Crystalline Destiny - MLP Fanfic

Chapter Seven

Irradiance was in trouble. Two days with this new character in his life and suddenly all of his mantras about how it was better to live alone were flying out the metaphorical window. Waking up before Emerald Shield, the stallion narrowly avoided stepping on the other pony as he made his way out of the tent and treated himself to his morning rations.

"He's charming, isn't he?" A voice called from one of the trees above the tent. Irradiance nearly jumped out of his skin as he shot his head up to confront the voice.

Amber had woken up. Celestia knew how long she'd been awake at this point in the day. It was hard to tell when it was exactly dawn in Everfree, but Irradiance knew enough to understand he'd trained his body to wake up as the sun rose. So it was close enough.

"Who's charming?" Irradiance dismissed the comment, tossing his saddlebag over his back mindlessly, shaking free a piece of hair that got caught in the straps.

"Emmy," Amber clarified, flying down and landing right beside the Unicorn. He readied his horn with the purple magic in preparation for another sudden attack by the Dragon. "Oh, please. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Right," Irradiance scoffed, glaring at the golden Dragon.

"He's not all he says he is, you know," Amber mentioned, drawing Irradiance in. He cursed himself at his curiosity, looking expectantly at the beast, wanting to hear more. "He and I didn't last long. Not because of anything I did wrong, but because he's awful at telling the truth. You're made for each other, I think."

Irradiance laughed out loud at that, "Made for each other? What, because we're sharing sleeping arrangements for the trip to the monument?"

"Because you're both lying. Starlane? Really?" Amber laughed, "Ponies have silly names but none of them have something as far-fetched as that.

Irradiance spluttered, cheeks reddening. Obviously, he knew he was lying about his name, He didn't trust these ponies! Two of them were awful at following directions into a mysterious forest, one was a royal guard who was looking for mysterious ingredients, and now there was a Dragon in the mix! Why would he tell them all his real name? What was the point? He was never going to see them again after this. He would cure his curse and find his way back into society. Maybe even become a royal sorcerer.

"Are you guys ready to go, already?" Cobalt called from his tent, looking over at Amber and Irradiance. "I'm starving. Once we make it to this monument can we get breakfast at a real restaurant?" The blue Pegasus groaned, stomach following shortly behind with a loud grumble. Irradiance let out a small chuckle, throwing one more uneasy glance at Amber before shaking the two tents with his deep purple magic.

"It's dawn, let's go!" He called out, waking Emerald and Hibiscus. After last night, Irradiance felt uneasy walking beside the former pony; would he think any less of the Unicorn stallion after he revealed why he'd been so strange after the Dragon attack? It was a fair response after having a traumatic experience as a child, Irradiance thought. If he was weird about it that was his fault! The purple Unicorn had no reason to feel ashamed!

"Hey, are you okay?" A pink hoof tapped on Irradiance's shoulder, spooking him.

Hibiscus Dream, green eyes soft, was looking at Irradiance. He smiled appreciatively at the other Unicorn. She and Cobalt had been there when he'd first explained the crystals and the scars on his sides. She was such an empathetic mare and the purple stallion was just the slightest bit grateful she had come along for the journey.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I just dropped some details on Emerald, last night," Irradiance explained.

"Oh, is that why he left earlier?" Hibiscus tilted her head. Irradiance thought to the moment of absence before their talk. He shook his head.