//------------------------------// // Part 1 - What Lies in the Darkness? // Story: Uncrystallised // by Krystal Dusk //------------------------------// Chapter 1 She snapped her eyes open, staring into a thick blackness which no light could penetrate. Her heart raced and she breathed rapidly as she could neither move nor see; but as her breath deepened, life streamed back into her limbs and she stood with weary legs. As she rose, shackles scraped along the stone floor, chafing against her coat and weighing against her hooves. She staggered backwards as her mind swirled. Where am I? she repeated several times in her head. The wind howled far above her head, making her body shiver from the cold. As she remained still and listened, she regained some of her senses and she could hear faint breathing nearby. She opened her mouth to ask who was there, but only a hoarse moan emerged as her throat was dry and sore. With some hesitation, she approached the sound carefully until her muzzle hit against the warm coat of a body. She darted her head back in fear, but calmed as the smell was familiar and the warmth inviting. Feeling overwhelmed by the familiarity in an otherwise dark and uninviting world, she slumped against the body, feeling its chest expand and recede every time it took a breath. Her heart eased and she began wondering who she was. With no memories of the past, she touched her face to imagine what she looked like. On her forehead, she found a horn which she followed along its shaft until she whimpered as she stung herself on the tip. While laying crouched on the floor, she could feel how the breath of the body next to her became shallower and shallower. Her heart was in her mouth as the breath disappeared, making her sob and shiver. She dug her face into its chest and wrapped her tail around herself as the cold air slowly replaced the warmth that the body had emanated. *** The sun shone through the open gate, illuminating the entrance. But further inside, the darkness became thicker, and they had to rely on their magic to illuminate a path. Moss covered the stone wall and snails lurked on the floor. Rarity whimpered as she stepped on one. “Eww… Do we really need to explore such an icky place?” she said while rubbing the flattened snail from her hoof on the moss. “The air in here is far too damp and it will ruin my complexion,” she went on. Applejack sighed heavily and said. “Why do you always have to complain whenever we are on a mission? Besides, this is the only lead we got, we must investigate. Right, sugar cube?” Twilight stared down into the depths of a spiralling stairway, paying no attention to her friends. A faint echo reached her ear. A whimper? “What's the matter Twilight?” Rainbow Dash said while flying in front of her, dispelling her from her thoughts. Twilight shook her head and said, “It’s nothing…” and took the first step down the stairway. She swallowed dryly and glanced over her shoulder. They looked with determination at her and she steeled herself and descended into the hole. *** As she lay lifeless in darkness a faint echo reached her ears, followed by a gentle breeze, clearing the air around her. The longer she listened the clearer the echoes became until the sounds turned into voices; but the words melted together in her ears, making it difficult to distinguish what was said. As she turned towards the sound, she saw a small stream of light shine above her. She crawled closer to the now cold body, closing her eyes tightly, afraid what may emerge. Tears welled in her eyes as the voices became louder, her body tensing and listening. “Brrr, it’s so cold down here,” the voice whined. “Yes, the ice only melted recently after all,” another voice answered. “Besides, the warmth of the Crystal Empire cannot reach such depths; not yet anyway.” The voices turned into murmurs, and the only thing she could hear was the echoes of their hooves clattering against the stone plates. As the echoes grew closer, they suddenly stopped and one of the voices remarked while coughing. “What an awful smell… I can barely breathe.” With a flash, the darkness receded and a blinding light enveloped the room. As the room became illuminated their coughs turned into gasps and one of the voices exclaimed. “Wha… what is this? What the hay happened here?!” She kept her eyes closed and listened how they explored the area around her. With her face burrowed into the body’s stomach, she could feel light glancing over her. She opened her eye and saw a purple mare stared down at her, who flinched backwards as she saw her eye open. “She’s alive!” the purple mare exclaimed, and more ponies came rushing towards her. What they saw was a small filly, hardly older than 6 years, lay curled up against a white coated stallion. The mane six stared at the markings that covered almost her entire body, and the colours that seem to fade away from her mane; all grey, except for parts of her forehead and along her neck that had a dark purple colour. Their bodies tensed as they saw the black and red horn with a pointy end on the filly’s forehead. A horn all too reminiscent of a certain stallion they had vanquished just recently. As they drew closer the filly hid her face back into the stallion’s body. The purple mare, who stood nearest, hesitated and glanced towards her friends. “What’s wrong with y’all!?” a blond mare bellowed while approaching the filly cowering on the ground. “Shh,” she said. “Everything is going to be alright,” while nuzzling her head along the filly’s neck. The purple mare took a slow breath and thinned her lips as she levitated the filly off the floor and into the embrace of a rainbow coloured pegasus. “Take her out of here, quickly,” the purple mare said. The pegasus nodded and flew gently towards the exit above. On their way up the filly dared to glance downwards. She saw the other ponies hunkered over a mare and a stallion that was lying lifeless on the ground facing each other. Her breath hung solid in her throat as she saw them but she didn’t know why. *** Muffled whimpers and squealing succeeded each other as the mane six glanced at the door next to them. “What are we going to do about her?” Applejack said in a low voice. “They just won't accept her, poor thing…” Rainbow Dash hovered over them and whispered as low as she was able. “Well, she can’t stay here! I mean look at her, she sticks out like a sore hoof wherever she goes. Twilight, isn’t there a way to undo what he did to her?” Twilight looked at each of their faces as they stared back with hopeful eyes. She hesitated but eventually said, “I’ve tried everything I could think of… perhaps I could find something in the Canterlot Library, or ask Celestia for help, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Sombra’s evil runs deep in her blood, and, as far as I know, there is no magic that can change that. She will have those marks forever… and that horn… But honestly, that is not what worries me the most.” “What do you mean?” Applejack asked. Twilight glanced towards the door as the moaning became louder. “Have you ever listened to the words that she says while she sleeps? I mean, she is a very quiet child during the day, but at night… her words are disturbing.” Rarity stomped her hoof on the floor, but instantly regretted it and looked embarrassingly around her friends. Her voice hissed as she said. “Damn him! Why did he have to do such horrible things to those poor fillies?” Applejack put her foreleg around Rarity and said. “I guess, all things considered, she is lucky to be alive.” “It wasn’t luck,” Twilight murmured. Rainbow Dash flew closer and said. “Say again?” “Do you remember the two Crystal Ponies we found in the dungeon? I think somehow they kept her alive, all this time while the Empire had… disappeared. They died for her.” They stood silently glancing at each other until Twilight opened her mouth. Her voice hung solid in her throat and she hesitated before she rallied. “In any case, I think her best chance is to take her to Canterlot, Celestia will know what to… or how to stop her, if it comes to that. *** The hall gleamed as the sunlight shone through the brightly coloured windows; windows that told stories of days passed. Guards stood along the wall that stared sternly at one another, with not so much as a glance towards her or Twilight. They sat patiently and admired the grandeur of the hall. Though they visit once or twice a week, Krystal never tired of hearing the stories that the windows represent. But, today was different. she looked at Twilight who grinned excitedly and stared towards the door, waiting for it to be opened. She hesitated, but then asked. “Twilight, am I a monster?” With wide eyes, Twilight looked at her. “Who told you that?” A memory from earlier today flashed before her. The silent murmurs and the glowering stares that always haunted her life, but today was the first time she had heard the word uttered clearly. “Nopony,” she said “just…” she paused, unsure how to finish the sentence. Twilight’s eyes flickered. “Well… you shouldn’t pay attention to what other ponies think of you. Do you think you are a monster?” she said while gazing at her eyes. Krystal was unable to answer as Twilight’s attention turned towards the door as it creaked on the hinges. A white coloured mare with big black glasses and a red tie peaked from the half-open door and said. “Miss Twilight, Princess Celestia is ready to see you.” Twilight greeted Raven with a nod. Her eyes were still fixated on the door as she said. “Sorry, we will have to talk about this later, okay?” When there was no response Twilight turned her head towards her. “Krystal…?” Celestia’s name echoed in her mind, followed by screams that pierced through her ears. Two grand white wings lay before her, one she held in her mouth, both dripping blood on the marble floor. An evil smile grew on her face as she glared at the broken mare screaming helplessly. Enthralled in the mare’s scream, another voice reached her ear, though only faintly, Twilight? Suddenly the scream disappeared, only Twilight’s sweet but terrified voice remained. She found herself staring directly into her purple eyes. Confused, she looked around. She hadn’t moved an inch. “What is it?! What happened?!” Twilight cried. Guards formed around them and tears fell from Krystal’s cheeks. She dashed in the other direction, between the guards. She could here Twilight shouting as the distance grew, but she ignored her cries and continued to gallop. With her eyes blurred she bumped into some pony on the open square, outside the castle. A cyan coloured mare squinted her already narrow eyes as she ran into her from behind. The mare scanned Krystal who crouched on the ground, her tears filled the cracks of the stone plates of the street. The mare’s eyes widen, her heart swelling. She dropped her bags and hunched over Krystal and said. “My what a pretty little filly. Why are you crying?” Her tears stopped flowing as she saw the mare’s eyes gleaming with warmth and sincerity. She threw herself into the stranger's embrace and the mare whimpered in surprise, but did not let her go. She burrowed her face into the mare's chest and sobbed. In the distance, she heard Twilight's voice echo. “Krystal!" Twilight rushed towards them and she stared at the mare that embraced Krystal. “I am so sorry! Come on Krystal. Let go of the nice lady.” The mare pat on Krystal’s head and said. “Oh, it’s quite alright, fillies at this age can be troublesome sometimes.” The mare nudged her towards Twilight and she reluctantly let go. Twilight wrapped her foreleg around her and said. “Thank you for understanding, miss?” “Dust, my name is Rain Dust.” *** Krystal stared at a wooden wall while lying comfortably on her bed, lost in thought. Only when she heard knocking on the door frame did she raise her head. “Dinner is ready, sweetie,” Rain Dust said. She forced a smile and followed Rain Dust down the stairs. She had been absent-minded lately, images had flashed before her daily, unpleasant images… accompanied by headaches. Rain Dust glanced over her shoulder at the end of the stairs, Krystal quickly grew a smile; the last thing she wanted was to worry her kind foster parents. At the table, a large grey stallion sat. He was a large pony, too large to be anything but an earth pony, yet a horn pierced through his feathery mane. He looked towards her and said, “morning Krystal.” “Morning Grey Horn,” she responded as she placed herself by the table. A plate of apple dumplings placed before her. “Looks like Celestia’s birthday is going to be even grander this year,” Grey Horn said while reading Equestria Daily. “She will apparently ride on a chariot down the main street along with the elite guards and other performers.” “Oh, that sounds lovely! I’ve never seen the Princesses up close before. Well, except for Princess Twilight of course. What do you say, Krystal? would you like to go?” As she turned her eyes towards Krystal she was only met with a blank stare. A black and green spark shimmered on the tip of her horn, that soon engulfed the entirety of it. It enveloped the table, causing it to levitate. The wood creaked as splinters flew from the wood breaking. Terrified, the couple backed away and shouted desperately to reach Krystal’s ears. It worked. Her eyes fixated on their terrified expressions, rather than passed them. Her body shivered and tears welled from her eyes. “I… I’m… sorry,” she stammered while picking up the broken tableware of the floor. The couple glanced at each other with grim expressions. Expressions that turned sombre as they watched her crawl on the floor, trying to pick up the pieces with her mouth while trembling. The couple rose and hugged her while they sat on the floor. “We love you, Krystal,” Rain Dust said. “You know that don’t you?” With her breath stuck in her throat, she nodded. They hugged until her body stopped trembling. The table had a large crack along the centre, but it was still in one piece and the tableware was placed back on it. They sat back at the table and ate in silence. Krystal stared at her plate and the crack that reached to her end of the table. She could feel the tension in the air and her heart began to eat faster as her mind began to cloud. At the tip of her horn, a faint spark flared as images of Celestia returned. She flinched. The couple glanced nervously towards her. She avoided their gaze and rushed from the table, heading up towards her room. Rain Dust reached out her hoof and opened her mouth, but no words came out. Inside her room, she banged her head against the wall, refusing to let her darkened mind take control of her again. She hoped the pain would distract her, as it always did. Exhausted she slumped against the wall, breathing deeply while her head throbbed violently. Downstairs she heard their voices through the door. Although they were muffled, they were clearly aggravated. She cursed herself and wished she was never born. With those thoughts in her mind, she suddenly rose and picked up a pen with her mouth, reluctant to use her magic. Dear parents, Everyone is right, I am a monster, and I realise now that I will never be the normal child you deserve. I can barely contain it, the darkness in me. It takes so little before it takes control of me. I don’t want to hurt you anymore. The images haunt me every day, her mutilated body laying before me. But, what scares me the most is that I want it to happen. A part of me craves it! I know that I will be responsible for something horrible in the future, so you best forget about me and continue your lives without me. Please don't follow me. Yours, Krystal Dusk. She felt like a weight left her shoulders as she scribbled down the last sentence. She sighed in relief, amplifying the feeling that her decision was the right one. She packed her things, but at the window, she hesitated. She stared at the door, imagining Rain Dust bursting inside and stopping her; but no pony came, and as her legs tired, she scaled down from the second floor onto the dark street. On the street, she looked past the buildings of the city and into the wilderness that she sought. At the corner of her eye, Celestia's castle appeared and the balcony which the princess views all of Canterlot from, and beyond. As her thoughts turned to Celestia she braced herself. She stood silently while closing her eyes, but nothing happened. Her mind was clear, and the dark thoughts all but vanished. With hesitation she stood still, her eyes fixated on the tower. Suddenly her horn flashed and a green purple ray surrounded her. Slowly she ascended back into her room and floated in between the sheets of her bed. Without resisting she closed her eyes and dared to hope for a scream-less night.