private Diffuse Reflection (1x1 between Nightmare Season and Raven Rawne)

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season

 

The clan set camp by the river in the shadow if the great jungle. Since it was a long time stay, the large royal tent was also set up. Crystal found herself often staring at the green wall as they waited for the boats.  One thing she noticed that her alicorn mother in-law was strangely on edge these days. The couple tried to ask her but to no avail. Finally she said she won't accompany them, but rather visit the clans once they depart.  Crystal was a bit concerned by losing their healer and oracle on that journey.

 

Her heat came like clockwork and they both recognised the obvious signs as the mare started to get really snuggly. Fortunately, she was in control of herself, despite the burning need inside of her. She thought they nailed it down by now and it will pass as all the previous ones. Taking comfort in the known,  she told her husband to wear the magic necklace when he got to easing her needs a bit in the night. So he could get something from it too, she reckoned.

 

When she recalled it later,  she had a hard time telling what really happened.  They were having their fun as usual but Nightmare had a lot more if it than in her previous heats. Apparently, he lost his cool due to the spell in the critical moment.  One thing she remembered clearly was the moment she felt he was knocking her up, and it was the best thing in the world.  Her body hungrily accepted his offering, finally being granted what it was denied so many times before. The extatic feeling overcame her and she must've passed out from it.  Judging by the way she woke up Nightmare must've followed suit.

 

Next morning, she felt... different. Instead of the burning need was... happiness and satisfaction. Like after a job well done. She recalled the night and her eyes went wide at the realisation. She felt it, he knocked her up. The mare crawled from under the stallion, trying not to wake him, and ran straight to Hearts-Dream. If anypony saw her then, they would see the Queen running with loose, messy hair and without the trademark dress running like there was fire. "Hearts-Dream! There's an emergency,  wake up!" - she basically shook the alicorn awake. As soon as the mare layed eyes on her, she told she's pregnant,  and with what quantity and kind of ponies.  Crystal ran a hoof over her abdomen in shock.  'T-triplets..." She couldn't tell what she felt - anxiety, a bit of fear, some anger... A nuzzle from her mother in-law helped settle her mind some, and a future reading was a big relief. She thanked for confirmation and future reading,  and went back home to tell the news.

 

A few ponies were out and about and her messy look raised some attention. Crystal had to tell she's fine to one or two passerby. The mare reached the safety of her home and went to the bedroom. There was something she needed to do immediately.

 

Nightmare was still in bed when she walked in. Crystal went straight to the jewelry box and took off her pregnancy amulet without a word.  Nightmare Season shot up wide awake and started frantically apologising her for knocking her up against her wish.  The mare was still unsure what to think and simply announced.  "Triplets, two identical crystal colts and a nightmare mare." She found herself in a tight hug and under a barrage of kisses.

 

Over the next two days, the whole clan heard the improbable news. Some ponies reportedly wanted to bet if she can conceive quadruplets, ridiculous as it may sound.  Crystal Clear herself got over the initial shock and doubts and was very happy with her current state, as obviously visible with her crystal coat.  Nightmare Season was also beside himself from happiness.  One could argue that he loved his wife the most when she's knocked up with his foals.

 

When the Dark Waters came with their boats, Crystal Clear was first to inspect them and pick the safest one for her family. One had a hastily added room under the sun deck, and she claimed it without a second glance.  Seeing the size and properties of the vessels,  she and Nightmare picked the right amount of guards and civilians for the adventure into the unknown. They lacked a healer since Hearts-Dream packed up and left,  but the crystal nightmare had her secret way of bringing nightmare ponies back from the brink.

 

It took another three days to load the boats,  recruit from volunteers and settle things in camp so the clan won't thin out without leadership. On the dawn of fourth day, they set sail upriver. Crystal was standing on the bow of her flag vessel, staring at the land in front of her.

 

The adventure began.

[Nightmare Season 617]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Nightmare was extremely happy the few days following the accidental knocking up. He made sure she knew how happy he was that she was going to give him three more within the year. Though he promised not to wear that amulet again next time she was in heat. To many foals back to back will put a lot of pressure on them. Crystal took the lead at organizing to expedition. Nightmare was proud of his queen he had chosen two years ago.

 

As the boats started to move out into the jungle. Crystal stood like she was leading them in, he walked up and stood beside her. "You know love, I am happy for the little accident few nights back." He rubbed her abdomen. He was at her belly again. "I know we planed to wait till next year, but triplets? Makes me wish we did it sooner." Though he got a little boop from her, but she was happy as well. He could tell.

 

They traveled by day and night. Crystal had her sights set on a good location to make a base camp, from there they would go out and explore the jungle. Also set up a farm to help feed the party. They had two from Burning Sands that could grow plants fast enough to feed the party in a few weeks. A week went by, the party was getting restless. Though the loving couple kept each other well busy at night. Close to the end of the seventh day, Crystal spotted something. A hill, but looked pony made. They beached their boats to go into the Jungle for a closer look. It was about a half a mile they walked when they came across a wall.

 

Crystal somehow felt a pull from with in. A feeling she knew from up North. Feint but only she felt it.  They walked the length of the wall till they found a massive entryway. The stone was all that was left, the wood rotted away centuries ago. As they walked inside. Before them rose out of the jungle a massive city made out of stone. Overgrown by the spread of the jungle, looked abandoned for centuries.

 

Crystal somehow knew this would be the base camp she was looking for.

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season, 

 

The mare heard hoofstwps behind her as she stood on the front of her boat. It was Nightmare Season, who decided to join her in sightseeing. She smiled at his loving bellyrub. "You don't say? If you were a crystal pony, you'd be shining with me. I know you love it when I'm carrying your foals." The mare rolled her eyes and booped him at the mention os f doing it sooner. "Silly colt, give me a break between pregnancies okay? Lest I forget how it is not to be knocked up or something. I don't want to be a foal oven all my life and besides, we'll need to recruit more servants, especially a good nanny. Sparks has enough on her head already, and Crystal Fire won't share her with his siblings..." Still, the mare was happy too and nuzzled her stallion's neck lovingly.

 

The river proved to be more of a challenge han she expected. For once, the wind wasn't always in their favour and they needed to use oars several times to make any progres against the current. Another issu was lack of suitable spots to land. It's like the jungle built walls at it's shores to prevent being penetrated by any would-be adventurers. They travelled for six days and nothing, not even a scrap of free land. She overheard some ponies who had second thoughts on the merit of this trip, and it worried her. Fortunately Nightmare Season kept her from ruminating on negatives too much. especially at night. They also had some fun with the milk pump, and Queen Nightmare decided it's better to "recycle" it herself than let it go to waste wherever Nightmare wasn't hungry. Somehow he found it rather hilarious every time she got to work by herself.

 

On the seventh day, at late after noon, the Queen nightmare was at her usual lookout spot, on the bow of her boat. Crystal spotted something unusual in the distance and hollered to the Dark Waters nightmare captain. "Hey! Get closer to the left shore, something's out there!" several ponies overheard and came to look too. The amre smiled broadly as she saw an overgrown, but still passable, breach in the wall of trees. A gentle hill rose from the water, but something about li looked... pony made? She had a hunch it wasn't natural. "Get ready ponies, we beach there and take a look around, armor up!" She yelled and went to get her own gear, and inform Nightmare Season.

 

Her husband lead the landing party to secure the perimeter as she looked around. Theplace up close looked too even and square to be natural. She stopped the nearest guard. "Tell the rest we're going further in. I need ten nightmares, and my husband comes with me. Rest secure the landing site and maybe let Burning Sands grab whatever they find to eat. If we don't come back till nightfall, clear some space and make fire so we can find you easier." - She sometimes forgot about locator glyphs. The expedition under the Royal couple ventured deeper into the jungle, following not-really natural looking terrain. Crystal had a hunch they'll find that city Hearts-Dream told about.

 

They waded through the jungle for half a mile or so, it was hard to be precise in this terrain. he crysatl nightmare nearly crashed head first into a wall overgrown by vines. She shashed the plants off and took a look at what they his. Her smile broadened as she ran a hhof on what must've been smooth, quarried stone. Before she could call outto the rest, she felt somehing. A slight tug at her senses, pulling her in the direction of the wall. It felt strange, yet... familliar Like... when she was heading back to the Empire?. She decided to ask Nightmare of he felt anything. None of her companions had simillar experiences. Strange... 

 

The party followed the wall for several minutes. It was very high, but with all that vegetation it was anypony's guess how it used to look like. Finally, they found a big hole in it, apparently where a gate used to be. Only stone hinges remained, but she had a feeling the gate used to be massive. Three nightmares stacked on top of each others would barely reach the top. The stone masonry was also exceptional - the wall was made of huge stone blocks, and each seemed to fit exactly into the others. No small stomes or cement like in Equestria. Whoever made it was a genius in her book. The party went inside on high alert, just in case someone still lived here. They stood with jaws dropped when they went inside however.

 

A city swallowed by the jungle. Made entirely of stone. Nightmares never saw anyting even remotely like that, and Crystal made a nod of approval for the skill and effort it took to build it in ages past.

 

This was her Lost city.

 

"Well spank my flank... Don't give me that look love, I just say that sometimes." She turned to the nightmares. "The daylight is fading, let's head back. We'll be back tomorrow morning, with axes. I want to move in."

 

They went back to the boats, racing against the fading light. When the party arrived at their meeting point, the boars were gone. Crysatl was furious and lit her mane. "Thay had one job! Just sit on their plots and wait for Heart's sake!"  She fired the orb and felt her dream hunger rise. Another replied from upriver and soon she saw the boats coming back. Before anypony could say a word, she jumped on board of the nearest one and stomped to the Dark Waters captain. "You want to sleep with the fishes?! What have I told you, fish brain?" The nightmarelooked feverishly for aid but there was none. "W-we had to go back on the boats and anchor in deep water, Y-your Higness! it's dangerous here!" She looked at him and was about to yell some more when Nightmare put a hoof on her shoulder and took over the conversation. Seems the Burning Sands went to check the plants with some escort and they ran into a big cat. One of them got scratched, but they killed the beast. Somepony had an idea to take the carcass back to skin it for it's pelt. Crystal begrudgingly acknowlendged it was a reasonable decision. She also went to see the injured pony. Nothing a good dream meal won't heal. They slept anchored in the middle of the river.

 

Next few days went a follows - Crystal and Nightmare led parties into the city to get an idea of it's current state and usability. They encuntered some strange animals, but nothing tried to eat them At first they saw empty houses stuffed with leaves and dirt, traces of wooden decor and some stone furniture. Empty shops, workshops... Not a hint of metal, just stone and places where wood used to be. The city was large, maybe even just as big as the Empire. Oddly enough, there was a larde mountain-like structure in the middle. It loked a bit like somepony wanted to make a house on a stone hill. They reached in on the third day, after checking the buildings that were on the way. They noticed that, some time ago, thaere must've been a wide avenue leading to it from the gate. Now it was the thickest part of the jungle as the trees upset thestone slabs that made the road.

 

It was around noon. The royal couple stood at the foot of the stairs leading all the way to the top of the strange structure. It wasn't a tower, since it was bery wode atthe base and narrowed as it went higher, like huge steps. It was placed on a square plan and made of those huge stone blocks. A large building rested atop of it. They walked up the stairs until they reached the place where the doors should be. Crysatl noticed that something was off. She saw deep scratches on the stone all around the doorway. She motioned the rest to be quiet - she remembered how the monster up North also scrathed his lair.

 

The inside was spacious and rays of light shone through empty windows. Firsttheing they noticed was the stench. Like somepony forgot about their veggies for far too long. Still, they pressed on.

 

It must've been a palace of sorts. The walls were decorated with sculptures depicting some rites and happenings. Crystal felt like when she was in the Crystal Plaza, the gentle tug of unseen energy beckoning her deeper into the building. They checked the groung flor and the upper levels. There was some sort of ceremonial stand on top of it, like something used to be placed there for the whole world to see. The stand in the middle was smashed. The crystal nightmare finally connected some dots with a gasp. Nightmares hurriedly looked around, thinking she saw danger. The mare pointed at the broken stand. "Look, it's been busted on purpose. See the tool marks? Here, and here. Now that I think of it, stuff we saw all around wasn't just abandoned and happened to lay at weird angles...." She ran down the stairs and fished her glow-crysatl. Knowing where she saw some toppled furniture, she went there to examine it. "See? it's been toppled on purpose. But why upset a huge stone bookshelf?" She tapped her chin as Nightmare saw something was under it. She nodded. "Can you lift that thing?" It was too havy but with some help, it stood upright for the first time in Heart nows how long. As the loud thud of stone echoed the chambers, Crystal's startled eek joined soon after.

 

"What the hay?!" Nightmares looked at whas under the heavy furniture. Somepony toppled it on top of... another pony. A bare skeleton clothed in remnants of robes and jewelry lied broken where the pony was crushed to death. "I hope they died quickly..." The mare lowered her head and sighed. Now it made sense - the city was attacked and sacked, and never recovered. "Alright, the day is still young. Something tells me there are rooms underneath. A hunch. Look for doors, especially stone, or some conveniently placed objects. Palaces love hidden passages and whatnot."

 

They dispersed to look for any clues.

[Nightmare Season 617]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

When the party got back to the meeting point, the boats were gone. Crystal flared up and was angry they left. Though a signal quickly showed they were up river and came to pick them up. Crystal leaped onto the boat and went straight to the captain where she started yelling at him. Nightmare went to her and placed his hoof onto her to calm her. "What happened out there?" The nightmare explained about the big cat. It made sense they went back to the waters.

 

The next days they led the party into the city to look around. Mostly old houses that was left through the ages and filled up with dirt and leaves. They thought it best to try and clear some of it away. Thankfully the trees in the jungle were all soft wood and made easy work to chop them down. They made a small barricade at the gate to keep out danger and renovated some of the buildings to house them. Upon the third day, Crystal and Nightmare finally stood at the base of what looked like the central palace.

 

As they reached the top, Crystal noticed gashes in the stone by the door. Like a great beast clawed at it. Nightmare took a close look at them. They were very old, also....they looked like weapons instead of claws. As they pressed on. The nightmares noticed the stench. Crystal did not recognize it, but the ponies engulfed in war sure knew. The smell after an old battle. Crystal finally figured it out when they found a smashed pedestal of some kind. Crystal ran back to where she had seen a stone bookcase. Nightmare noticed something was under the shelf. Several ponies aided in lifting the heavy thing back to its legs. Crystal gasped and they all went into a stance to start a fight. She pointed at the skeleton. Proof that a great battle raged her centuries upon centuries ago.

 

Crystal ordered every pony to start searching and to split up. She seemed to feel there would be something in this place. They obeyed her commands and split up. Nightmare went his own way as well. An hour passed by with them searching. He discovered a mural on the wall of one of the halls. One thing he discovered made him interested. It was a depiction of what seemed to be the royal family. The littlest one.....was Hearts-Dream. Well when she was still a land pony. Her cutie mark told it was her. He heard his wife call out for him to quickly come. He dashed off in the direction he heard her voice.

 

He discovered she had found what seemed to have been a hidden chamber in the wall. As he walked inside, he saw her standing over shards. "What did you find?" She told him to come over and look at the crystal shards. She told him they are the same kind as the crystal heart. As he approached he saw them he picked one up to look at it better. Doing so, they started to glow with his touch. He quickly dropped it. "Are they suppose to do that?" He looked at the layout of them. Some pony had arranged them into a heart shape by the missing gaps, two were not there.

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season

 

They went searching as she suggested.  There's gotta be something... the feeling was strongest in this building. Finally realising what happened here a long time ago, the crystal night mare's mind was playing tricks on her as she saw bones in every shadow, only to discover it was a pile of leaves or some rubble.  Although she did find skeletons in a large bedroom she went into. The doors were long gone but the stone furniture that barricaded it still laid crumbled on the floor. She saw a stallion right next to it. And a mare with foals in what was left of a bed. The sight was too much for her and she ran out without checking that room.

 

About an hour into the search,  she noticed something odd. A small row if lamp hangers on the wall, in a room that had three windows.

 

She inspected the wall and hangers,  noticing scratch marks and slightly wider gaps between stones where the entrance could be hidden. Guessing how the mechanism could work, she pulled all hangers but they didn't move. Rotating did the trick and with considerable effort she managed to make the ancient secret door open.

 

It was a small chamber,  not stairs down,  but her eyes lit at what she found. The familiar feeling now made sense. She felt the same as when she would while standing right in front of the Crystal Heart. In a way, she was.

 

"Nightmare! You gotta see this, quickly!"

 

She shone the light with her crystal at the find.  A real crystal heart. Shattered in a hundred pieces and hidden. Two shards were missing though.

 

Nightmare showed up and shone the light on the matter.  With his name this time.  "Look what I found.  The thing that rested on the busted pedestal.  Now I don't know how it's even possible, but it appears to be... a Crystal Heart. Like the one up North." He picked up a shard and dropped it as it started glowing. "Dunno, I never thought there are more of them. I say we leave it here in a closed room and move in with the expedition force. Call back the boats to our main camp and keep contact via Radiance.  Holing up here seems like a good idea for now as we look for clues on what happened and how they got a Heart in the first place..."

[Nightmare Season 617]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Nightmare agreed with her. This city would be a perfect staging area for exploring. "I also figured out something about this city. This is the kingdom my mother ruled before a war took her ponies away from her. Explains why she did not want to travel with us on the river." He led her to where he saw the mural with Hearts-Dream in it. Further looking around reviled this was the palace. They even found the royal bedchambers where they would take up residence.

 

Several months past. Crystal was half way through her latest pregnancy. Several expeditions were sent out only to come back the usual. Did not find anything really of interests. Several of the clans actually came to the city. Word got out about the massive kingdom. The trees and roots were taken away. An overgrown farm was discovered outside of the walls and Burning Sands got it in proper shape again. A good deal of the city was restored to a decent state at least. Crystal and Nightmare fell in love with the city, felt it right to make it their permanent capital. Crystal wanted to remain close to the crystal heart. Though the time they spent there did not find the last two shards. Crystal never could get them to glow when she picked them up. It was only when Nightmare touched them did they respond. Hearts-Dream was still absent and no word from her was received either

 

The nightmares insisted that the palace was the first thing to be fully restored. They fixed it up and decorated it the best they could, which was actually very good. Crystal and nightmare now had an actual palace where they lived in now. Who ever built this city did a great job. Most things just had to be reset and it seemed like new again. The city was starting to look like a kingdom than an ancient ruin. Dark Waters had a little cove dug out by the river so they could dock their ships in in between trips to bring in more ponies. The dangerous creatures learned quickly to stay away from the fire ponies.

 

Nightmare went to look for his wife one day after the latest news from the expeditions came in. He knew right were to find her. In the room with the crystal shards. "Hello my queen." He walked over to her to nuzzle her and to give her belly a good rub. "Still nothing on the expeditions. Either there are no ponies in this jungle, or they are well hidden. How is our Crystal Heart doing? Figured out yet why they glow with only me touching them?"

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season,

 

The mare made a very weird face. "Say what again? THIS is her lost kingdom? No wondr she didn't want to come." She recalled the butchered family with a shudder and let herself be guided by Nightmare to where he saw the relief.

 

Five months later, this was their home. The royal family lived in the palace - now fully restored and richly decorated. The expecting mother found the stairs to be a pain in the flank though. Hard to balance with your rump up and triplets in your abdomen. So she rarely ventured out. The large amount of crystal decor was the result as she spent her time working in crystal, trying to decipher the murals and generally planning things. She also spent a lot of time thinking about the Heart - how it shattered, where the missing pieces are, how to put it together and why it responded to Nightmare Season and not her. Gluing it back like a broken crystal vase seemed out of the question, even though she was pefectly able to do that.  It took four princesses to put the one up North back again after the failed Crystalling.

 

All in all, things were looking up, even if not in the way she planned. The royal nightmares decided to make the city a permament capital - nopony knew about it for centuries at least,it was far away from their usual enemies and easily the most defensible structure the nightmare ponies ever had. With all the timber they got from the cut down trees in and around the city, they sent for carpenters from other clans to set up shops and make doors and other items and parts that were rotten away by time. Thankfully there were no gaps in the wall that surrounded their new capital, so only the gates needed to be remade and kept shut - there were four, and they kept only two operational - the one closest to docks and the farm led by Burning Sands. Crystal's list contained a road to the river and some big, proper docks, but it would take time and much more pony power than they had now. Many clans sent specialists to help and they were able to make a lot of things domestically, but it was still a long way to go before the city stood on it's own.

 

The expeditions they sent never made it far - the jungle and one day limit made it impossible to fo more than, say, ten miles away. The source of all that stone was still a mystery but some traces of what could have been roads were found. They find the burial grounds however, and it was decided to try and comply with the rites they figured from murals. Seems like the bodies were to be burned in a large stone slab and the ashes taken to the river. Since Hearts-Dream was unreachable, they couldn't ask for guidelines. The city had underground tunnels, some collapsed. Apparently in ancient times there was a functioning sewer system and clean water was redirected from an outside source, probably the river. It would take months, or even years to fully discover all of the nouances of that system and make it work again. But there was hope.

 

One day, Crystal Clear was in the hidden room where the Crystal Heart was hidden, pondering over it. She heard hoofsteps on the stone floor but didn't bother looking back. The belly rub told her who just came and she purred at the pleasant touch. "Mmmm... I could get knocked up back to back just so you rub me like that..." She gave him a thank-you kiss and pointed at the heart. "Dunno love, but you're related to the last ruler of this place, albeit in an unusual way. Maybe that's why - it recognises your ancestry. Still, we need to ask around in the Empire for any clues. And find the missing shards too. I have a feeling that whoever destroyed this place might have took at least one as a souvenir, and that would be bad. I just wish Mother showed up and told us anything really..." The mare got up from the rug she brought herself there and motioned her stallion to come out too. She then closed the hidden door and led him to the Throne Room. "I just can't shake the feeling that there are more rooms than we see, you know. I checked everything and there are no obvious hidden spaces wothin the palace, but who would build basically a mountain without as much as a basement?"

 

They went inside the Trone Room - a large one, by the palace standards, with rows of collums supporting the relarively low ceiling - the civilisation that made this city preferred lower spaces and used collums with cross beams to support ceilings, rather than archways like back up North. The large, stone throne dominatedthe space at thend of the room. it stood on a pedestal and one had to walk straight from the door to approach it. Crysatl made herself another, out of crystal of course. It was placed on the right from the main one and was slightly smaller, but she didn't save time on decorations. Where the stone one was mighty, hers was fancy. She sat in it in a very un-Queen like manner, basically sideways with her hindlegs dangling in the air. Crysatl smoothed her large belly with her forelegs. She was big for her fifth month, beause of the triplets, but she felt okay and because of her larger size didn't look ridiculous. Although somepony might have thought she was due any time now. Nightmare Season took some loving advantage of his wife being easilly accessible for belly rubs. She purred under his loving touvh and took a glance at the entrance while biting her lip. She than tapped a hoof at the two smaller hills in her mountain range and gave him a wink. He could fix himself a drink if he wanted. "I can't help but dream of the day when this city is back in it's prime, with our own Heart at he top of the palace. But I fear that the clans may be unwilling to settle here, and our own is way too small to populate even a third of it... Even with the skyrocketing birth rate, courtesy of your mom, it'll take ages to make our capital a major city. Maybe we could welcome settlers from Equestria? I bet there are ponies who would answer our offer. Thoughts?"

[Nightmare Season 617]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

After he rubbed her belly, She told him about getting pregnant back to back just for that rub of his. "A tempting offer love." He accepted her kiss. he thought about what all she said. "It could be that Hearts-Dream is my mother, but she is not a typical mother to me. So I don't think that is it. As for the basement....maybe they did not build room underground. Like we don't have basements for our tents."

 

The royal couple walked side by side into the throne room. Now decorated with crystal and a very lovely Crystal throne for the queen that she made herself. She walked to the thrown and crawled into the crystal seat and laid on her side and lifted her legs up to show off her belly and taps. "That is not very royal like love." With her basically asking him to to pay attention to her, he gave her the belly rub she loved so much. She then pointed to her taps, she was always producing milk, now a days she was producing more and needed relief. Nightmare was always happy to help her out with that. Sometimes she even did it herself with the milk pump of hers. The milk was never wasted with it being so precious. As he went to town on her milk, she talked to him wile keeping a watch at the doors to make sure no pony saw their sultan sucking away at her taps.

 

He pulled his head away and looked at her to answer her. "Well we can always ask mother when we finally find her again, to feed you another root. Four or five foals at at time back to back will fill the city up nicely." He got a friendly boop on his snout for that one. "Okay.....bad joke I know. I figure about half the population will settle the city, while the rest remain in the shifting sands. We will need to make a road to their for easy travels. As for bringing in outsiders. Seeing as how a few of the nightmares took a liking to your crystal form, some of them wants to be bonded to crystal ponies as well. So there are a few more. I have not met with the other princesses or ponies from up North yet, so I am unsure about them coming down yet. Though I would love to see our nation be a combination of crystals and flames."

 

Nightmare heard a knock at the door and helped his wife quickly get into a more proper sitting position before they announced they could come in. The doors opened to revel Snowflake with a normal pony mare from Burning Sands. Crystal was not as angry with her brother any more. Nightmare had showed him what reality was all about, and he actually learned it. As the two approached the thrown. The two of them recognized the normal mare was the daughter of the clan leader of Burning Sands. "Umm....We wish to know. If we can have your permissions to get married?" That announcement hit Crystal and Nightmare like a bomb. Neither knew anything about them dating till now.

 

After some discussions. Crystal gave him their blessings. And the two walked out wile nuzzling each other about the good news. The couple gave each a sheepish grin. "Guess he will now go his own way?"

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season

 

The mare sighed as he let go of her taps to answer.  She needed to lighten the load. Crystal laughed at his proposal and booped his nose.  "You've no idea how much of a strain on me it would be doncha? Three is like, the upper limit. Just look how big I am already."

 

She listened and nodded at his reasoning. "Crystal ponies are pretty scarce, so making a mixed nation is a song of very distant future. But I wouldn't mind if some of my kin hooked up with nightmare ponies. As for equestrian ponies... there are pegasi and unicorns there, and we could use both. They would also bring some of their precious tech, which is a good thing. But we would need a green light from Canterlot to issue a call for settlers."

 

A knock on the door startled her. Nightmare helped his wife sit straight and she covered her underside. He hopped on his throne as well - Crystal thought he looked damn good on it. The stallion called out to the newcomers to enter. 

 

Crystal pouted slightly at the sight of her brother, but, truth be told, he grew from a bratty colt into something resembling an adult stallion under Nightmare's supervision.  She looked at the pair of ponies as they approached.

 

"You... what?"  - Crystal felt like somepony put ice in her brain. Him? Marry? How? She adressed the mare. "Are you absolutely sure of this decision?" She nodded. "I love your brother, my Queen. And he loves me." Snowflake nodded with pride.  Crystal scrunched her nose, not sure what to do. She motioned the mare to approach. "Cone to me girl, and you don't try to overhear us, okay?"

 

She talked with the Burning Sands mare in a hushed voice. Both shot glances at Snowflake who seemed to be on edge. She asked many questions and did her best to gauge if it's not an attempt to get to the clan money through the bed. Finally,  having heard nothing suspicious, she sent the mate back to her... fiancé?

"Alright, seems like your love us real by the look if it... I didn't know you had it in you, Snowflake. You have my blessing. I look forward to attending the wedding. What are you waiting for?  Go get him girl!"

 

The crystal nightmare burst in laughter once the doors closed. Once she recovered they shared a sheepish grin of understanding. "I guess he'll stay here now. I'll tell the clan leader to keep an eye on them though, he grew up these past months but marriage may be a bit too much for him to chew so easily. I wonder when I'm going to be an aunt..." She patted her chin in thought and smiled. "Heh, sorry, got carried away... Guess I'll need to make them a wedding gift. I'm so happy you put some sense in his head love, the whole family is in your debt."

 

She leaned on her throne in his direction with a wide smile. "You look so sexy in that throne, by the way... A-aaanyways, with one servant gone, and three more foals rapidly approaching, we'll need to hire some more. And another nanny too. The royal piggy bank won't like it..." The mare frowned and looked away. "How are we supposed to line our pockets when our clan has no specialty? Every clan has dream trees now. Golden roots are sole income of our Mother. We need to find something in this forest.  And build that road you mentioned - boats are good for ferrying goods but ponies don't like them. Maybe we should send patrols further along the old roads?  There has to basket a quarry somewhere.  Mines too, probably. We really need to go outside the walls and find stuff." She put a hoof on her abdomen and raised an eyebrow in silent invitation.  She could use some more relief.

[Nightmare Season 617]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Nightmare thought about their finance situations. The bits will not last long, especially with rebuilding their capital. And they really needed extra help with the new foals on the way. He looked over at his wife giving him that look wile holding her abdomen. He knew what she wanted. He pulled her behind the two thrones where they could be out of site should a pony walk in on them. He started off by giving her a loving belly rub, followed by kissing it. She was trying to move his head down to her taps to relieve her some more, but he had another idea. He started to get more frisky with her lower parts. He was going to make her sing her love song.

 

When she finally reach her max pleasure, her leg went crazy and kicked a stone behind his throne. A few clicks was heard and the throne moved forward. They both looked at each other then back at the stairs leading down. Nightmare helped clean her up while she regained some strength back in her legs. They went down the spiral staircase that was hidden so well. As they reached the bottom, there standing before them was a stone door. It took both of them to pry it loose from it standing shut for ages. As the doors finally swung free, inside what they saw took their breath away. It was the treasury.

 

Piles and piles of gold everywhere. Precious gems were everywhere. The couple looked at the wealth that was saved for all these years inside. "This looks more than our entire clans wealth put together." They both were over joyed with this find. "Shall we hire one nanny for each foal or two." He told her with a great grin on his face. Before she had time to answer, her husband had her on a pile of bits. He was going for round two, and she wanted it as well.

 

After leaving their mess on some of the bits. The two exited the vault and went back to the throne room. Crystal wiped some milk off his cheeks before they closed the hidden stair well again.

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season,

 

 The mare had a big smile as her husband rose from his royal throne and approached her. He linked hooves with her and gently pulled her out of her own throne, and behind their fancy chairs. Good call, they wouldn't be so exposed back there. She layed on her back and eagerly awaited her release. However, Nightmare Season took his time and decided to give the belly some more love. It was nice and all, but it wasn't what she needed. As he lowered his head to kiss the belly, she put a hoof on his forehead and gently pushed down. "C'mon, don't make me beg. You know I need it..."

 

He went lower than she wanted.

 

"N-not there! What if, s-somepony... a-aaaaagh!" She bit her lower lip and stomped a hoof in the stone floor as she fought against the rising tide of pleasure. Finally the flood gates burst and she got loud. Her legs started kicking on their own when she climaxed, and something happenned because she heard noise of sliding stone and Nightmare stopped frying her brain with mind boggling waves of pleasure. Crystal needed a moment to recover and look at equally confused Nightmare, then all around - the stone throne moved away and revealed a staircase. She put on a sly smile and said, breathing heavily. "Told you I... thought there's a... b-basement... Ooff, give me minute. Or ten. It should be illegal to be so good at pleasuring mares... oof..." The crystal nightmare rested her head on the stone floor as her husband cleaned her up and her back legs started taking orders again. He helped her rise and they went downstairs - the stallion's fires providing light.

 

It was qyite a trek for the expecting mother. Spiral stairs, and dusty at that, weren't something she liked particularily. They reached the bottom and stared at massive, stone doors. Crystal gave them a ook over for any mechanisms, but there were none. Just something like a big, stone handle. They both needed to put their backs to it to move the stone slab away, but it was worth it. They lost their breath as the stalion's fires shone on what was inside.

 

Gold, gold and once again, gold. Oh and shiny gems too. And then some more gold. Whole piles of it. The treasury was stuffed to the roof. Nightmare was the first to regain his speech as they tried to encompass the sheer amount of wealth. Crystal just shone and had a silly grin on her snout. She gave him a weird look at the nanny comment and tried to say something, but she found herself on a pile of treasures - not the most comfortable surface - and her husband on top of her.

 

Suffice to say the treasury had great acoustics.

 

The ryl nightmares emerged some time later and Nightmare engaged the mechanism to close the entrance with his throne. Crystal still felt the after shocks in her lower parts and stood a bit shakily, but was very, very happy. She wiped some milk off his cheek with a hoof. "We don't need anypony to know of your diet, love." She sat in her crystal throne to cool down, closed her eyes and just glowed. "That was... I doubt many ponies can say they did it on a huge pile of gold.I'll lock us up there when I decide to have another pregnancy, okay? That would make a great story for the foals. Once they grow up."  Crystal looked at her husband. "So I guess the royal piggy bank got stuffed just like the queenie nightmare, huh? Should be enough to pay for the necessary expenses to get the city back to it's proper shape. Since we have just three months before we need to go up North, I say we pour money in slearing space for roads and finding that quarry. I need to show ponies how to work stone, since you guys never built anytihing out of it. Thankfully basic crystal shaping and stonemasonry are much alike. I reckon a stone road would fare better in this environment that a paved one..." She gently slid off the throne and back on her hooves. "I feel like getting some mango juice and spending time with my foals. Interested?" She walked out of the throne room.

 

Next day the royal nightmares selected their best to organise a new expedition. This time they were to follow the Old Road from the gate leading to the farm. The order was to follow the road for a week, unless they found where it lead to earlier. Tey figured that the big roads, te only ones stil vaguely visible, were leading to major locations outside the walls. And that stone and gold didn't just magically appear. The royal couple haven't decided yet whether to annouce far and wide they sat on an immense treasure or just keep quiet about it - both had avantages and disadvantages. Announcing their wealth may attract unwanted attention for once.

 

Crystal waited anxiously for the party to return - there were three Old Roads still to explore. They returned after five days. Three out of five, one inured. They were immediately taken to a restored building that was used as a home for Healers - the royal nightmares finally managed to convince one to come. Crysatl demanded to see the explorers and not hear a redacted report on the next day. She needed help with walking down so many steep stairs but was too stubborn to turn back home. The couple went to the healer and questioned one of the stallions who was checked over and declared unharmed and in good shape.

 

They found the Quarry two days into the trip - a great, stone hole in the ground, by his words. They went down to investigate, since it was overgrown with vines and small trees. His account made little sense to the mare. He said that the plants attacked them. Vines came alive and tried to strangulate the nightmares. Some had big barbs and they cut the wounded one deeply. The fire was good defense and eventually, they torched nearly the whole Quarry as they made a run for it, but one was killed outright by the plants and second fell through a rotten catwalk to his death. Crystal was deeply disturbed by loss of good nightmares. Especially since one was married. She decided to tell the bad news personally, since she sent him to his death.

 

It was... the hardest meeting in her life. The nightmare mare was expecting and the news stabbed right through her heart. Crystal didn't know what to do and promised to take care of her, and the foal. They had bits right? The mare refused getting money for her husband's death and nearly chased the crystal nightmare out of her house. She was really sad for the rest of the day, and tried to come up with anything really to ease he pain of the mare.

[Nightmare Season 617]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

As the two sat in their thrones after their find. Crystal had a future plan laid out. "Pregnant with triplets, and already you are deciding where next I will knock you up? You do want to stay busy don't you." He gave her a kiss. "I say we are loaded like the queen is." He gave her a warm smile. "I figure we have enough down there to rebuild the city ten times over." As she got down and walked to the door, she asked him if he wanted juice and to spend time with their foals. He could not argue with that. The two walked side by side to the bedrooms and to the room they turned into a nursery.

 

A few days passed after they sent out the expedition force along the main road they found. Not all of them had returned however. Upon questioning, they said they found the quarry, but the plants themselves had attacked them. Crystal decided she would tell the now widowed mare about the loss of her husband. Nightmare went to the barracks to assemble the troops. "The latest expedition force discovered the quarry. Sadly we lost two nightmares. We will head out to secure it. The reports stated that it was plants that had attacked them. So we will be able to burn them to ash. Once the quarry is ours, we can work more efficiently to restore this kingdom.

 

Nightmare led the way to the quarry, Crystal stayed behind to organize things there. The next day she saw the smoke rising from the distant where they had begun to reclaim the quarry. She was alone, but she knew her husband would return in a few days. That evening she went to their bedchamber to get ready for bed. A bowl of fruit from the jungle was waiting for her on their table. She decided a quick snack for the little ones inside her was in order first.

 

As she ate one, she noticed it did not taste right. Her sight got fuzzy and her head became light. She was poisoned. She tried to call out, but she passed out before she could scream.

 

She woke up and realized she was being carried. It was late in the day of the following day. Her legs were bound together and she was being carried on a stretcher of some kind. The ponies carrying her were very tall. Orange with black spots. Their legs and necks were exceedingly long. She ordered them to untie her and explain themselves. However, they seemed to not understand her, they had a different language. She did notice they however took great care in carrying her, was it because of her pregnancy?

 

When the sun was setting, they arrived at a narrow canyon that was hidden within the forest. They carried her inside. The canyon opened up into a whole new section of the jungle hidden away by shear cliffs. In the middle rose a massive tree. Taller and bigger than any tree she ever seen before. To make it more grand was it was a dream tree.

 

The natives carried her through what seemed like their village up the the base of that massive tree. There in the trunk, she noticed a home was carved out inside of it. Large enough to house their travel tent. They laid her down a ways from the door and backed away from her. A few words were said that she did not understand, and the door in the dream tree opened up. There stood what looked like either the leader or the medicine pony. Maybe both, she came up to Crystal and looked down at her as if studying her.

 

"Why do you live in the ancient Kingdom?" This strange pony knew her language. "Non have stepped in that kingdom for many ages. Are you searching for the power that once resided there? Or do you seek the treasure hidden away till the true rulers return?" Crystal was being interrogated. "We have watched over it for many generations, seeking to restore the heart of the forest. And to see the lost queen return."

Edited February 13, 2017 by Nightmare Season

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season,

 

Nightmare led the expedition into the quarry and Crystal stayed behind. She was still sad from the encounter with the widow. On the next day she saw smoke rising from the direstion of the quarry - seems Nightmare wasn't taking chances there. Somewhat worried about his safely, she spent the rest of the day until it was time to sleep. The bowl of fruits was unexpected, but maybe Sparks was trying to cheer her up. The crystal nightmare sat on the bed for a snack. As she ate half of the first one, something was wrong. She felt... odd. Lightheaded and... "Oh buck, anypony heel..." - She lost conciousnes.

 

The crystal nightmare shook awake and felt binds on her legs. She struggled against them as she regained conciousness. She was ponynapped, and by some very strange ponies too. "Hey, why you took me? What did I do to you? Answer me!" She got angry, but more so, scared. These strange ponies talked in a different language. What would they do to her? Or her foals? She fell silent as fear won against anger.

 

They carried her for hours, but seemed rather gentle about it. Maybe because she was visibly pregnant. They took her to a hidden village around a massive dream tree. Eve larger than the one back North. The stretchers were laid on the ground before the door to a home inside it. Crystal curled up, not sure what to expect.

 

The door opened and a female strange pony came out. A leader? Healer? Both? Thankfully she spoke Equestrian.

 

Crystal's eyes darted all around, but having found no reassurance she looked at the one who asked questions. She took a deep breath and tried to sound caml. Tried. "I come from the other side of the Forest. My husband said there are ponies across the forest too, and we tried to reach them. For trade. We followed the river and found the city. Accidentally, really. A-as it turns out, my husband is the son of the last ruler of that city. We figured out from the reliefs, she haven't joined us on the journey. Hearts-Dream? You know that name?"

[Nightmare Season 617]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

The strange medicine pony looked at her. Seeming to figure out if what she said was truth or lies. She said something in their language and the others picked Crystal up and followed the strange mare inside the massive dream tree. They laid her down in front of a massive pot with some kind of liquid in it. "What you say seems strange. The last ruler was living ages ago, when our kind were still young. Should you speak truthfully, then we will welcome you. Though if lies you speak this day, then you will cease to be." Hearing that, Crystal instinctively tried to cover up her belly with the young foals still inside.

 

The strange mare took a crystal off of a shelf, it was one of the missing pieces. She called her out on that. "So you know of this then? You have come to steal the power away from the jungle?" Crystal of course denied it. Trying to tell her she knew of the other crystal heart and that she was trying to restore it and the kingdom. "Silent. The truth will soon be known, and judgement will be passed." She grabbed a bottle off of a shelf as well, she held it up next to the crystal and muttered an incantation. The shard glowed changing the liquid in the bottle to a different color.

 

She forced Crystal to drink it. Crystal tried to spit it out, but the pony kept her mouth shut. The taste was the worst thing she ever tasted in her life before. Finally she had to swallow it. After that, the mare grabbed a dream root. Muttering another incantation she held it to Crystal's head. The root pulled something out of her and into the root. The strange mare then tossed it into the liquid where it started to boil. Within the steam, arose an image. It was memories of Crystal. Crystal as a filly, the Empire, meeting Nightmare. Their bonding. And their recent work on the city, All flashed before her eyes in the steam. She still remembered those times, so they were not stolen. Just copied. The strange mare gasped at the sight of Hearts-Dream.

 

When the steam died down, the strange mare looked at Crystal and pulled a knife out. She walked over to her and cut the bindings. "The words you speak are truth. Your memories told the same. You are the wife of the son who came from the last queen." She helped Crystal to her feat. "I apologize, My kind has been in charge for many generations to protect the secret of the Kingdom."

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season,

 

The silence was killing her. Finally the strange mare said something in her language and she was taken inside the tree house. They laid her again, and the crystal nightmare looked around, scared. Even more so after mentioning they will kill her if they don't believe her. She covered her abdomen instinctively - the mother's last attempt to protect her young.

 

Her eyes went wide at th sight of the crystal shard. "T-that's the missing piece of the Heart! One of the two!" The mare called her athief again. she shook her head frantically. "No! I'm trying to put it back together! Restore the city and-" She was cut off and curled even more. The long necked mare picked a bottle with some liquid and, using the shard, changed it's color. She forced the crystal nightmare to drink it and she fought back, but eventually had to gibve up. The taste was... it couldn't even be described how awful it was. She retched and spit from the liquid as a dream root was pressed to her forehead and she watched in horror as her own memories play out in the fog above the pot. What did she do to her? She still rememebered those things, so maybe it wasn't anything bad...

 

She had a knife. And was alking toards her. Crystal tried to squirm away from her but to no avail. The strange mare cut her bindings ratherthan her throat. She breathed out heavily and went limp from all the horor and stress. The expecting mother was helped to get back on her shaky hooves. "I see..." She looked at the other strange ponies, trying to tell whether they were friendly now. "I uhh... have a lot of questions, like I said Mother didn't join us and dodn't say a thing aboutthe city, only foretold that I will find a good place for camp. She made a fortune telling before we set out. Can you... take me back home? Maybe visit to see how we're doing? Like I said  am trying to bring the city back, but there's so much we don't know. And there's the Crystal Heart too..."

 

Crystal glanced again at the other strange ponies. "I come from a city that has a Crystal Heart too. Thought it's the only one there is. But ours is okay and the city prospers. This city doesn't - so what happenned?"

[Nightmare Season 617]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

"Many questions you have indeed. Though a few we can answer." She walked over to a cupboard that was closed and opened it up. Inside of it was many jars with roots in liquid. She selected one and opened it. "The tree you find yourself in, it keeps all the dreams and memories of this world. The roots lock the images inside." She cut a piece off of the root and replaced it back into the jar. The root grew back to its normal length before it was cut. The piece she cut off, she tossed into the pot.

 

Steam once again rose out of the liquid. And image appeared as the mare explained what it showed. "When the world was still new to pony kind. A great kingdom rose up out of the jungle, guided by a single heart of the forest...." As Crystal listened she saw what the steam was showing.

 

---

Hearts-Dream was born as a princes to the jungle kingdom. A place of safety and prosperity. The ponies that lived there was ruled over by the royal family. They were in charge of the Crystal Heart that sat in the center of the palace at the highest point. Hearts-Dream grew up and discovered she could see into the hearts of other ponies, and see what would make them happy. She was just a simple earth pony at this time. She grew up playing with other foals in the palace. The kingdom prospered and became the center piece of the lands surrounding it. As Crystal grew to become a mare, her coronation took place for her to be next in line to rule.

 

A party was held to celebrate the day. Guests from all across the land showed up. One group of ponies Crystal noticed easily. It was a group of Umbras. Shadow Ponies that are imprisoned below the crystal empire. They were led by a young stallion that approached Hearts-Dream. "You are looking wonderful my queen, May I ask if I may have the honor to court you? We can see to uniting our two nations." He told her, he seemed to want to marry her.

 

Hearts-Dream looked into his heart. "Sorry I refuse. I saw into your heart. What you desire most is to concur other ponies. I will not let you do such with our Crystal Heart." The stallion seemed very upset and marched his ponies out of the palace. A few days latter, war came to the nation. For several days the ponies held off the invaders with their walls. Though they knew they would not last munch longer. Hearts-Dream ordered every pony to move all their wealth into the vault so they can hide it from the umbra ponies. They followed her orders and filled the treasury with everything, and it was sealed.

 

The doors to the walls finally shattered and the invaders ran in killing all they saw. Hearts-Dream was kept in the palace to keep her safe. Though the night was full of screams and fighting. The prince of the Umbras finally reached the throne room. "Well well well. The great queen, Hearts-Dream stays in her hall as her ponies are slaughtered. It is not to late. Hand over the Heart of the Forest and become my bride, and I will spare the few survivors." Hearts-Dream denied him and ran out up the stairs to the crystal heart with her sword.

 

There under the light of the crystal heart. Hearts-Dream fought off the prince the best she could. A final swing from him took her sword out of her hoof and then came back slashing her across her eyes. The blood flowing told Crystal this was the moment she lost her sight. She collapsed onto the floor. Trying to figure out where she was without her sight. She knew the layout of the crystal room well enough to crawl to the base of the pedestal.

 

"You look pathetic queen. You should have agreed to be mine and we could have ruled the world together. But your soft heart as seen the end of your kingdom and I still will have my crystal heart." The prince mocked her. "You know not what you do. The Crystal should never be used for evil." She replied her eyes no longer seeing any light. "Well, after today, that is all it will ever be used for queen."

 

Hearts-Dream stood up right next to the crystal heart. The sound of the screaming ponies died down, and the fighting stopped. "Sounds like every pony is dead now. You are all that is left." He started to laugh. Tears came to Hearts-Dream. Blood and tears mixed together and fell down to the stone floor. "If this is the end of my kingdom, then I will make sure you will never have the heart." Hearts-Dream touched the crystal heart and flowed her pains and sorrow into it. The fear she felt was enough to cause the crystal heart to shatter and shards went everywhere. One embedded itself into her forehead flinging her across the room.

 

The prince yelled out in anger and ran to the pedestal that once had the heart. In rage he started to destroy the pedestal. When he regained his self, he walked over to Hearts-Dream to finish her off. She was blind and had a shard of crystal in her head. She appeared to be slowly dying. The prince was going to end it, but he noticed a picture on the wall. It was depicting the two kingdoms, each with a crystal heart at its core. "So....there is another heart out there. You may have stopped me now, but I will have my crystal heart one day. As for you, I will leave you like that, never being able to see again, and knowing that I will take the other heart with you not being able to stop me."

 

He turned and left her laughing maniacally. Hearts-Dream was left alone in the dark. The crystal shard that was in her, formed a horn. It kept her alive and gave her magic. She was at least able to survive. ---

 

The steam finally faded and crystal looked back at the strange mare. "A time long forgotten by all, though the tree remembers everything."

Edited February 13, 2017 by Nightmare Season

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season,

 

The crystal mare watched with some measure of curiosity as the strange mare prepare the vision, and then watch it with visible fright.

 

"That... That's the King! He took over my home city too! Seems we were more fortunate though, MUCH more fortunate..." She frowned deeply at her newfound knowlendge. Seems restoring the Heart will be impossible after all. Not until Hearts-Dream is alive at least.

 

A burp inside cauldron broke her out of the dep thoughts back to reality. Crystal looked at the strange mare and said: "I'd like to return home. Since my husband is the rightful ruler of the City, would you assist us in restoring it? Or at least, not hinder our efforts? There's also the matter of the shard, but, since we lack the other one, obviously, I guess there's no point in wrestling it from you, right? Unless you'd like to give it freely?" She smiled pleasantly to increase her chances. 

[Nightmare Season 617]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

The strange mare nodded to her. "That is also our goal, to restore the heart of the forest. Though two still remain away from completion." She tossed in another root she had collected wile the vision was showing. Once again the steam brought the past to life.

 

---

Hearts-Dream was now an alicorn, though she looked terrible. Like she hadn't seen slept in years. Her nightmares grew worse and worse about loosing her kingdom and the screams she heard that night. She was trapped in her own dream and a black figure moved about freely. Nothing Hearts-Dream could do would stop the monster inside of her. She then noticed another pony was in her dream. It was Nightmare's father. He had come to feed on her though he noticed the black figure that haunted her. He talked with it and convinced it to leave with him. It can go to the waking world and be a ruler of a nation.

 

As the black mist of darkness followed the nightmare, Crystal noticed that within the mist was the crystal shard. The evil from her nightmares escaped with Nightmare's Father. The vision then shifted showing the new born nightmare carried away. The crystal shard was now apart of her own husband.

---

 

"The shard has moved away from the queen into a creature of evil. Though the shard still had some love and hope within. The pony of fire grew distant from his kind and escaped to the North. With your memories, we see that he has returned to the kingdom that was lost to the one who gave him life." The Strange mare motioned to Crystal to follow her outside. as they walked to the edge of the village, she gave her more information on how to restore the crystal heart. "You must retrieve the last shard from him, then can the magic from the heart be restored." Crystal instantly jumped in on that. No way was she going to harm her husband to get the shard out of him.

 

"Do not fear queen of the fire ponies. The shard is no longer in the material plane. It has become apart of what makes him. You will enter into his very being to retrieve it." Crystal was confused. She asked the strange mare what she had meant by that.

 

"I will travel with you back to the ancient kingdom, there we will place your love under a spell to sleep. You must go into his very heart to seek the shard and bring it back. It is not his body or dream you will travel, but his very heart the essence that makes him." The rest of the camp seemed to understand what was going on. They had brought a few of her potions out of her house to follow them. They also had a travel throne of sorts ready for the pregnant mare to ride on. They were going to take her home, and help her to restore the crystal heart.

 

Nightmare Season was in the throne room frantic. He had returned home to find his wife was missing. Three days he searched and had every able pony out searching for her. He was worried. She was gone with their three unborn foals. No pony knew what happened to her, none saw her leave the palace. He was scared. He heard the wail of the horns announced that a pony was approaching. His heart went out of his body and he chased after it to the gate that had sounded the notice. He missed several steps as he bounded down them in a race. He thought they had found his wife.

 

As he approached the gate, it swung open to allow his mother to enter. His heart dropped, but he also knew she could also help him find her. He ran to her in a panic and told her what had happened and they needed to find her. "It's alright son. She is on her way home and will be here by sundown." She told him as she looked around at the kingdom she had fled from so long ago. "I see you are fixing the place up." Nightmare nodded to her, "It was Crystal's idea, but I am more concerned at what has happened to her." Hearts-Dream told him what happened to the best of her knowledge. And how she had found the key to restore the shattered crystal heart.

 

Nightmare tried his best to wait, but he was still worried and anxious. He preyed his wife and foals were unharmed. Sparks was a huge help to him taking care of the two little ones. Hearts-Dream slowly looked around the city. Remembering what use to be there. As the sun was getting low, the sound of the horn blew once more. This time it was their queen, along with strange ponies carrying her back.

Edited February 14, 2017 by Nightmare Season

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season,

 

The crystal nightmare was relieved to hear that. At least these strange ponies had simillar goals with hers. She watched another vision.

 

"So that's why the shards glow when he touches them..." Crystal had a lot to think about, and simply followed the mare outside and towards the village outskirts. The idea of taking the shard from her husband was just... "Are you crazy?! If you expect me to butcher my own husband, father of my foals, for a crysatl shard, then you spent too much time in that hut. Not gonna happen!" The answer confused her, and Queen Nightmare cocked her head slightly. "Say what? Now you tell me I need to take a part of his personality? Still don't get it..." Somehow she was afraid that this whole business wil change Nightmare Season, and not for the better. Still, she hopped on the strange portable throne that was presented to her - better that than walking - and let herself be escorted back home.

 

Crystal Clear was awfully quiet on the road back. She tried to make sense of all she had learned. And really, really hoped her husband won't become evil once the shard is out. The strange mare was also content with silence as they marched. The crystal nightmare dozed off on her throne, feeling dream hungry and rhytmically rocked on the throne.

 

She woke up with a start at the sound of the horn. Looking around, she noticed it was evening already. They were approaching the gate that led to the farm, and the sentries noticedthem. If only they were so keen when a bunch of huge, strange ponies were ponynapping her. The guards wil have an earful.

 

The strange group waited for the gate to open. Crystal felt better now that she was home again. The heavy, studded wooden doors slowly swung open and she saw her husband impatiently waiting inside. She was let back on her hooves and basically ran towards him. They hugged tightly andshe tried to say everything at once. "I'm so happy to see you again!  I found the missing shards and these strange ponies are going to help! They kinda ponynallped me first but it's all okay now and..." He shushed her, since it all didn't make sense. Said Hearts-Dream came back. Crystal nodded. "Heart knows we'll need her, and soon. Come on, take me back home. And our... guetsts too. They don't speak equestrian, only that mare does." She motioned the strange ponies to follow them to the palace. "She'll explain everything to us, and Mother, when we're inside, okay?"

 

Nightmare sent a pony to find the alicorn and they met in the large day room, furnished with tables and cushions. Te strange ponies barely fit under the low ceilings. 

[Nightmare Season 617]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Nightmare ordered the gates to be opened so the queen may enter. As soon as they were opened, Crystal ran to him and the hugged. She started to ramble on at what happened and where she went. Though Nightmare could not understand her. "Calm down love. You are speaking way to fast to understand you. My mother finally came back, told me you found the key to repairing the crystal heart?"

 

They all went to the large day room. Figured that would be the best place to talk with their company's height. Crystal explained better as to what happened to her. He was not to happy to hear she was ponynapped. He also listened to her about how she saw the crystal shard get passed onto him. The strange mare then started to talk about how they would retrieve the shard from within him. Crystal will have to go and retrieve it. She also presented him with her shard.

 

Nightmare and Crystal discussed it. He knew she wanted to get the crystal heart restored, but she was afraid that he would loose apart of himself that she had fallen in love with. After a long moment of talking. Nightmare told her they will do it. The strange mare nodded her head and pulled out a few potions. "For you, drink this one. And the new queen here this potion. You need to lay down together and have your horns touching. The magic will then send her being into what makes you you. There she will need to search out the shard and take hold of it.

 

The couple drank the strange concoctions and laid down together, allowing their horns to touch. As they closed their eyes, Crystal felt like she was pulled from her body. As she woke, she found herself in a very strange land. She was in her old body. She was the regular Crystal Pony once again, and she was not with foal. At least there will be no danger to her foals. So looked around at the strange land.

 

The sky was a blaze with fire. The land was scorched dry and barren. It was silent all around her. Though it appears that there could be no life in this land. There was a few patches of green here and there. She figured the more calmer areas was the best place to start her search. Though she was alone, she felt like Nightmare was still with her, somehow.

 

She walked on for who knows how long. With no sun and the fire in the sky, it always felt like midday. At one point she noticed something out in the distant. A familiar soft glow and a dark figure. The glow came from a crystal shard, though it was huge the evil mist was trying to break it or get rid of it. Though the crystal shard was keeping it at bay. As she approached them, the dark mist noticed her.

 

"Ah, so my wife has come to me finally. Will you take away this thing that prevents me from being who I truly am? We can then rule together and make the world know the terror of the clans." Crystal now understood what was before her. The two things that gave him his personality. The evil nightmare that formed him from Hearts-Dream, and the crystal shard that gave him the sweat heart that she loved. But what should she do? She needed that shard, but taking his goodness away from him would be bad.

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season,

 

 The tall mare told the gathered nighmares and alicorn of what she knew and what must be done to restore the Heart. Crystal added bits from herself, like the ponynap. Nightmare was gifted with one missing shard.

 

The royal couple asked for a moment of privacy and went to another room. They had a talk about the risks involved. the Queen was afraid of losing the husband she knew and loved, but he also knew she wanted to restore the Heart. Finally it was he who decided to do it. They came back and annouced the decision. The mare presented them potions and told what to do. The couple went to their bedroom and did as were told.

 

Crysatl Clear felt the most bizzare sensation yet - of being pulled out from her own body. When she came around, she was... a crystal pony. And not pregnant. Once the initial shock dissipated, she looked around - the landscape was far from inviting, to be honest. Thugh there were green patches here and there. She decided to start there.

 

It was anypony's guess how long she walked up and down the alien landscape, but it felt like ages. At some point she saw a feint glow in the distance - the Crystal Heart, and an evil looking mist trying to do damage to it. She went to investigate.

 

The mist adressed her and she stopped dead on her tracks. The sudden realisation struck her like lightning. She stammered "Y-you... it's..." She fell silent under the soft glow of the shard and the burning eyes of the nightmare. An impossible decision. The mist circled around her, trying to convince her to take what she came for. Promised terrible things. She couldn't take it any more and snapped.

 

"Shut up! You are not the pony I love! You... You... If that's what it takes to keep you on the path of good, then I can happily let the broken heart rot in the dusty chamber I found it forever, you hear me?! I won't let you become the terror you so want to be! Setting you loose will outweight anything I can possibly achieve with the Heart, and I will not let our foals live under an evil father!"

 

She breathed rapidly, tears forming in her eyes. The mist was confused and circled aroud her, unsure how to convince her. Something told her that she wouldn't be harmed - she was the best chance of the nightmare to get rid of the shard. The mare started crying - why she had to face such things again and again? She ran away and wished to wake up, like she did in the dreams. Tears marking her route.

 

She woke up with a start. Quickly patting herself to make sure she was back - she was in her body, unchanged. Nightmare was stil asleep. Crystal sat up and ran a hoof over her adomen. Hearts-Dream and the tall mare were both present as they watched over the sleepig nightmares. crystal started crying again and sobbed to them. "I-I couldn't... I-it makes him... him! I'm sorry, but I can't set loose the evil inside him, not even the Heart will stop him then! Why him!"

 

She couldn't stop crying and Hearts-Dream took pity on her daughter in-law, taking her in a wing hug and trying to comfort. The tall mare frowned but remained silent.

[Nightmare Season 617]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

As Crystal woke up and started to cry, Hearts-Dream wrapped her in her wing. "There there. If you feel it best, then we will let him keep the shard with him. The Crystal heart will not need be fixed we hope." She wiped the tears from her eyes and gave her a kiss on her forehead under the horn. As the two sat there like that. The strange mare looked over Nightmare Season. There was something wrong. "Something seems to have gone bad, for your husband should have awoken with you." Both Crystal and Hearts-Dream looked back at her. Crystal was now even more upset and frantic.

 

Hearts-Dream used her special talent and looked into his heart. She quickly jumped up as she saw his heart. "This is not good. With Crystal entering into his heart, the dark mist of my nightmares is fighting the crystal even harder. The crystal also wishes to leave." Crystal thought it was best if Hearts-Dream went inside. They both looked at the mare. "One potion was all i brought for this task. The mare there is the only one still able to go into his being." Hearts-Dream asked if she had another at her place. "Sadly one was all I had, making another will take three days." Hearts-Dream looked down at her son, then to Crystal. "Will you go back and save my son?" She asked with pleading eyes.

 

The mare jumped in, "The crystal wants to return to its home. Though if fear you have that you will take the good from him, give him something in return. I have one more spell that might be handy." She pulled out a golden root. Crystal thought she was also wanting her to eat it. "No dear, though the promise of foals is one thing the root give. It also as other uses as well. If you hold it and wish. You may pour your love and kindness into it. It will crystallize so you can give your love apart of you." She handed Crystal the golden root. "Think of what all you love about this pony of fire, Give the root the love and memories of how you know him."

 

Crystal tried to do just that. Tears from worrying was still flowing, but she wished harder than she ever wished before. In her hooves the golden root glowed. It changed from the golden root of dreams and shaped a crystal with in her hooves. It took on the shape of her cutie mark as the trunk of his cutie mark, As she looked at it, it faded away. She went into a panic thinking something went wrong again. "You have done it, the crystal you made is now apart of you. When you return to him, you can fight the evil and take the shard and replace it with your feelings and a little bit of yourself.

 

Hearts-Dream was keeping a close eye on Nightmare. She looked very worried. "You must hurry daughter. He will not last much longer."

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season,

 

The crystal nightmare nodded frantically at her mother in-law's proposition. She'd never let her husband become evil for some shiny artifact! She continued letting out the pressure through her eyes when the strange mare gave a look over to Nightmare Season, and said something went wrong. "W-what? Did I do s-something? Wake him up, now!" Hearts-Dream brought even worse news as she looked into his heart. Not Crystal was very frightened. "M-mother... could you... go there? Fix my husband?"

 

They both looked at the tall mare. She didn't have good news to share. Hearts-Dream asked her to finish the job and Crystal nodded frantically through her tears. "Whatever it takes to save him! B-but I can't just take it out, he'll become evil, mother! Like the King!" She gave the curious look at the sight of the golden root. ""Am I supposed to... eat it again?" The tall mare explained her what to do and she took the root. She was still crying, but concentrated  all her willpower on the root, thinking of all the good Nightmare Season had in him, why she loved him. It started glowing, and then changed into a crystal looking like their clan banner - the mariage of their cutie marks.

 

The crystal faded away as soon as it formed and the expecting mother panicked, looking where it went. "Nononononononono!! Where did it go, did I do something wrong?!" The mare dispelled her fears and told her to hurry. Crystal Clear quickly lied down like the previous time ad touched horns with him.

 

It took a bit to fall asleep again, but she managed. The feeling of being pulled out of her body was just as unpleasant as before, but the landscape she found herself in changed. The green patches were scorched and dried, and the whole place was starting to be filled with dark fog. She was again a crystal pony, but held a cecklace with the crystal she made. It shone and dispelled the mist around her. The mare ran as fast as she could to where she found the shard the first time.

 

When she got there, the mist was much, much larger than previously. The shard was glowing faintly and it's safety bubble was much smaller. The mare walked towards it and spat a venomous welcome. "I'm here for the shard, husband..." The mist seemed to like what it heard, but took notice of her new accessory. Crystal was just like, ten steps from the edge of the shard's safe zone. Her own crystal kept the mist at bay, but it was furious at the transparency of her plan. "Yell all you want, I won't let you become the terror of the night. This crystal will take the shard's place, and will bind you to the light of good just as effectively. You know you can't fight the light!" She walked with her head high and was now wothin hoof reach of the shard. Crystal took off her crystal, and it shone so bright it was impossible to look at it. The mist was enraged and promised her all kinds of horrifying fates. The mare smirked and quickly switched places between the crystals on the small pedestal there was. Her crystal formed a large safe bubble imediately, and the mist was pushed back. A powerful wind came out of it in all directions, dispelling the fog and slowly recultivating the green patches. The crystal shard was onit's last legs and she kept it close to her heart. However, it dissipated and left this place. Crystal Clear hoped it showed up between them in the bed.

 

It was time to get back. She saw the mist cirsling the safe zone like a wolf, but felt confident. She walked out of the zone...

 

...and that's what the mist waited for.

 

It engulfed her from all sides. With no protection against it, she was defenceless. The mist cackled as it explained to her what will come to pass - it will corrupt her heart and make her shatter the crystal she just brought, and they will be together forever, as the most terryfying force ever to set a hoof in the waking world. She struggled against it. "No. You. W-aaaaghh!"

 

It hurt, more like anything in her whole life. The mare screamed in pain as the mist seemingly dissolved the good inside her like acid. She couldn't focus to wake up, or escape. All there was, was pain and the evil voice. She felt like she was changing - the mane and tail were becoming fire and reverting back to the normal hair. Patches of her coat were becoming black. The mist laughed at it's final victory, which seemed so close. Crystal Clear could barel see through tearful eyes, but she knew the safe zone is hust a step away. She couldn't fight it, she was too weak for that. She decided to reinforce the crystal with the last bits of good inside her.

 

The crystal started shining brighter, and the safe zone expanded, slowly. The mist was too busy tormenting her to notice. When Crystal Cear was nearly completely a nightmare, she managed to get a hooftip inside the bubble. The mist was thrown away from her and she crawled back in to the safe zone, wheezing and barely breathing from the after shocks of te agonizing pain. The light burned, the safe zone wanted to washe her away, but she held her ground by the virtue of stubborness alone. The mist changed her, she felt it. The light wouldn't burn if it wasn't true.

 

She saw a tiny tatch of her black fur revert back to cherry. This gave her an idea. The - now nightmare through and through - crawled towards the crystal, and it burned her even more. But for all the pain she endured, it was... working. The light burned out the evil inside of her. The mist was furious and warned her that, without it's evil, here will be too little of her to survive. The nightmare didn't care. She styed until all the darkness was stamped out and she didn't feel burning.

 

When the pain stopped, she was back a crystal pony. But she was... somewhat transparent? And very weak too. Unable to stand up, she just concentrated on going back. She woke up.

 

Opening her eyes was a mighty feat. Crystal saw with unfocused eyes as the tall mare and Hearts-Dream look at her - she couldn't tell their expresions, everything was so fuzzy. "Did I?" - they said something but she couldn't understand. Crystal lost conciousness.

Edited February 15, 2017 by Raven Rawne

[Nightmare Season 617]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Nightmare woke up. Standing over them was his mother and taller than her was the mare that had ponynapped Crystal. Looking around he noticed Crystal was laying before him, holding tightly to a crystal shard. She was unconscious and looking very weak. "What happened?" He asked as he sat up looking down at her.  Hearts-Dream watched everything unfold. "She was captured by the evil that formed you from my nightmares. She barely made it. Though she is very weak." Nightmare took the shard from her. "Will she be alright?" Hearts-Dream shook her head.

 

Nightmare thought for a while on what to do. He had an idea. "Can you take her to the crystal heart altar for me?" He asked the two and ran off to Crystal's work station. He grabbed two of the crystals she had made for the crystallizing of their foals and ran to gather the other shards. He brought all of those items back to the altar. It had been fixed earlier by Crystal, forming crystals into the stone as a union of the two. Crystal was still not awake yet.

 

The strange mare had a magic potion in hoof. "I think I know of what is on your mind, This potion was brewed over the centuries to put back the shards into one." Nightmare gathered all the shards onto the pedestal. With the rearranged shards to form the heart shape. Nightmare took the last one Crystal had retrieved from him and placed it into its place. The shards glowed now that they were all together again. The strange mare poured the potion onto the pieces. The three watched as the pieces formed the large crystal heart of the forest. The pedestal accepted it and it held it in place. It was finally whole once more.

 

Nightmare held crystal in his front hooves. Using his magic he grabbed the two crystallizing crystals she had made. He remembered how they did their foals, and he did the same for the two of them. Somehow the two merged into one as the energy entered into them. As he sent them to the Crystal Heart to pass on the energy. Instead the crystal Heart sucked them inside of it. A blast of energy swept out across the kingdom. Every pony within the walls went into a crystallized form. The jungle that had crept into the city vanished. All the damaged the city faced was repaired. Nightmare now shinning felt the crystal heart as well. Between the part his wife gave him, and now that the crystals used on them was apart of the crystal heart itself, he felt it. He was part crystal pony as well. The same as his wife, part crystal pony, part nightmare.

 

Crystal opened her eyes to she her husband holding her. Nightmare felt her move a bit. He was so happy. It actually worked. "Welcome back love. Seems we are the new king and queen of the sister city to the crystal kingdom. She looked at him wondering how he was now part crystal pony as well. He picked her up not letting her hooves touch the ground. He showed her the crystal heart spinning on the pedestal sending out energy to repair the kingdom. In its center, they barely saw the union of their curie marks that was made by the crystals he used. "Seems we are forever bound to the crystal heart love." He let her down on her hooves.

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@Nightmare Season

 

Crystal woke up. She felt hooves around her, a warm embrace. She also felt like she was glowing in her crystallised form. Strange. The mare opened her eyes and quickly regretted that - something was shining very bright. She grunted and looked away. Crystal saw the familiar black coat, but it was... glowing? "What the..." - She heard her husband talking. He sounded... normal.  Not evil. Seems her gambit worked. He lifted her up and showed the now remade Crystal Heart. She could now look at it without being blinded and noticed their cutie marks in its center. He let her back on the ground and the mare stood on shaky legs. She approached the Heart and raised a good to it. It felt the same as the one up North. The familiar warmth emanating to those bonded with it.  The steady glow of peaceful energy. She felt it slowly mend her spirit after being so wrecked by the nightmare. Breathing was less of a chore now.

 

Crystal Clear slowly looked around at her Kingdom. It looked... She couldn't tell really. Like she had no opinion on it. The mare faced her husband and felt... nothing. She should be concerned, scared even but... she wasn't. "Something's wrong Nightmare. I don't... feel. Like I forgot how to do that." She was still very weak so she took a seat and ran a hoof over her belly. She didn't feel love for her unborn foals. "I think I'm broken." - she said matter of fact, without a hint of emotion. The mare shakily got up and tried to come down,  but felt too weak after just a few steps and had to turn back. She stared at the Heart and felt it's restoring magic. "I think I can't go too far from it, or my soul falls apart. Strange... Can you set me up a tent here? And bring some food? I'm starving. Both normally and for dream energy."

 

Her calm and collected exterior was probably the most frightening. The emotional mare became cold as stone.