Return of The Crystal Empire

Return of The Crystal Empire.

Chapter Two.
Gathering The Group.

"The Crystal Empire. It's returned." Sky Blade said, Celestia was shocked by this news.
"Sky Blade, get Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor at once." Celestia ordered the stallion.
"Yes ma'am!" He responded, the two guard that sat at the base of the Princess's throne followed the general out the throne room.
Celestia grabbed a sheet of paper and a quill.
"My dearest Twilight, you and your friends must come to Canterlot at once."

Waves smashed against a beach as the summer sun was beating down on the west coast city of Los Albardas. On the beach, laying on a sunbed was a light pink alicorn, her wing tips were a light purple and she was wearing sunglasses, she was drinking an ice cold lemonade.
"This is the life." She said, placing the glass on a nearby, her husband trotted over, levitating two ice cream cones in his magical grasp.
"Ok Cadence, i got you a ninety-nine with a flake and strawberry sauce." He said, sitting on the sunbed next to her.
"Thank you Shining dear." Cadence said, gently taking the ice cream and began eating it. Shining nibbled her ear seductively.
"Oh Shining~" Cadence purred.

"Princess Cadence! Prince Shining Armor!" A royal guard shouted, running up the beach to the young couple.
"Greaaath..." Cadence grumbled, "Just getting to the good part...." She grumbled some more.
"What's wrong Lucas?" Shining Armor asked, saluting the stallion.
"Message from Princess Celestia, sir!" Lucas replied, saluting back before giving Shining Armor the letter, Cadence looked over Shining's shoulder.
''What does it say dear?'' Cadence asked. Shining then gave her the message; she read the brief message quickly, gasped as she realized what Celestia’s message was, and then nearly shouted, “We're needed in Canterlot at once!”

"Lucas, i want you to go to our hotel room and gather all our belongings and put them in our private railway carriage at the train station." Shining ordered Lucas.
"Yes captain!... i mean yes Your majesty!" Lucas said before running back along the beach and towards the hotel.
"What do you think Celestia wants?" Cadence asked as the two ran to towards the beachfront railway terminus.
"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's big!" Shining responded as the station building came into view.

They ran through the station and towards the private railway coach just as Lucas appeared dragging the suitcases with him, Cadence's horn lit up, she grabbed the suitcases and Lucas and put them in the coach before giving in herself, Shining followed close behind. The door shut behind him just as the train began to pull out the station.

"Quills quills quills?! Where are my quills?!" A purple unicorn panicked, rummaging through drawers and raiding the cupboards of her home, the Golden Oak Library
"Right here Twilight!" A purple and green dragon spoke out, holding a pack of quills in his claws. The unicorn, known as Twilight Sparkle took the quills and shoved them into her already full saddlebag, "Your welcome." Spike grumbled.
"Flashcards! I should make some flashcards!" Twilight shouted, Spike rolled his eyes, packing his and Twilight's belongings, "Oooh maybe i should make a friendship lesson report!" The mare added, Spike facepalmed.

"Twilight! How do you know that this is a test? It could be that Celestia just want us to help her plan a social event." Spike put simply, Twilight looked at him, "I know i know, 'Why would the Princess want us to help plan an event when she has ponies for that?' To be honest, the royal event planners are a bit.... incompetent." He added, Twilight couldn't help but chuckle at that remark about the incompetence of the royal event planners.
"I understand what your saying Spike but we can't risk that and be unprepared." Twilight said with concern, Spike sighed and rolled his eyes, Twilight wrapped her hooves around Spike and embraced him in a hug, "I'm sure it's just a routine exam, but why ask for our friends to join too." She added.

"It's a mystery to me Twilight." Spike said, picking up one of the open books of the floor, he flipped it over and looked at the page.
"It's not a mystery! It's the plot!" A pink earth pony shouted, literally leaping out the page.
"Ah! Pinkie!" Spike screamed, throwing the book away from himself.
"Hey Twilight!" The energetic pink pony simply smiled as Spike fearfully picked the book back up and walking down the stairs and towards the library level of the Golden Oak.
"Pinkie!?" Twilight screamed, the element of magic was started by the sudden appearance of the element of laughter.

Spike walked over to one of the bookshelves around the library and placed the book back in the correct place, as he was about to go back upstairs, he heard a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" He shouted up, "Ok!" he heard Twilight shout back. Spike approached and then opened the library’s front door with a clawed hand. Before him, standing on the flat stoop was Twilight's four other friends, Rarity, a white unicorn named Rarity, an orange earth pony named Applejack, two Pegasi, a blue one called Rainbow Dash and a yellow one called Fluttershy.
"Hey girls, Twilight's upstairs, come in." Spike said, opening the door wider.

"So, Spike, what does the Princess need us for?" Rarity asked, Spike shrugged.
"Twilight seems to think it's a test, i think she's exaggerating on that. I mean it could be as something as simple as event planning." He replied, Rarity chuckled
"Thats our Twilight." Applejack replied. Rainbow, Fluttershy and Spike chuckled.
"Twilight! The girls are here!" Spike shouted again. Trotting was heard as Twilight and Pinkie came down the stairs.
"Morning girls." Twilight said, they smiled at her, "Ready to go?" She added, they nodded, Twilight's saddlebags ripped open, spilling their contents across the floor.

"Twilight, do you really need all that? Isn't that a little excessive?" Rarity asked, everypony just looked at her.
"Say's the one who brought a scarf to stop a dragon from sleeping in Equestria." Rainbow rolled her eyes, Rarity blushed as Applejack and Fluttershy put some of Twilight's items into there saddlebag to lower the load on her, Rarity quickly did a patch job on Twilight's saddlebags
"Remind me to do a proper repair on them when we get back." Rarity asked Twilight, Spike quickly wrote that down for Twilight in her journal. They then left the treehouse home and walked towards the train station.

It was only a short walk through town to the train station, the girls simply talked on the way, one part of the conversation was about favourite candies and cakes, another part was about which gemstone was the prettiest and favourite in their opinions.
"Sapphires are my favourite gemstone, if i have a daughter i'm naming her that." Rainbow said, getting a d'awww from the others, they stepped up into the station building.
"Seven tickets to Canterlot please." Twilight asked the ticket master.
"That'll be seven bits please." The ticket master replied, Twilight placed seven gold coins on the desk and grabbed the tickets with her magic.

The group stepped out on the platform used for Canterlot bound traffic, the station was empty, not uncommon for this time of year but still unsettling.
"Once with done what ever Celestia is asking of us, i'm gonna go shopping in the city." Rarity said, "I need some new fabrics for the boutique anyway, so why not get them while i'm there?" She added as the train pulled it. It was a black tank engine pulling three maroon coaches.
"All aboard for Canterlot!" The guard shouted as a few ponies disembarked. The group quickly got aboard and sat down in one of the compartment.
"I've got to admit, it was nice of the humans to give Equestria some of their technology all those years ago." Twilight said, getting comfortable on the blue seats.
"It sure is amazing, isn't it?" Applejack replied, looking around the carriage as the train carefully departed Ponyville.

Twilight pulled out a book from her saddlebag and flicked through the pages.
"According to this book, this carriage is called a 'British Railways Mark 1'." Twilight read aloud as the train crossed over a small bridge crossing the stream that ran through the town.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with them my sister?" Asked a blue alicorn, her name was Luna, she looked at a stained glass window in the throne room.
"Yes, i'm sure that they will not fail in this task." Replied a white alicorn, her name was Celestia.
"The Crystal Empire's magic is powerful, it can't fall again, not now." Luna replied
"I promise you Luna, it won't. I know the lose of the Empire hit you the most but i promise, it will not fall again my sister." Celestia responded, wrapping a wing around her younger sister.

"Your highness! Twilight Sparkle and her friends are here!" General Sky Blade announced, "Shall i send them in?" He asked.
"Yes. Send them him General." Celestia responded, Sky Blade saluted and went to get them, "Trust me Lulu." She added, looking at Luna.
"If you say so Tia. If you need me, i'll be in my chamber." Luna said, walking out the throne room, she smiled at Twilight and her friends as they walked past her.

"You wanted to see us princess?" Twilight said, bowing before Princess Celestia.
"Twilight my dear, no need to bow to me every time we meet." Celestia smiled, Twilight quickly stood back up.
"Sorry we're late!" Cadence shouted, she and Shining ran into the throne room.
"No need to be sorry, you're on time my dear niece." The Princess of the sun replied, Lucas appeared in the hallway outside the throne room, he saluted General Sky Blade.

"You may be wondering why i called you all here. Well there is no easy way to say this, but.... The Crystal Empire has returned!" Celestia said, the room fell quiet Twilight's jaw dropped.
"''The Crystal Empire? You mean it’s real! But it’s just a myth!!" Twilight said, breaking the silence. The only sound afterwards was the sound of her saddlebag ripping open again.
"Yes, The Crystal Empire is real." Celestia said, she brought forth a crystal and placed it on the floor, her horn lit up and the crystal began to glow, all of a sudden a hologram of a city appeared where the crystal was, a bright flash revealed a large white and blue palace at the center of the city.

"One thousand years ago, Sombra, a unicorn, whose heart was as black as night, took over The Crystal Empire." As Celestia said this, the palace at the center began to become black and burnt, "He forced the citizen to be his slaves and mine crystals for him. He was ultimately defeat by me and Luna, using the Elements of Harmony. He was striped of his physical body and turned to shadow and banished to the ice of the Arctic North. Unfortunately, he placed a powerful curse on the empire that caused it and all the empire’s inhabitants to be lost to limbo - a space between worlds where time stands still." Celestia finished up with the hologram retreating back into the crystal which she levitated above her.

"If the Empire is filled with hope and love." She said, pointing her horn at the crystal and thinking of happy memories, it began to spark and reflect bright colours around the room. "Then these feelings are reflected across Equestria and beyond." Her eyes began to emit purple mist and began to glow green, her yellow hue of magic turned black, "It hatred and fear take hold." She said as the crystal turned black, a shadow grew across the floor, more black crystal appeared that in turn made more shadows that also turned to black crystals which encaged the group. Celestia quickly though of a happy memory and used it to destroy the crystals, "This is why i need your help in finding a way to protect the Empire." Celestia added, placing the crystal back beside her throne

"But what if we fail?" Cadence responded, the grouped nodded and her question, Celestia smiled.
"You won't, you know you will find a way to protect it." Celestia replied, "Now, quickly, get to the Empire!" She added, the group nodded and ran out the room, "Twilight, can i speak to you for a moment." Celestia spoke up.
"Don't worry Twily, we'll meet you outside." Shining Armor said, Twilight smiled at her BBBFF, she turned to Celestia.
"Yes Princess?" She asked, approaching her mentor, Celestia waited until everyone else left the room.

"Twilight, what i'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room, i'm i clear?" The princess asked, looking at her prized pupil.
"Crystal clear." Twilight said, chuckling at her bad pun, Celestia chuckled.
"There is something about Cadence you must know." Celestia replied, moving closer to the purple unicorn.
"What is it Princess?" Twilight asked, Celestia whispered something in her ear, Twilight gasped.
"You serious?" Twilight asked in a mixture of shock and confusion, Celestia nodded.
"I am my dearest Twilight, now go and get to the Empire!" Celestia ordered. Twilight ran out the room, "I won't let you down!" Celestia heard her shouted

"You are one step closer my dear Twilight." Celestia whispered before looking around before her horn lit up, in a flash, a statue appeared, it was draconequus, frozen in terror. Her horn lit up again and the statue cracked open.
"Ahh!" The draconequus screamed before looking around, it saw Celestia, "Oh, its sun butt." It added, she smiled, "What do you want Celestia?" It asked
"A game of chess, 2 out of 3, what do you say Discord?" Celestia asked, Discord rolled his eyes
"Fine."

It took some time, but the group finally made it to the Arctic North, they boarded a work train at Snow Lake and used it to get to the Empire.
"Lets just hope you aren't too late." Twilight said as the wind roared and howled outside.
"Don't worry Twily." Shining Armor said, sitting down next to his sister, "I'm sure Sombra hasn't returned, making our job easier." He added, Twilight cracked a smiled.
"I think we're here." Spike said, looking out the window and seeing grass. The train stopped sharply, the group got out and the train quickly sped away. They looked at the site before them with awe
"Sweet Celestia!" Rarity said, breaking the silence, they looked upon the Crystal Empire and gasped.

A roar was heard behind them, they turned to see a pony of shadows charging at them.
"Quick! Get inside!" Shining shouted, his horn sparked up as a purple shield began to engulf the Empire.

End of Chapter Two.