My Little Pony: Changelings

Chapter 169: Heart of Snowstorm (1)

"Breathe in ~ breathe out ~ relax, imagine your whole body is immersed in soft clouds, and then..."

Bang bang bang, there was a knock on the door. Qunxing Huanghuang frowned impatiently, then turned off the phonograph, pushed open the door, and found Xingguang Yiyi standing at the door.

Just as Starlight Glimmer was about to say something, a strong minty smell came from the Starry Room, choking her and making her cough.

"Ahem, Stars, come to the hall... Ahem, Twilight Sparkle has something to discuss... Ahem."

"Take it easy, Starlight Glimmer."

Star-Glory patted Starlight Glimmer and took her to the castle hall, where they found that all the ponies were already there. They were sitting there, discussing something exciting.

"Listen, I don't want to miss the crystal ceremony."

"But...we haven't received an invitation yet."

"To be honest, I am not very clear about the customs and habits of the Crystal Empire, especially the Crystal Ceremony."

Qunxing Huanghuang walked over curiously. He had been staying in the room immersed in his inner thoughts these past few days. The effect of the vicious potion was almost gone. As long as he didn't get too excited, the chaos magic would not affect him.

"What crystal ceremony?"

"Oh, Starry Sky, you finally came out. It's Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. Their baby is about to be born, but we haven't figured it out yet. The Crystal Empire has a history of more than a thousand years, and their customs have become blurred."

"It has something to do with the baby, for sure."

“And a party.”

"Crystal love."

“And a party.”

“Plus, there’s cool energy.”

“Party!”

Qunxinghuanghuang yawned, thought for a while and said.

"When a newborn is born in the Crystal Empire, the parents bring them to the Crystal Heart and select the purest crystal fragments.

The crystal master will hold the baby in front of everyone, and everyone will share the light and joy. Energy will be injected into the crystal fragments, and the crystal fragments will be integrated into the crystal heart to strengthen the magic. "

At this time, Xingguang Yiyi asked a puzzled question.

"What is it about enhancing the magic of crystal love?"

"Crystal Heart, the purpose of enhancing its magic is to..."

Qunxing Huanghuang sat down on the chair and was about to explain something when footsteps sounded and a clear and pleasant voice came from the door of the hall.

"It is to resist the blizzard outside the Crystal Empire and the monsters that were exiled by the Crystal Empire thousands of years ago."

"Yes, as we all know, the disharmony among the ponies thousands of years ago led to the arrival of the Snow Demon. So the question is, where are the Snow Demons now?

The answer is obvious. They are all sleeping in the Crystal Empire. They naturally dissipate very slowly. The cold wind they blow out between breaths is enough to engulf the entire empire. The crystal heart that gathers love is enough to resist this magical wind and snow."

Looking at the two ponies in front of them, the M5s all made surprised noises, while Starlight Glimmer looked a little confused. At this moment, Twilight Sparkle walked in with a snowflake envelope.

"You know what? This is amazing. I got an invitation to the Crystal Empire. I'm going to be an aunt!"

As Twilight Sparkle was excitedly reading the contents of the invitation over and over again, she felt a pony blocking her way. When she looked up, she saw Twilight Sparkle having the same expression as the other ponies.

“King Sombra! Radiant Hope! Why are you here?”

"Just call me Sombra. I have turned over a new leaf."

Sombra made a disapproving gesture to Twilight Sparkle, saying that she no longer used that name. Radiant Hope smiled, took out a different snowflake invitation from her bag and handed it to Twilight Sparkle.

"We also received an invitation. It's incredible. We were in the Centaur Kingdom at the time. I don't know how the mail pony found us."

"That's awesome, now we have two more ponies celebrating."

Just when Twilight Sparkle was excited, Radiant Hope poked Sombra with her hoof, and Sombra poked Radiant Hope awkwardly. Radiant Hope was dissatisfied and poked Sombra again.

After seeing this scene, Twilight Sparkle twitched her lips and said to the two strange ponies in front of her.

"What's up with you guys?"

Seeing that Sombra was unwilling to respond, Radiant Hope could only sigh and explain to Twilight Sparkle and the others.

"It's like this. When we received the invitation, Black Crystal and I discussed whether we should not spoil the fun this time..."

"That's not the case. Hopefully, you can go. I'll be waiting for you at the train station."

"No, Sombra, we need to go together."

"But that's the Crystal Empire. It's not like other places where all the Crystal Ponies know me."

"So what if I know you? You have been forgiven, you have to forgive yourself too."

"But...if they show any fear, I will..."

"No, trust me, okay?"

Radiant Hope gently stroked Sombra with her hoof, trying to calm his excited heart. Sombra was calmed by Radiant Hope's hoof, and her breathing gradually stabilized, and she was no longer anxious.

"hope..."

"Sombrera..."

At this exciting moment, a discordant crunching sound was heard. Qunxing Huanghuang took out a bucket of popcorn from somewhere and was eating it with relish.

Sombra and Radiant Hope separated awkwardly, looking down at the ground. The other ponies stared angrily at the clueless Starry Sky, who was just startled by the sudden scene and then took out a popcorn bucket and said.

"Want some?"

On the train to the Crystal Empire, Sombra looked out the window at the passing scenery with a melancholy look on her face. She looked back at Radiant Hope and saw that she had become friends with the other ponies.

"Have one?"

"what is this?"

"It's an incense that can keep you calm and clear-headed, just like the Silent Stream in the Qilin Tribe."

After Hei Jing took the incense that looked like a candy cane, he started to chew it directly. A faint mint flavor emanated from his mouth. Qun Xing Huang Huang wanted to stop him, but after taking a look at it, he decided to give up.

The train arrived at the train station of the Crystal Empire with the sound of brakes. When the ponies walked out of the carriage, talking and laughing, they were greeted by a man with messy sideburns, dull eyes, and even an untrimmed beard. He looked almost drowsy and looked like a sloppy uncle in Shining Armor.