Chapter 4

In The Open

I watched as the crystal sword began to disintegrate and blow away in the wind. The heat in my chest had started dying. I sat back on my haunches, feeling completely exhausted. My whole body was aching.

“That was so awesome!”

My head whipped up to see Dash limping towards me. There was a bit of a burn on her side where she got hit by the changeling’s magic. “I...I am not even sure what I did.” I gave her a weak smile. “Are you alright, Dash?”

She looked at her side and shrugged. “I have been through a lot worse. Twi would be able to fix me up fine when we get back.” She looked over to where Berry laid. “C’mon. Let’s go see if she is alright.” I nodded and got up. We walked slowly over to Berry Punch. “Hey Berry, You alright?” Dash poked at the prone mare with a hoof.

Her answer was a resounding snore. Both of us started laughing. “I guess that answers your aah!” I winced as my tail brushed against me. Something scratched my backside pretty good. I looked behind me and lifted my tail. It was full of burrs. “Oh bloody brilliant!” I sat down and pulled my tail around to me. I tried to start pulling them out but with little luck.

Dash laughed and pushed me on my back. Before I could react, she lowered her head to my tail and pulled a bramble out with her teeth. The feeling of it as it ran through the hairs of my tail were wonderful. It was like brushing your hair but only a hundred times better.

I sat up and looked at the rainbow maned head between my legs. "Dash...I don't know about this.." She sighed and looked up at me.

"Trust me, Newbie. I know what I am doing." She put a hoof on my chest and pushed me back down. "Now lay back and relax. I will handle this." Her head went back between my legs and got to work. Little noises escaped my throat with each movement of her head. This was so awkward. I never expected Rainbow Dash to be doing something like this to me and never thought she would be so gentle it either.

"Dash..." I panted. "This is so...Mmm...It's so weird...I never...aaah... Never thought you would do this for me..." I looked down at those magenta eyes as they raised to meet mine. She licked her lips and smiled.

"Don't worry about it, Newbie. Somepony had to do it and I am happy to help a friend...as long as nopony else sees us..." She leaned back in and made a swift movement with her head, causing me to squeal. "Plus, If you don't get these briars out of your tail now, they will knot up. Then you would have to get them cut out and having a patchy tail is so uncool." She spit a briar to the side. “Anyway...that's the last of them. Watch out next time, ok?”

“You girls seem to be more friendly. Is it because of last night?”

We whipped our heads to the source of the sound. Berry Punch was laying in her spot, smirking at the two of us. “That looked...very personal from my position. I wasn’t sure if I should have stayed quiet or join in. I am glad I stayed silent though. That would have been embarrassing!” She laughed rather loudly.

I could see Dash blush and I could feel my face doing the same. “J-join in? Sheesh, the fandom is eerily correct. A lot of mares like other mares.”

Berry laughed again. “Hey now, honey. It doesn’t much matter to me. I don’t care if it is a stallion or a mare, as long as they treat me right. Though...” Her eyes fell on the body of the dead changeling. “I thought June was acting a bit strange this morning. She normally doesn’t want to come shopping with me when I buy stuff for brewing. I hope the real her is alright.”

Berry tried to get to her hooves but swayed and almost fell over if not for me jumping forward to steady her. I took a sniffed of the air. “Berry Punch, have you been drinking already?”She smiled and nodded. I sighed. “JuneBug is fine. She was at Twilight’s for a while after you left, making breakfast. I don’t think the changeling had a chance to do anything to her before it met up with you.” The mare was leaning heavily against me.

“Hey, Newbie. We should get to Twilight’s. She’ll need to know about this and I’ll need this burn healed if I want to fly right.” I nodded and began to head towards the forest entrance while holding up Berry Punch. It was slow going with Berry Punch stumbling every five steps and RD limping because of the burn. I was worried that we were going to be attacked by something else.

My worries were for nothing though. We safely made it to the forest’s edge. Pacing at the forests edge was Fluttershy. “Oh dear oh dear...” She would come up to us until we were out of the forest. “Oh, I was so worried when Rainbow Dash didn’t show up to get the book I had, so I came to search for her.” She flew over to help me with Berry Punch, who was at this point fading in and out of consciousness. She had been drugged or something. I wasn't feeling all that great either.

Fluttershy took Berry and winced when she saw Dash’s burn. “Aw, don’t worry about it, Flutters. A bit of Twi’s magic and I’ll be as good new. You should have been there, though! We were attacked by a changeling!” A squeak from Fluttershy but I hardly acknowledged it. “It had to pull some dirty trick to take me out first. And then they started attacking Crystal and just when they were about to blast her with magic, she made a crystal shield and reflected it back at the thing!”

Fluttershy looked at me and then paled. “And then she had the crystal wrapped around her hoof and then she was like, Bam! And Pow! And she beat it up. I mean I could have to if the thing didn’t blindside me. Right, Newbie? Newbie...Crystal!” Dash had finally turned around to see why I was quiet. I was in shock at what I was staring at. I don’t know how I hadn’t notice this until now. Maybe I was too worried with Berry and Dash? I wondered these silly thoughts as I watched my blood drip out of the hole in my chest. There were various cuts along my forelegs as well but the hole in my chest was a bigger concern.

Dash rushed up and put her hoof over the hole in my chest. It didn’t hurt...why was she so worried? I felt fine. “Fluttershy, go get Twilight!” The yellow pegasus didn’t move.

“Fluttershy!”

This seemed to cause her to snap back into reality. She nodded and took off after she set Berry down, the fastest I have seen her fly. “It’s ok, Crystal. Don’t worry. Twilight will be here in just a moment and everything will be alright.” Dash seemed really worried so I smiled and patted her head.

“I am alright, Rainbow Dash. It doesn’t even hurt.” She just stared at me. “You are getting bloody. I can do this. Just make sure Berry is alright...” I tried pushing her hooves away, but she didn’t budge. “Dash.”

“Sit down, Crystal.” I obeyed her. She looked like she was holding back tears. Why? I am just somepony she just met. Why would she care this much? Did she really consider me a friend? So soon too? I couldn’t understand this. Twilight was the same way. Was it just the way I was? Because of where I was from?

Friendship requires a certain amount trust, right? How could they trust me so easily? I was getting dizzy from all the questions spinning in my head. “Dash...I think...I am feeling a bit tired.” Seems the blood loss was getting to me. I knew this much. My eyesight got blurry and I could see Dash saying something but couldn’t hear her. A bit of a smile touched my lips as my world faded to black once again.

Warm and soft. I snuggled against the source. I definitely don’t mind waking up like this every morning. I giggled softly. “How do these ponies make blankets so good?” I mumbled sleepily.

“So I am a blanket now? I must admit, it is quite humbling for a princess.” My eyes shot open to see Princess Celestia staring down at me. I looked down at the wing she was covering me with. What was going on? My thoughts flashed back to the forest. The crystal sword, the changeling, Princess Celestia!

Growling, I knocked her wing quickly off of me. I then used my wings to backflip out of...Twilight’s bed? “Uh...What is going on?” Celestia just smiled and patted the bed next to her. I sighed and took the invite and sat beside her. “So...Good morning, Princess.”

She laughed. “It is the afternoon. You have been asleep for quite a few hours.” My hoof quickly went to my chest. “Don’t worried. It is healed, though, a scar remains.” She took on a bit of a more saddened expression. “It may be because of the artifact acting in place of your heart.”

“Artifact?” I frowned. “So you know what is going on? Tell me, Princess. Tell me what’s going on...”

“I suppose you have the right to know but first.” She shifted a bit and stared down at me. “How did you obtain your current heart and how did you end up in my lands?” She spoke with a firm authority. The kind that was in your best interests not to ignore.

“Well...I am not sure. I mean, I have no memory of either event. In my world, the last thing I remember was starting a regular day. Wake up, eat breakfast and then watch tv or surf the internet until it was work time. I remember clocking in at my job and then-” I shrugged “-that’s it. Nothing more. Sorry I couldn’t be more useful.”

Celestia put a wing on my back. “It is alright...Seems you don’t know anything.” Well that seemed like a passive insult. “The crystal that is in your chest right now is a rare magical artifact. One of a kind, in fact. It is very old, so much so that even I know little about it. It hails from the north, being sister to the Crystal heart from the Crystal Empire.” I put a hoof to my chest again. This was awesome. “It has the power to generate crystals and control what it has made. If what Rainbow Dash has told is true then we can believe the legends. Unfortunately, it seems the crystals it makes must come directly from the source.

I frowned. “So that is why there was a hole in my chest...and cuts on my hooves.” The princess nodded. “How do I get it to work?” The question seemed to confuse her. “I mean...I used it to beat that changeling but that was spur of the moment.” I was rubbing my hooves together. It was unsettling, talking to a princess like this.

“I see.” The Princess removed her wing from my back and got off the bed. “I will see if Twilight has read on it with what I have sent her. Come on, my little pony. I believe they are waiting for us downstairs.” I nodded and followed Celestia out of the room and down the stairs. It was amazing!

The main room of the library was completely transformed. The books still lined the walls but the furniture and decoration was fit for...well, a princess. Six ponies sat around the table in the center of the room. “Oh my, she is fabulous! You weren’t lying, Rainbow Dash, she is very pretty.” Well, I know how that voice. The white unicorn got up from her spot and rushed over to me.

“The colours, the powerful shape of the wings, the muscle tones, and those eyes.” Rarity grabbed my face and looked me in the eyes. “Ah yes. The mane could use a bit of styling. It is a little-”

“Rarity.”

Rarity looked up at the Princess. “Oh. Yes, well...I guess another time, perhaps. You will allow me to do your mane up nice after you are better?” A small nod from me seemed to satiate the fashion diva. She went back to her spot with the other. The princess motioned for me to follow her and we went to join the others.

“Twilight, what have you read on the Heart of Daedalus?” I have heard that name from somewhere...

Twilight blinked. “The Heart of Daedalus, Princess? It’s an ancient magical artifact that hailed from the far north. It hasn’t been seen in...thousands of years, if I remember correctly.” Twilight’s eyes suddenly went wide. “It was rumored to create and control crystalline substance. Princess...Is it-” Twilight was interrupted by the kitchen door swinging open.

“I brought you girls some sandwiches!” It was Spike. “I am not sure what the new pony’s favorite is, so I just made a double of...Twilight’s.” He probably stopped because of the way I was glaring and towering over him. Why was I doing this?

“Crystal.” I am not sure who said this. The little dragon began backing up with me following up.

“Fire.”

Spiked blinked and scratched his head. “Uh...What?”

“Fire...I wanna see it.” It was the first thing that popped in my head. It was just an excuse really. I had no clue as to why I acted like that. “Is it really green like I was told?”

Spike just looked at me dumbfounded. I am sure the others were too. “Come on. In my world, the only colour fire I have seen is orange. Unless you count fireworks but I don’t. Come on. Breathe some fire.”

Spike looked around me at the others. “Uh...Did she hit her head or something?”

I patted Spike on the head, getting me a dirty look. “I am sorry. That may have been a bit overbearing. You said you have sandwiches?” I walked to the table and took an open spot between Dash and Twilight. Both of them blushed and looked away from my position. I felt my face redden as well. “So..what’s going on?”

“My guards are investigating the situation with the changeling. A while back, the castle was attacked by a large changeling force. We believe that there may have been an information leak that I was coming here. We can assume they may make another attempt at the throne.” I looked up at the others. I noticed now each of them were wearing their element.

“The elements of harmony...I guess you chose here because you would be best protected with a reduced guard.” Celestia nodded. “What if they took this into account? How do you know I really am not some spy? You all have been very trusting. It isn’t something that is normal where I come from.” This got me looks from the mane six. None of them good.

“Are you saying we shouldn’t trust you, Christian?” My head whipped up to the princess. “You are surprised I know your real name. I hope you can understand. My sister had to look into your case. We couldn’t have some unknown entity in our world without knowing it’s true intentions.”

“She...read my mind?”

“No. She read your soul, so to speak. That was the dreamscape you were in. Don’t worry. She didn’t look into anything unneeded. Just your identity and some fragments of your life. That is the extent she was able to read.”

My thoughts turned to my dream with Luna. “Bad magic.”

The Princess chuckled. “Yes. You seem to have something placed over you to prevent us from fully reading you, but it allowed her to read enough to make sure you were not a threat to us or Equestria.”

I looked around the room. Everyone had their eyes on me. Well, everypony I should say. Spike seemed to have disappeared. They were all staring at me expectantly. “I see.” Was that all I could say? “So...Rarity...I heard you were at a fashion show. How did that go?”

The pony’s eyes lit up. “Oh it was magnificent, Darling. To be there with all those high class ponies and to top it off, some of my designs were on show as well. Oh I do expect business to be picking up very soon.” Rarity began talking about the ponies she met and all she did. I only half listened. I was quite aware of Twilight eyeing me. It was like before, after I got out of the hospital but different. Hard to explain.

“And Spike was just a dear. I really must thank you again, Twilight, for letting him come with me. He was such a big help.”

“Oh, it was no problem. He wanted to go anyway.” Twilight sounded so distant. She obviously wasn’t over this morning. Rarity looked at her, then me, then Dashie, observing us.

“Did...something happen?”

Pinkie Pie giggled, bouncing in her spot. “Twi, Dashie and Crystal had lots of fun together last night with each other!”

“PINKIE!” The three of us smacked our hooves on the table and glared at her. We were rewarded with a laugh. Rarity, on the other hoof, just looked astonished and maybe a bit confused.

“Well...I can’t say I disapprove. I am not one to hinder anothers love but Twilight” -Rarity stared at the lavender unicorn- “I thought you said that you were into stallions only? If you are into mares, you really didn’t need to hide it from me.”

“I. Am. Not. Into! Mares!” Twilight punctuated this by stamping her hooves onto the table. “I have not, nor never will be into mares! I like stallions! This only happened because I got drunk. It was a mistake. That whole night was one big mistake!!!” The whole room was silent. I could just feel sadness emanating from Rainbow Dash. Poor Dashie.

We all sat there in an awkward silence, only for it to be broken by the Princess raising her teacup to her lips and taking a sip. “Princess. I am sorry you had to see that. I didn’t mean to go off.” Celestia just smiled and shook her head.

“It is alright, Twilight. These things should be gotten out into the open. It is better to let it out than to hold it in, lest you be hurt even more in the long run.” She was staring at Rainbow Dash beside me. I felt sorry for Dash. She liked someone who would never return the feeling. It was an experience I was familiar with.

I sighed, once again drawing attention to myself. “This is still too awkward. I tried to convince myself earlier that this was an awesome thing. I am not saying it isn’t but it seems I have caused problems for everypony since I have came here. Actually...I remember waking up to you and Applejack, Twilight. How did you know I was there?”

“Oh. There was a severe magical spike in the forest and the Princesses asked me to investigate. It wasn’t anything too abnormal.”

I rubbed my head and shrugged. “I,” Sighing, I looked out the window. “...” It looked like the sky was purple. Purple. Friggin Purple! All the time, it’s purple! “Why...is it purple out?”

“That’s Twilight’s barrier, sugarcube. Ya don’t think we would just be sittin’ in here unprotected, would ya?”

“I guess not.” I groaned. “I feel itchy though...restless. I want to go out and fly but that isn’t something I could do right now, is it?” I rested my head on my hooves. My blood was tingling again. Was this a side effect of the crystal in my chest? It was annoying. I picked up a sandwich and bit into it.

I don’t know how long we sat there in silence. Well, all of us silent but Pinkie. I am not sure what we were waiting for. A guard to get back from investigating? An attack? All I know is we sat there while light began to fade from outside. When light had finally disappeared from outside and it was truly nighttime, Celestia stood up and smiled.

“Well. It seems we were worried over nothing. This was an interesting visit, Twilight Sparkle. I look forward to your reports in the future. I believe I have been gone long enough. I bid you all farewell.” We followed the princess outside where a carriage was waiting just outside of Twilight’s forcefield.

Twilight released her spell and the dome around the library melted away. Celestia mounted the carriage and turned to us with a smile. “Until next time, my Little Ponies.” She then took off towards Canterlot.

“That was...really anti-climatic.” I gave out a weak laugh.

“What were you expecting, Crystal?” Twilight stared at me apprehensively. “Ponyville is a very peaceful place. That changeling was probably a soldier that was stranded when we drove back the main swarm.” Twilight looked across the group. “Um...Girls.”

We all looked at her. Why am I responding to girls? “I know I promised Crystal she could stay here but...would one of you mind housing her tonight? I really want to be alone.” Ow. That was sure a kick in the crotch. Not sure if I can use that saying now, though. I felt my ears flatten against my head. I understood why she wanted to be alone but that didn’t mean it still hurt.

“Sure Twi. Newbie can chill at my place.” Dash patted me on the back, right between the wings. It felt strange. I suppose it would though.

“Alright girls. I will see you all tomorrow. The Princess gave me something to read earlier but I think with all the excitement today, it should wait til tomorrow.” We all nodded. I was actually quite tired even considering the couple hours I blacked out.

We said our goodnights and good byes. Dash and me then made our way to her cloud house. It was quite impressive, considering Dash made it herself. Or so she says. “So, Newbie, you want anything to drink or to eat?” I shook my head.

“Nah...I am really tired. I think I am just going to go to sleep. I'm pretty beat.”

“Alright. There should be an empty bed upstairs and to the right.” She waved her hoof and picked up a book on a cloud table. It was a Daring Do book. I didn’t even try to make out the title. My eyelids were too heavy. “I am going to read just a bit and head up.”

“Sorry for not asking earlier but how is your burn?” Dash smiled and proudly showed me her side.

“Like I told you, a bit of magic and I’m good as new.”I laughed and nodded. Yawning, I waved her goodnight and headed upstairs. When I got to the top, I headed into the left room and quickly made my way to the bed. It was dark but there was enough light from the moon to make it safely to my sleeping spot.

I flopped down on the bed and smiled. I realize why Rainbow Dash smelled so good. It was whatever she used to clean her blankets. They smelled exactly like her. I took another deep breath and felt myself relax. Sleep was pressing heavily on my mind as I was dozing off.

Here was to another day in Equestria!