Return of The Crystal Empire.
Author's Note: While this story is part of my series that starts with My Little Pony: Origins and ending with The Purple Mare, this story can be considered as a stand alone story. As this story takes place at the begins of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 3, Twilight is still a unicorn. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and associated characters are copyright to Hasbro & Lauren Faust.
Enjoy.
Prologue.
Long before the banishment of Nightmare Moon, in the frozen arctic, sat an empire. The empire was once home to The Crystal Dragons who had built the empire upon a goldmine of crystal, the dragons had died out over a millennia before the formation of Equestria, it was lost to the snow and ice until its ruins were discovered by the unicorn queen, Queen Aura Quartz and her pegasus husband, King Bloodstone and their surviving subjects just after the first Heaths Warming. They were trekking across the land after losing their home during the war with the Chaos Bringers. Queen Aura and King Bloodstone found the palace in ruins amongst the snow and ice, the young couple explored the palace as their subjects explored the surrounding houses for any signs of life. There was non.
The subjects, with the help of the royal couple, rebuilt the empire, naming it The Crystal Empire. Bloodstone carved a heart from a crystal block, Aura enchanted it with her magic and placed it at the base of the now elegant palace, the now named Crystal Ponies poured their love into the heart, it began to glow and spin, the streets began to glow a pale blue, the ponies turned crystalline. A shock wave blasted back the snow and the clouds into a ring around the empire. Auroras burst out the top of the palace, blasting away the snow clouds, allowing the blue sky to shine down, the resulting burst allowed grass to grow, allowing the ponies to grow crops and food. The Aurora filled the sky in a bright array of colours. Sparking the start of the first Crystal Fair.
In a far off city, there were two newly crowned young alicorns, one controlled the sun, her name was Celestia. Her younger sister controlled the moon and the night, her name was Luna. The two ruled together in peace and harmony.
''Sister! Quick! Come here!" Luna shouted, looked out the window, Celestia ran to the window.
Celestia saw auroras dancing across the sky. The two sisters tracked the auroras to the north horizon. They began to prepare an expedition to the north, in search of the source of the auroras, they both knew it wasn't natural auroras.
The two sisters and a small expedition party ventured north, using the aurora as a guide. They were caught in a blizzard but they trekked on until they came across The Crystal Empire. The two sisters and the party met Queen Aura Quartz and King Bloodstone who know dubbed themselves Empress Aura Quartz and Emperor Bloodstone, both the royals couple and the sisters signed a treaty, stating that The Crystal Empire and Equestria would remain peaceful with each other in exchange for trade of goods and knowledge.
A few years after the treaty, Aura and Bloodstone had a beautiful unicorn filly they called Aurora, she had her crystalling a few days later. The two ruled through a golden age of peace and harmony. One it was Aurora's time, she became Empress Aurora, she married an earth pony named Angelite, they too had a daughter, a pegasus named Amore. When Amore was only a teenager, her parents died, she became the youngest Empress in history, she took on a student named Sombra and married her childhood friend, Ruby Tember. They had a pegasus daughter named Mi Amore Cadenza. When Mi Amore Cadenza was only a few days old, Sombra started a revolution, he tried to kill Amore and her baby, they disappeared without a trace. He killed Ruby and proclaimed himself Emperor.
He put all his subjects into slavery and killed anyone who spoke against him. He hid the Crystal Heart in the tower at the top of the palace. When the two sisters heard about what he did, they prepared an army and marched on The Crystal Empire where a war broken out. The two sisters banished Sombra to the ice but not before he cursed the empire, making it fade away. The two sisters and their army returned to Canterlot, they had come to protect the empire but had caused its destruction.