was made of it, but one would learn it was leather-bound at the touch. The whole book glowed and seemed to have it's own magical atmosphere that seemed to reek of power. A’azuri wondered how old the book was, but since it was in excellent condition, it was hard to tell. The were was no title to be found on the book, or a name of who wrote it, not on the front, not on the back. Perhaps in the inside, but the book seemed to require a key.
Each corner of the book had an intricate design made of silver metal helped kept the book sealed. Each corner had a small hole in the center. On the side of the book where it opened, a triangular shaped, intricately designed clasp of silver metal with a small chain about a foot long also helped keep the book sealed. In the middle was an imposing keyhole inside of an oval with intricate flower designs and beautiful colorless gemstones around it.
The keyhole was fairly large like it required an abnormal sized key to open it. Between two of the flowers on the bottom side of the oval the keyhole was in was a fancy U-shaped piece of silver metal with a small circular and long rectangle piece of silver metal below it. In the middle of the U-shaped piece of metal were three colorless dots. A fairly long chain came from the rectangle piece of metal. The links were small, but the chain itself was long and tucked neatly beneath the book. Turning over, the chain led to this miniature cogwheel device.
Astral looked up at A’azuri. “Judging by the cover and how much trouble was put into keeping it sealed by the looks of it, this book has to contain something that can help us.” Astral said, sliding the book over to her. The unicorn used her magic to pick it up and examine it closer. “Do you think a spell opens it?” She asked him, setting the book down. “I would think so. It doesn’t exactly come with the key.” Astral replied, looking at the book. A’azuri looked at the other books in the pile around him. She picked up a small book that was made out of similar leather and similar corner designs as the mystery book Astral had found. “Maybe this book will tell us.” She spoke, showing it to Astral. He took the book with his magic, the teal aura reflecting in the metal corners.
Astral opened the book and looked at the first page. “Well unless we can find somepony who can read Zebraic, we’re not gonna find out how to open the book.” Astral spoke, tossing it onto the table and looking at A’azuri. The mare gestured at her markings and gave him an ‘Are you serious?’ look. The stallion gulped and gave her an embarrassed grin. “Oh yes… The Princess told me about you being half Zebra,” He said embarrassedly “I may have forgotten.” A’azuri rolled her eyes and picked up the book.
After reading over it for about five minutes, A’azuri found what they were looking for. “According to this, the book is opened with an unlock spell. Which thinking about it now, seems pretty obvious.” She said, looking at Astral Ice. The stallion chuckled a bit. A’azuri gave him a warm smile, then looked at the book. “But, the spell looks pretty complicated, even though all it is, is an unlock spell.” A’azuri said, studying the spell. A few moments of silence passed between them. “I don’t think I can open it on my own. Maybe if we cast the spell at the same time, we could open it.” A’azuri said. Astral nodded and said, “Sounds like a plan to me. Tell me what it says.”
Twenty minutes later of trying and failing, two unicorns finally opened the book. Pink magical aura swirled around A’azuri’s horn and down into the keyhole of the book. Astral’s teal magical aura did the same. The keyhole, the chains, and the small holes in the corner of the big book began to glow a pale purple color, and the cogwheel device on the back began turning. Moments later, the top portion of the triangle the large chain was attached to popped off, the right hand corners came undone, and the small chain unhooked itself from the cogwheel device.
Their magic aura flickered and vanished as the book flipped itself open. Inside were spells neither unicorn had ever heard of before. A’azuri picked up the book and looked at the different spells. There were gender spells, age spells, body spells and other sorts of odd spells. Further into the book, the spells became more serious and dangerous. There were a few spells A’azuri thought would help, however she wasn’t entirely sure. “Let’s take the book to the Princess and see what she thinks. Maybe she can find the right spell for us to use.” A’azuri spoke, closing the book. Astral nodded his head in agreement and stood up. Together, they checked out the book and trotted off to the castle.
