Raven Rawne

@@Nightmare Season Crystal Clear rested on her bedding as Nightmare Season concentrated on what to do next. Heart knew she needed to lay down for a bit... The mare nodded. "I guess you're an expert in this area. I'll do as you say, just keep in mind there will be unicorns there, and possibly traps. So take that into consideration." She got up, somewhat reluctantly, to get something to eat. Her side hurt from all this moving around. "I could eat a root to strengthen my dream, you know. So you could eat more of it risk-free. Sounds like a plan?" She fished out a container with dry preserves and scratched her head. "Hmm, maybe I could try and make something this time? Yeah, let's." The mare selected her ingredients and collected some snow from outside, careful not to be detected. She then asked Nightmare to boil it, and used it to prepare a thick soup. The ponies had a meal and Crystal thought she did pretty good, compared to her usual atrocities. Still, not as good as Nightmare would. Crystal Clear felt tired, and Nightmare told her to get some sleep while he'll take care of things for the night. The mare dug under the sheets and soon fell asleep. She thought she heard the crystals scraping against each other and figured her friend was closing the entrance for the night. She was standing on a mountain top, looking down. Somehow the weather allowed her to see for miles. The mare figured it must've been Mount Everhoof, by the virtue of it's sheer height. Up in the distance, the Crystal Empire shimmered like a brilliant gemstone. At the base of the mountain was the outpost they were about to raid. Thick, black smoke emanated from the tunnels below the mountain and built up, covering the land around it. The mare observed as the smoke slowly wormed it's way towards the Empire.

@@Nightmare Season She felt a nudge to her side. At first it startled her a bit, but Crystal looked at who nudged her and it broke her train of dark thoughts. She saw Nightmare who had to go back for her. He seemed to repeat his question - apparently she didn't catch it first time. The mare swallowed and noticed her throat was dry. "L-let's go." She nodded excessively and the pair walked away from the outpost. As they walked, at some point Nightmare spoke again. Crystal Clear settled her fear somewhat by that time and shook her head. "No, I must go. I can't just sit on my plot as you fight for my cause. Besides, you don't know them. I do. All too well..." She trailed off and looked away with a heavy sigh. It was so easy in the dream! She stomped a hoof into the snow and said: "I'll go and do my part. Now let's find some shelter before nightfall. We'll need a Base of our own if we want to raid their colony and release the prisoners. I expect they will need to rest before the journey anyway." With that, she pressed on towards the unknown. Looking back to their time in the brewery, the mare never thought they would actually walk to the base of Mount Everhoof itself. Yet that's exactly what they did. Well, will do. They stood at the crest of the hills, peering over to the other side to avoid detection. Crystal saw a small valley leading straight to the black outpost. She couldn't see much, but it seemed to be just fortifications guarding the entrance - either there was a cave there or the slaves dug tunnels inside the mountain. Probably both. They were a good distance away, and she looked around for a good approach route, and maybe some shelter. Luckily she saw something promising. "See? Down on the left. There's some kind of overhanging snow on a cliff. Could be a cave..." Fortunately, it was located that the outpost guards wouldn't see them approach and take refuge there. She patted Nightmare on the side and the pair went to investigate. It was a cave alright, but there was a problem - the entrance was sealed with a palisade of corrupt crystals. The mare was reaching for her maul when Nightmare decided to pry one bar loose with his magic, and succeeded. He took off enough to let the sleigh in, then planted the crystals so they would form a sort of short corridor leading inside. Crystal figured it was to make a choke point. The cave was rather spacious, even if just a single chamber, and she saw signs of pony activity like hoof prints here and there, or scrapes on the floor where something heavy was moved. There were also small holes in the walls, and she instantly knew this cave was used as a slave pen sometime earlier. She sighed. "I knew all this would affect me at some point, but I just hoped I wouldn't be so... scared you know. These ponies... they're evil, Nightmare. As evil as can be. If we manage, we should disrupt whatever they're doing, or better yet, bury them under the mountain. Nothing good may come from their plans." She lend a hoof in unloading the necessary supplied off the sleigh, and they unpacked the third bedroll, since this was the last stop anyway. Nightmare's fire did a good job in heating up the interior and soon enough the ponies were resting after the journey. The meal would come later. "So... what's the plan? I reckon a frontal assault wouldn't be so easy like in the dream, and you're not very stealthy with your burning mane..." Crystal placed a hoof under her chin as she pondered their options.

@@Nightmare Season The mare nodded as she swallowed her food. "Yeah, somehow is a very appropriate term. I'd call it dumb luck myself, but still. Let's just hope I'll be so lucky when we look for more roots like that one..." They finished breakfast and Crystal got dressed in her warm clothes and the armor Nightmare gave her. Now that she knew what lived here, she sure appreciated the gift. Thus outfitted, she walked up to the stallion who was about to start lugging their belongings out of the cave. "So what's the plan? I don't wanna stand and look pretty, you know. It wouldn't be fair." She got a bit dissatisfied with the answer, so she climbed down and tried to be useful by arranging the supplies on the sleigh, once Nightmare levitated them there. Crystal smiled reassuringly as he complained at his inadequate magic prowess. "Most unicorns I saw would bleed out through their noses before this task was done, so as far as I'm concerned, you're doing okay. But then, I don't have a horn so it's kinda hard for me to give any advice on the matter..." She sure was grateful that Nightmare decided to postpone his root search until the way back. Crystal didn't know how the events would play out if he found out about the alicorn. The pair marched till they found themselves at the tree line, staring at an expansive plain area ahead of them. They still had about half of the day, but no shelter nearby. The mare thought for a moment on her answer. Just as she was told, her side did hurt somewhat, and it affected her performance somewhat, but she decided she could walk some more until they find shelter. Crystal nodded at the stallion with conviction. "I'll manage, let's go." The area was a bit unsettling. No vegetation, no landmarks beside the gargantuan Mount Everhoof, only white carpet of snow in every direction. Crystal gad no idea how far they went or how far was the end of this strange place - the overcast sky made it very hard to even see where's the horizon. As it turned out, neither cold nor fatigue were the worst, but this feeling that they were walking in place. At some point the mare stopped and pointed st something. "That... snow pile over there. I swear we passed it already, but it's impossible! This place is making me nuts..." She walked over to the small bump in the otherwise flat terrain and poked it with a foreleg. "Stupid rock or whatever lies beneath the snow, I saw you befo... AAAAHHH!" The mare jumped away from the snow like with a scream and covered her eyes. "T-there... p-p-ponies!" Her hoof bump made some loose snow to fall off, revealing frozen corpses of a few ponies, although most of the snow remained, as if determined to guard the secret that was buried underneath. Crystal Clear didn't move or uncover her eyes as Nightmare inspected her gruesome discovery. He could see four stallions, earth or crystal ponies, hard to tell, apparently relieved of any belongings and left unceremoniously on a pile. The corpses were indeed frozen solid, but in this climate, it was impossible to judge how old they were - could be last week, could be last millennium. The crystal mare was pretty shaken by what she found and, once Nightmare told her to keep going, she didn't say anything for a while, and had that fearful look in her eyes. She also didn't stray from her companion any more. Crystal Clear didn't know how or when, but suddenly, they were out of the mind wrecking plain. The sky was getting darker and it was easier to tell where the snow ended and the clouds began, but it also meant they needed to find shelter. She was also very tired, apparently overestimating her strength. They were in a small valley between several hills, or small mountains. As they walked up North, she saw something of a different colour to the right, and reluctantly looked that way. Nightmare walked several steps before he noticed she stopped, and looked what was wrong. The mare was staring at what would make excellent shelter. The only problem was... it was a structure made of black crystals squeezed in a side valley - a campsite of the King's loyalists, abandoned for some time now. Crystal Clear seemed frozen in place, afraid of coming any closer to the ominous structure.

@@Nightmare Season The ponies went to sleep soon after, and Nightmare didn't pay a visit to the crystal mare in her dreams. She woke up to the sound of clattering pots and the like, accompanied by an unmistakable scent of food. Crystal Clear stirred under her covers and stretched, slowly. Her side hurt, just as the alicorn predicted, but it was tolerable. *yawn* "Mornin'." Crystal Clear dug out from under her covers and found the temperature inside their cave to be acceptable. She glanced at the stallion. "I guess, yeah. It hurts a bit, but I should be fine." She moved around to test her hypothesis, and decided she would be okay. The mare approached and looked at the foodstuffs that were being prepared. "Hmm, looks good... Although I still catch myself on little things. Like how it's normal to use salt. Back in my days it was rare and expensive..." Crystal let Nightmare finish the preparations while she laid out her clothes on the bedroll to warm them up. They then sat down to eat. "Mmmm, compliments to the chef! So... how can I help you with loading our stuff back on the sleigh? Maybe make the cloud and I'll pack things on it, then you'll lower it? Should be safer than tossing stuff into the snow..." She smirked at the memory if how she tossed them just that last night.

@@Nightmare Season The mare observed the stallion with a clueless expression as he told her hus experiences with roots and regular ponies. She felt a bit alarmed when he concluded she ate the golden one, however. "I... did? I'm sorry, it was pretty dark and I thought it's a regular one..." She lowered her head and her ears drooped for good measure to show she was sorry. She pondered over her answer as the stallion inspected her. "Well, it tasted awful for once, and other than that... After I ate it, I felt sleepy and since I couldn't do anything, I just fell asleep. Weird thing is that I don't remember my dream. I usually can recall something, but this time - nothing. That's strange, right? When I woke up freezing I was weirded out a bit, but the strangest part was I didn't feel any pain... So once I was sure I was actually okay, I got up and, well, did stuff so I won't freeze to death." She smirked at Nightmare's remark and pushed him playfully with a foreleg. "You bet I can! If that stupid monster comes back for seconds, I'll get my revenge!" She laughed at her own behaviour, but at some point winced and coughed, then put a hoof to her previously injured ribs. "Ouch, maybe I should play it safe for a day or two... and now I need to sleep on a bedroll too..." Crystal made mock sad puppy eyes and went to the supplies for materials to make a bedding from. Soon she had a place to sleep a few steps from the fire, where she was laying. "So, once the morning comes you want to look for another golden root, right? So I guess we won't go North tomorrow?"

@@Orange Sparks Crystal Clear put a hand on Clarissa's shoulder. "Hey. We'll fix this mess okay? You and I will find the cure and Dustyhooves will find Celeste, you hear me? And then I guess you'll have your hands full swinging that ancient blade at minotaur necks." She chuckled a but at the last remark. The inn door opened with loud protest, and a stallion in a guard armor went inside. Mane in a buzz cut, eyes darting across the inn until he saw Clarissa, the pegasus stood at attention and offered a salute to the Princess. "Sargent Spearhead and his squad reporting for duty Your Highness. We were sent from Opal Hill to aid you." He whistled outside and four pegasi guards lugged large packs inside, and laid them by the nearest table. "We were also instructed to bring you your weapons and armour, as well as that of the countess." They had Royal Crests on their breastplates, making it easy to recognise them as the Prince's own pegasi shock troops stationed at Opal. Crystal knew they weren't some gate openers and smiled. "Thank you Sargent, bring your squad inside and have a meal, we'll cover the expenses. Oh and what about the ship I asked for?" The stallion shook his head. "Must be still en route from the nearest port. We flew from the capital on separate orders from the Palace." She turned to Clarissa. "Seems we need to rent a room, huh?" Meanwhile the innkeeper returned with the Princess's order and nearly dropped the plate seeing troops in his Inn, but laid everything at the bar and nodded to the princess. "H-here's your order."

@@Nightmare Season, As Crystal skidded by the wall of supplies, she saw her friend who just climbed into the cave - thankfully unharmed. Truth be told, she was both happy and relieved, and showed it in a way most easily expressed - the mare launched herself into a hug. Ome day she'll learn to think what she's doing. But not today. "Wo wooooah!" - Nightmare didn't have the time to brace for impact and slid down from the ledge, and into a pile of snow below. Crystal Clear followed suit and landed on top of him. The cold snow and arctic air assaulted her, and the crystal pony rolled off the stallion with a groan. "Brrr, Crystal you idiot..." She noticed Nightmare's fires went out as he landed in snow, and held a hoof to try and help him stand up. Damn it was cold in here. She tried to lie as casually as possible. "Wish I knew! I woke up at some point and felt cold. You wandered off somewhere. So I tried to take a look around from my clud for something to warm up and saw one of your roots laying nearby... Well, I kind of thought about how you said wounds heal up faster in the dream world, and since you have enough of them, I gave it a shot. I mean, the worst I could get was an awful taste on my tongue, right? So I ate it and dozed off soon after, and when I woke up, I was feeling okay! If you exclude being freezing cold that is. Sheaking of which, let's go inside or I'll use up all the infection meds too." They climbed back up and Crystal Clear sat by the fire and covered herself with the blankets she threw off herself when she ran. "Ufff, much better... Where was I? Ah, so when I woke up again, the pain was gone and I could move without feeling like I would die any moment. And since I needed to warm up myself, I decided to move off the bed and make a fire." She smiled "Once I wasn't rattling my teeth, vanity took the better of me and I just had to put my coat in order. Aaaand then you came. End of story." The crystal mare rubbed her forehead with a hoof. "So best I can come up with, is that the root somehow speedied up my healing. I always had more luck than brains, I guess." She shrugged for good measure and looked at Nightmare to gauge if he bought her story."

@@Nightmare Season, As the mare walked down off her throne and told more about the daymare, Crystal put her hoof down. She looked silly with a foreleg in the air. Once the news that Nightmare cannot be a daymare ringed off the castle walls, she lowered her head in dissapointment. "Aww, such a shame." She gave the alicorh a qyastioning look as she delivered her rhetoric punchline - "Wait, what? But he's black, and... feeds on the good dreams and all. Besides, he said he's not a daymare. Soooo?" The answer left her with her jaw hanging as she recalled her friend feeding off the images of evil guards, as well as the obvious fact that the Daymare didn't turn white, he was white from birth. She trotted over to the alicorn, since she was left behind and needed to catch up as the other mare walked outside the castle. Crystal listened to the story of how Nightmare came to be, nodding occasionally. All this information at once, she really hoped she will be able to remember all that... She interjected twice - first, when Heart-Dreams mentioned that it was the vision of Crystal Clear that made hershay her hoof from putting Nightmare down - "I guess we both owe you then. If not for this... vision.. he'd be dead and i'dnever leave home to actually look for my friend. So, thanks." The second time was when the alicorn mentioned Princes Luna - "Ahem, a liiiitlle correction here. I'm a subject of Crystal Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor. they may be in a way, subordinate, to the Royal Sisters, but I'm not really their subject. Sorry, continue..." Some kind of archway was ahead of them. just like other objects in this realm, it's decor was completely alien to the crystal pony. She turned towards the alicorn who gave her some more info, nodding as a sign she listened and understood. As the portal opened, she shratched her head in embarassment. "Yeah... I guess i should've paid more attention to the scroll when I had it, but honestly, I thought it's not for me to read..." Asthe alicorn urged her to go, she bowed her head slightly and csmiled. "Thank you. For patching me up, for sharing so much knowlendge with me. I'll try to make sense of all that and help Nightmare season realise his potential, without mentioning your part in it, since that is your wish." She glanced at the portal and sighed slightly. "Gues it's time to go, goodbye!" She walked through the portal and found herself in the cave. First thing she noticed was the cold. - the fire went out. A stream of unladylike language accompanied her hasty attempt to wrap herself with the covers from her cloud bed. Still shivering under the blankets, Crystal looked around but Nightmare was nowhhere to be seen - good. She could barely see anything, her only light the moon shining through the netrance. The mare fshed out the glow-crystal and laid it on the cloud - that did the trick. Now that she could see her hoof in front of her snout, the mare awkwardly tossed some branches off the nest onto the burnt out fire, and procured her fire starting kit from her jacket that was laying on one of the crates, along with her other clothes. It took a few attempts, but she lit the fire and huddled by it, while trying to make sense of all that happenned. The crystal mare stared at the small dancing flame, thinking of what to do. She made up her mind that she'll aid Nightmare Season in becoming the Daymare, or rather realising he already is one, and how to use his ability. She didn't know how to convince him that he should feed off her dreams while she eats the roots though. Maybe as an extension of the mistification Hearts-Dream devised? Maybe it could work.At some point, once the temperature became more tolerable, Crystal Clear grabbed her brush and unwrapped her bandages, then started brushing her coat into shape. Later on, she took care of her mane and tail. The fire needed to be fed fresh fuel several times to keep producing sufficient heat. The mare managed to finish her grooming and recycle the bandages that weren't smeared with the healing salve, and even have a cup of water before she saw the orange glow from the entrance - Nightmare came back. Crystal Cleat's eyes went wide and her heart raced into overdrive - she completely forgot about the fight he fought! The mare shot upwards and ran around the crates towards the entrance. "Nightmare, you're back!"

I don't think Crystal is even advanced enough to pull off something like that (sorry gal, but that's how it looks for now), so nope, not us.

@@Orange Sparks, The innkeeper nodded. "Alright, give me a moment." - He then went into the kitchen to procure her order. The crystal mare shrugged innocently after returning the kiss.. "Just stating the obvious - he is rather atractive. For a stallion that is." The pegasus kept looking at her, so she pressed on to get out of the hole she got herself in. "What? I guess mares would be all over him in an instant, but I don't really do stallions, so I'm not really bothered. It's like... I dunno, admiring a painting. It looks good, but you don't want to hang it over your bed to stare at it as you fall asleep. You're the only one I want anyway." The minotaurs winced at the screams echoing inside a small abandoned cabin in the middle of nowhere. One was more short-tempered than the others and snarled at the bound mare. "We know exactly who you are and that's the only reason you're still alive, pony. Now keep it shut!" The mare still had the magic choker closed on her neck, which made her limbs paralyzed, but the minotaurs still bound her wrists and ankles for some reason. They placed her in a corner, sitting propped against a wall.

@@Nightmare Season, The mare thought for a moment, then nodded. "I don't have any better ideas how to tell him what happenned, so I guess I'll roll with that... And of course I won't mentions you, since you don't want to. Although all that secrecy is a bit... weird." She rubbed her chin and cocked her head to one side, then the other. "I see why you would expect these particular questions, yeah... Let's just say that more current events have turned my taatention elsewhere. So, what about that scroll? Is the Daymare even real, or achieveable for him? It would be cruel if he pursued a myth all this time..." she made a circular motion in the air with her hoof - "Oh, and I uh... thought this "son" thing is just some kind of a metaphor. A bit like royals refer to their subjects as their children. ...Unless there's something more to it." Crystal held her hoof in the air, peering at the alicorn as her unasked question loomed in the air.

@@Orange Sparks, The stallion shrugged. "Ah could use some rest alright, ah feel like a sack of grain, but she needs me. Some light training shouldn't hurt..." Crystal gave him a look over and thought it would, and quite a lot, but if he insisted... Dusty smiled a bit uneasily at the praise. "Ah'll go get dressed in something sturdier and take that ax. Ah'll meet you in a moment." He escused the mares and went to the kitchen - apparently the family lived above it and used a separate staircase. The innkeeper's wife folloed her colt to take a look at his injuries, while the innkeeper remained at his post. "I reckon you ladies won't be finishing that meal? It's stone cold by now anyway." He asked them before he clened up the plates. Crystal nodded. "Well... I guess you're right, at least as far as I'm concerned. I ate most of it anyway." She walked to their table and brought her plate to the bar. "How about you Clare? Maybe you want something else? Guess we have like, ten minutes before Dusty comes back." She added quietly. "At least he'll have a shirt on, it'll make it easier to focus around him."

Crystal Clear was sitting next to the councillor, since it was the nearest free seat when she walked into the briefing room. That, and it was within safe distance from the doctor. She listened to the briefing and prompltly nodded to the captain when he laid out her task during the mission. (@@Mentis Soliloquy, ) "Aye sir, my department will keep the ship at full combat readiness." She scratched her chin in thought and waited till the briefing was over to ask something. Once the captain asked about questions, she raised a hand. "Sir, do we have any intel on the Romulans? I've only read about them but they seem a sneaky bunch, with those ship cloaking devices and all... We wouldn't know if they parked a whole fleet right before our ship. I guess I'm trying to ask what we know about this..." - she closed her good eye and zoomed with the implant - "Korak i-ch'Rihan Rul... weird name... do we know anything about him, or his past actions? He doesn't seem a nice type by the look of him." @Miss ReaperThe Romulan in question, as portrayed on at the display screen, was an old chap. Time has made it's mark on his face, but his posture was flawless and, as far as Crystal clould tell, he wasn't a grandpa type. Rather an old wolf looking for his last glorious hunt. That made her a bit worried.

@@Nightmare Season, The mare listened to the alicorn's reply. It seemed far fetched, but it very well may be true, so she decidedd to accept Hearts-Dream's story. Crystal watched as the other mare approached the chalice once more, still talking. She followed her to the strange silver goblet and peered inside. Nightmare was still fighting, but he seemed to bo doing okay. It put her a bit at ease. Although the part about the mission always laying in front of her seemed like nonesense. The alicorn ceased the projection of her friend and asked her to say the name of the one they ventured to rescue. She breathed in and said aloud, trying not to get emotional. "Evening Song. Her name's Evening Song." She then peered into the chalice, anxious what it will show. There she was, all by herself in a slave pen. The sight alone was enough to pierce the heart of a crystal pony who knew how it felt to be there. Knew all too well... Crystal Clear sighed deeply and lowered her head. She didn't want to look, it was too hard to bear. Heart-Dreams spoke but Crystal barely acknowledged her words. She nodded automatically and didn't move until she felt a pat on her back. At that moment the mare realised she was crying. Another deep sigh, a sniff and wiping the tears with a hoof later, Crystal turned around to see Heart-Dreams back on her throne. She breathed in to regain her composure and approached the throne again. "Nightmare lost his cards... are they hard to come by? He needs another deck..." - she inquired as the first thing that came to her mind. "I-I don't know what to ask really, there's... so much going on in my mind now... What will i say to him once he comes back and sees me all healed up? Or how do I free my friend without getting killed in the process... I just..." She put a hoof to her temple, as if trying to concentrate. "I don't know! There's just so much I don't know..." She lowered her head, then asked in a sad voice. "So what did you expect I'd ask for?"

@@Orange Sparks, Dustyhooves considereh his options for a moment, then made his decision. "Ah'll help find Celeste. Ah couldn't forgive myself if something happenned to her." Crystal Clear nodded. "Just as I thought." She got up and put down her drinking kit, then approached the stallion. Up close he was quite a sight, if you didn't mind bending your neck back to look at him that is. Even with the bruises and bandages. "So, Sir Dusty, you have any weapon? Sturdy clothes for the road? We may try to ask a certain unicorn magician to make some for you, but no promises. She's a pain in the flank that one..." He scratched his head in thought. "Well... we have a wood splitting axe that could do, and some good clothes too, but nothing else really..." The red mare nodded and smiled. "It's okay, axes are good for the job. I guess you could rest some and pack up for the road sometime later today. I don't expect the ship to arrive any sooner than just before nightfall, or even tomorrow, so we have some time. We could also show you a thing or two about swinging that axe." She patted has shoulder. "Chin up, it'll be alright." She then turned to her fiance. "What do you think Clare? Anything I forgot about?"

@@Nightmare Season The mare looked at the alicorn questioningly, but shrugged abd followed her. They walked into a small castle. She didn't recognise the style it was built in, despite spending midnight hours on Equestrian Architecture and art styles guides. The chalice at it's center didn't look like anything familiar either. Crystal followed the blind mare to the chalice and peered inside as instructed. Her eyes went wide and her knees felt weak. "How the hay did it... I need to go back and help him!" She looked around, as if frantically searching for some doorway to the waking world. The alicorn's calm voice gave her pause and Crystal looked at her with a raised eyebrow, then slowly nodded as the other mare walked to her throne. "Okaaayyyy... You seem pretty confident in him." Crystal Clear walked to the throne and stopped before the first step. She was in the throne room once, at the Palace. The graduation day when she got her Master title, over a thousand years ago... "Come to think of it, yes, I do have questions... Who are you? They told us that dreams are the domain of Princess Luna, and I've never heard of any other alicorns than the Royal Four." She unloaded her questions as they came to her mind. "Besides, why you called me here and didn't just talk to Nightmare? You're putting some delicate mission in hooves of a tradespony who didn't know about Nightmare Ponies a week earlier. So my question is, what do you want from me, of all the ponies?" Maybe she was being too straightforward, but chit chatting when Nightmare was holding against the beast didn't do well for her temper.

@@Orange Sparks Crystal joined into the conversation. "Exactly! Four minotaur warriors are too much even for me! You need to face the facts and pick yourself up to fight another day." The stallion nodded but said nothing. He seemed puzzled at the sudden request but kneeled regardless. He seemed shocked with the knighting and for a moment didn't rise, but when he did, he stood a head taller than the pegasus right in front of him. He smiled a bit and replied. "Ah dunno what to say... thank you?" He stood for a moment, unsure what to do next. Crystal saw everything from her bench and poured herself another. She smirked at her fiancé - "Now tell me you didn't practice this by the mirror for hours." She then raised her cup to the stallion in a toast. "Congratulations Sir Dystyhooves, you're the first to come from under that blade alive heheh. Don't just stand there, give your sister in-law a hug! Or you need a demonstration on how to hug a mare?" She couldn't help it - he was just so so strangely cute when he felt awkward. Like a bear cub. The stallion regained his wits and smiled back at the joker mare: "Ah'll be fine, thanks." He then gave Clarissa a powerful hug. Meanwhile the innkeepers were smiling behind the bar at the sudden good news, just when all hope for this day seemed gone.

@@Orange Sparks, She shrugged and replied as she got up. "Why not, I like preening you. It puts my mind at ease. And I sure could use some peace of mind now." The red mare followed the pegasus, but her spirits weren't very high and it showed. She just nodded when Clarissa mentioned the modus operandi for interacting with Dustyhooves and opened the inn door with a good ol' shoulder bash. The interior felt more like a tomb bather than an inn, to be honest. It was so quiet and empty, save for Dusty and his parents who patched him up and exchanged worried looks as the mares came in. Crystal walked over to the table they occupied, their nearly finished meals cold and undisturbed. She sighed and took the bottle along with their cups and walked over to her fiance. She gave her the cup and poured them both, then sat on a nearby bench to listen. The stablecolt looked up reluctantly at the pegasus. "Ah... failed her. On the first day. And now she's... gone..." The innkeepers were fighting the urge to chip in while Dusty tried to collect his thoughts. "Ah wanted to show her the view from a nearby cliff. A nice place, you can see for miles... We didn't go far from tha Cove when they got us outta nowhere. Minotaurs, four of'em! Ah tried to save her but they were too strong. Beat me up, said they won't dull their blades on me. Put some choker on her and she fell limp, then took her away. Saw a rawboat in the distance, fleeing to the other island, or farther West, dunno. Ah couldn't stand up for some time, then ah limped back here." He looked at the princess with pleading eyes. "Ah'm... sorry." Crystal emptied her cup in one swing and sighed deeply.

@@Orange Sparks, Crystal considered the option. "Well... maybe not declare war, since Griffonstone is on the other side of Equestria, but I sure can see some... advisors helping those meat heads. That would explain the change of tactics, but it also makes me worried for Celeste even more. Who knows why they wanted you and her alive?" The mare shuddered at how casual Clarissa thought about rooting out the minotaur kind. Deep down. maybe she knew it was the only way to stop the raids and wars but... A sudden kiss and a change of topic came at her rescue. She smiled, despite the uneasy feeling from moment ago, and nodded. "Sure, you're just as good at actually instructing your trainees on what to do, and you don't act like yelling at everything with a heartbeat is the biggest joy of your life." She looked at the sky - still plenty of time to kill. "C'mon back inside, there's a bottle of cider all alone, calling us... We could check on Dusty too, maybe he regained conciousness."

@@Nightmare Season, Nopony answered her call, so Crystal Clear decided to take a better look at her surroundings. So, the ground was made of strange white fog, and it was thick around her and just a hint of vapour all around. She looked at the bright stars - there was something... strange about them. Like they shimmered in different colours, and changed them too. The mare decided to check the nearest one and got up on her hooves. Well, tried. The moment she lifted her chest off the ground, a flash of pain made her dizzy and she laid down again. Crystal needed a moment to settle and take several calming breaths before the pain subsided to something more bearable. "Oh buck. *huff* I'm actually here, not dreaming... What am I gonna do now? This was stupid..." Unablee to move, she did what she could - observe her environment. There wasn't much to look at save for the strange stars, so she concentrated on them. The mare was puzzled with what she saw. "Those are... dreams? Of real ponies? And I'm ouside them? That doesn't make any sense..." - she told herself quietly. A voice from behind startled her. "Huh?" It souded familliar though. Crystal tried to turn around, slowly, but it didn't make any difference. The moment she had to bend her spine another flach of pain made her see the stars behind closed eyelids. "G-ahh! Bucking broken ribs! Arrrgh!" Crystal slammed her good hoof in into the mist in futile anger. She felt so useless. A broken tool. When she opened her eyes, still breathing hard from the pain, she saw the mysterious blind alicorn. "It's... Y-you? *cough* Actually, it was... my... idea. And my fault." The strange alicorn pointed her horn at the crystal mare and tendrils of magic wrapped themselves around the injured pony. She had to close her eyes - the light was too bright. The magic made her feel good and in peace, and she felt the terrible pain slowly becoming more tolerable, and at some point, it dissapeared completely. Waaay better than the spa. Or the hot spring... - she thought to herself but was reminded of her company before she could really saviour the experience. Crystal opened her eyes and looked at her barrel - still wrapped with bandages like Heart's Warming gift, but it didn't hurt. She gently clenched the muscles and felt no pain. with a smile, she tried other, more daring moves and soon knew she was fine again. Noticing the alicorn was patiently waiting for her answer, she dropped her ears slightly and replied. "S-sorry, that's my first with healing magic... My name is Crystal Clear. I live in the Crysatl Empire and met your... son... on one of my so-called adventures." It was rather strange how she called Nightmare Season her son. He had a mother, and she couldn't be the same mare. Crystal rubbed her forehead and tried to put her mane into shape with a hoof, but with unsatisfying results. She did look terrible alright. "I uhhh, thank you for patching me up. We'd be stuck for days if I were to heal on my own. You... wanted to see me, right? I'm sorry I didn't wait until after we finished the trip but Nightmare Season found a golden root of his own and got really curious of it. So I kind of ate it from under his nose when he was away." She suddenly recalled something. "Wait, if I'm physically here, it means I'm not in the cave, and when he comes back he'll be looking for me! Crystal you idiot..." She facehoofed at her own short sighted thinking.

@@Nightmare Season "Ssszzzzwhaaa?" - The mare woke up to a sudden noise and looked around with eyes still shut. She rubbed them open and noticed it was dark everywhere. That meant Nightmare wasn't here. Crystal fished out her glowing necklace and it's pale light illuminated the cave. She was indeed, alone. She rubbed her forehead trying to guess what's going on when she saw something shimmering right by her cloud. The mare shifted slowly to the side and peeked under her floating bed. The golden root. "Okay, totally not suspicious..." she said to herself quietly. A thought came to her mind. If she ate the root now, she'd visit the dream world and maybe heal up faster. Maybe the alicorn will help. Plus, the threat of her friend eating it himself will cease to exist. After all, there was another root if he needed it. Crystal Clear shot a glance at the cave entrance - no sign of the orange glow. She scooped up the root in her hoof and ate it. Nightmare was right, they tasted terrible. She tucked away her glow-crystal as it was and laid back to sleep, fighting the urge to throw up from the bitterness. After a few minutes, she was back asleep. Crystal Clear knew she was in a dream, although how, she couldn't tell. Normally she needed to interact with Nightmare Season to notice. She was standing on a thick layer of mist amongst the stars - a strange place her imagination couldn't come up with on its own. "Hello?" She called out and looked around. "Anypony here?"

@@Nightmare Season, Crystal smirked. "Yeah, mauls are awful. Remind me to never pick one as a weapon again..." She carefully pulled the blanket over her body, mindful not to bend her midsection - that tend to hurt - and put her head to rest on the smoky surface. All in all, it somehow proved to be great insulation from the cold. "Nah, black is okay too. Way better than stone floor in my book..." She gathered the black smoke with her forelegs into something akin to a pillow and laid worh ner head again, then yawned. "Ever tried to cook them? Or add spices? Sure worth a try when you have more than enough to experiment..." She avoided the topic of the golden root, hoping he'll forget about it eventually. They could hear the pines gently creaking under the late evening breeze. A soothing sound, actually. "Alright, that's my lullaby. Goodnight Nightmare. see you in the morning..." She pilled the smoke pillow closer and let out a relages sigh. Soon she fell asleep.

@@Orange Sparks "If the Isles declared war first, we would know beforehand, or at least hear news of drafts and the like. This whole decapitation strike at the entire Royal family places it squarely at the minotaurs laps. You even found orders from their leaders commanding to ponynap you." She sighed. "When the minotaur tribes start rubbing each other the wrong way, war is the natural way to keep them together. The minotaur kings knew thus for generations, but what bothers me us that they act differently now. Instead of landing on our shores without a word, they try and ponynap the princesses and poison the prince? That's a bit too sophisticated for them..." Crystal rubbed her forehead in thought. Now that she said it, it was pretty disturbing.