The Crystal Empire - Part 2

The Crystal Empire - Part 2 is an episode of the third season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. It is the second episode of the third season, and the fifty-fourth episode overall. It is the second episode of a two-parter which begins the season.

Searching for the real Crystal Heart
The episode continues after Princess Cadence faints, causing the magical shield to vanish. King Sombra prepares to charge into the city, but Cadence recovers and repowers the shield. The shield slices off a small piece of his horn, becoming a dark crystal. Twilight Sparkle tells her friends to keep the Crystal Ponies interested in the Faire while she searches for the real Crystal Heart. At first, Twilight refuses to let Spike accompany her, but she relents when he promises to not "lift a single claw" to help her.

Meanwhile, the friends are coming up with ways to distract the Crystal Ponies. Rainbow Dash addresses Fluttershy as "Knight Fluttershy", announcing that it's showtime. Applejack, who is guarding the covered fake Crystal Heart, diverts the attention of curious carnival-goers who want to see the Heart before the ceremony because they have not seen the Crystal Heart for 1,000 years.

Twilight deduces that King Sombra hid the Crystal Heart in his very own castle, since nopony would be brave enough to set foot in there. In the throne room, she finds nothing special save a crystal very similar to the one that Princess Celestia worked her magic upon in the previous episode. Remembering how her mentor replicated King Sombra's magic, Twilight does the same and the crystal's black light reveals a spiralling staircase in the middle of the room. Twilight begins her descent down the long, dark staircase, telling Spike to keep an eye on the situation outside. Meanwhile, Cadence's magic shield is beginning to crumble once again, prompting Twilight to overcome her fears and race down the staircase.

When she reaches the very end, she uses King Sombra's magic again to locate a door. She opens it and rushes through it, only to end up in Princess Celestia's hall in Canterlot. Celestia sternly tells her to go, and informs her that not only has she failed her test, she will also no longer be her student because of her not studying. Dismayed, Twilight begins to cry as Sombra laughs. The camera zooms out to show her sitting before a stretch of wall. Spike joins her and concernedly asks her if she is all right. The whites of Twilight's eyes, which have turned green, become normal as she snaps out of her vision. She steps out of the way and lets Spike approach the threshold. His eyes immediately turn green as well and he talks as if Twilight had deserted him, crying, "Please, Twilight, don't leave me!" Twilight slams the door shut, telling him that King Sombra has bewitched the door to make it lead to your worst fears. She reassures Spike that she will never send him away, and uses a pink beam of magic to materialize the real door.

Upon opening the real door, they see a light blue staircase snaking up the exterior of a tower. Like the dark staircase, this one seems to have no end, and they begin climbing it. The scene changes to show Princess Cadence, whose magic is faltering. King Sombra cackles and his magic rapidly penetrates the kingdom, leaving two black trails. At the Faire, Crystal Ponies cheer as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, dressed in armor, prepare to joust with long pinnacles attached to their chests. Pinkie Pie, seeing an ominous thunderclap, loudly blows on her flugelhorn, signaling the two ponies to charge at each other. Fluttershy panics at the last second and is launched in the air. Dash exhorts her friend to continue, saying that the fate of an empire rests on showing the ponies a good time. Even as they trot back to the arena, some crystals behind them turn black.

The camera cuts to Twilight and Spike wearily trekking up the blue staircase. Twilight looks up and is inspired to perform an anti-gravity spell, allowing her and Spike to effortlessly slide down the underside of the staircase.

The camera cuts again to the Faire. As the sky blackens, Rarity frantically crafts traditional baskets and hands them to the crsytal ponies, but runs out of materials. The ponies, aware that King Sombra has returned, anxiously surround what they think is the Crystal Heart, the centerpiece of the whole Faire. Rarity and Applejack look up at the royal couple's balcony, where Princess Cadence has collapsed in Shining Armor's arms. Pinkie Pie is juggling flugelhorns on a bouncy ball but slips. The ball knocks over the cloth covering the fake Crystal Heart, which clatters to the floor at the hooves of the shocked citizens. Rarity is about to say something, but is interrupted by Applejack, stating that the real Crystal Heart was on its way. But Rarity then whispers to Applejack that she was going to say that the Crystal Heart was being polished to buy time. The citizens scatter, crying, "It's him!"

Twilight and Spike reach the very top of the tower to see the resplendent, light blue Crystal Heart suspended above a wide circular disc. When Twilight eagerly steps onto the disc, King Sombra is alerted and he angrily throws up a wall of black crystals around the perimeter of the disc, trapping Twilight inside. She knocks the Heart is out of the prison just in time and lands a short distance from Spike.

Delivering the Crystal Heart
Twilight realizes that there is not enough time for her to find a way to escape. She tells Spike that he is the one who must deliver the Heart. Spike grabs it and jumps off the tower just as black crystals pierce it. The camera pans to Applejack and Rarity nervously reassuring the ponies from the royal balcony. The last few wisps of magic vanish from Cadence's horn and the last vestiges of the barrier disappear. King Sombra charges towards Spike as Spike makes his way down with the Heart. Shining Armor, seeing this situation, picks up Cadence, who sees Sombra riding on a diagonal column of crystal towards a bright blue light. Spike loses his grasp on the Heart just as Shining Armor launches the princess into the air. She flies fast enough to snatch the Heart and Spike from Sombra's grasp, flying over the astonished Crystal Ponies. A pony cries, "Behold! The Crystal Princess!" She lands among them, firmly saying, "The Crystal Heart has returned. Use the light and love within you to ensure that King Sombra does not."

The Crystal Ponies regain their vivid colors and bow before their princess. A bright blue light covers the ground around them and spreads throughout the Empire. The Crystal Heart begins to spin, generating a blinding sphere of light that engulfs the empire. Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, the main six, and Spike become colored like the Crystal Ponies. Twilight is freed from her prison and watches as the light destroys Sombra and his black crystals. Lastly, the blue light shoots up the empire's central tower and bursts into many ribbons of light. The ribbons of light snake across the sky and are visible from Ponyville and Canterlot. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna see that the ponies have won the battle, and they gladly touch their horns together.

The Crystal Ponies cheer as their new monarchs wave from the balcony, and the citizens joyfully resume their normal activities. As the royal couple lead the friends to the train station, Shining Armor jokingly tells his sister that she has to stop "saving his rump like this", but she reminds him that it was Spike and is pessimistic about her meeting with Princess Celestia.

Passing the test
Back in Canterlot, the friends anxiously wait outside as Twilight goes inside to talk to Princess Celestia. Twilight admits that she wasn't the one who saved the day, but her mentor tells her that by risking to remain in the prison to save time, she put the safety of the Crystal Ponies before her own. Twilight announces to her friends, "I passed!" and they sing The Success Song. The Ponyville friends leave Canterlot on the Friendship Express. In the final shot, the camera zooms out, eventually settling to show one of the palace balconies. As Celestia and Luna silently watch the train, the younger sister magically materializes a book. The princesses look at it, and nod to each other. The book has a dark cover which shows two stars and a swirly pattern.

Quotes

 * Rarity: [gasps loudly] [pause] I... just found out they're offering face painting for the little ones. [laughs nervously] [whispers]
 * Spike: [under his breath] Uhuh. We can do that. Twilight's doing what?! [sound of a car driving off at speed]
 * Rarity: He... really... loves getting his face painted. Haha.


 * Rainbow Dash: Who wants a flugelhorn?
 * Pinkie Pie: I wanna flugelhorn!
 * Rainbow Dash: Who else wants a flugelhorn?
 * Pinkie Pie: I wanna flugelhorn!!


 * Spike: Twilight, wait! I'm coming with you!
 * Twilight Sparkle: You can't. I have to retrieve the Crystal Heart by myself.
 * Spike: I know. I promise I won't lift a claw to help you.
 * Twilight Sparkle: [sighs] Not a claw, Spike.


 * Rainbow Dash: Come on, Knight Fluttershy.
 * Fluttershy: Huh?
 * Rainbow Dash: It's showtime.


 * Princess Celestia: What are you doing here?
 * Twilight Sparkle: I don't know! I opened the door and-
 * Princess Celestia: And now you must go.
 * Twilight Sparkle: Go where?
 * Princess Celestia: Doesn't matter to me. You failed the test, Twilight.


 * Spike: What's in there?
 * Twilight Sparkle: [sighs] Stairs. Lots and lots of stairs.


 * Fluttershy: [nervous exhale] [catching breath] Isn't there... somepony else who could... take over the jousting demonstration with you?
 * Rainbow Dash: Tchah! The fate of an entire empire rests on us showing these ponies a good time. But, y'know, if that isn't important to you...
 * Fluttershy: [cries]
 * Rainbow Dash: Okay, okay, I'll take it easy on you next time. But not too easy. I've got a reputation to maintain!


 * Rarity: I do so wish it was permanent. Did you see how my mane just absolutely sparkled?
 * Applejack: But... good things are better when they're a rarity.
 * Rarity: Aww. [laughs]

Gallery

 * The Crystal Empire - Part 2 image gallery