//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Powers of the Lustrous 
// Story: Land of the Lustrous: Battle for the Crystal Empire 
// by Kyetta Cubid 
//------------------------------//

After returning back to the School Building, Spinel, Bort and Diamond were hanging out around the halls. After Phos got smashed into pieces and Morganite and Goshenite both got some damage from fighting the guards, they were all being treated by the Doctor, which they all think is a 'Quack'.

"Anything in your mind, Spinel?" Diamond asked Spinel, who was distracted after the strange Rock they pulled out a while ago. "It's nothing, Diamond. Just what Phos taken from the Spire's second floor. It looks like it's important to whatever that place was before." They thought about what Phos has taken from the Empire.

Just then, Phos returned, being followed by another Gemstone. They were Brown in colour, with a Gold-Yellow Pixie-Cut on their Right side. Their Brown was in a Shoulder Lengh style. Their eyes were a Gold Brown and for the attire was like the other Gems, however, they had Black Gloves and was wearing a Lab Coat. "Ok Rutile, is Phos' fine?" Spinel asked the Gem, called Rutile.

"Well, as normal as they'll ever be." Rutile answered, as Phos just moaned. "Quack!" They looked at the Young Gemstone as Rutile brought out the Rock that was with Phos. "However, this part that was with Phos didn't look like they were part of them. I don't know if it's a head, part of their body, or possibly their rear end, but since you were the one who took it, I'm calling this as your responsibility." They then gave Spinel the Rock. "Now, I'll be heading back to help out Morganite and Goshenite. Anything else that happened, you know where to find me."

Once they headed back down the hall, Spinel looked at the Rock, as Bort and Diamond looked at it. "What is it?" "Whatever it is, it's defiantly not part of Phos, but possibly part of that Empire!" Spinel suggested, as the two Gemstones looked at it. "Whatever it is, it don't look like it's part of that Empire. Maybe we should keep a hold onto it, until Jade and Euclase can come up with a strategy plan for us to try again." Bort said, as Spinel took the Rock and went to see Kongo about it.

Meanwhile, outside the School Building, Shining Armor looked down at the Building and looked inside, seeing the Gemstones, and was confused on what they are. "Not any Crystal Ponies I ever seen." He thought to himself, as he then saw them wielding Crystalized Weapons. " Possibly too dangerous to go in at day. Maybe sneak in and steal the Heart until darkness." He suggested to himself as he waited until it was dark enough.

Back inside, Spinel went into Kongo's Meditation Room, seeing he was Meditating to himself in peace. Spinel knew he needed his peace and decided to leave him along, only to then drop the Heart onto the Ground, which made a loud echo sound inside the room, which made Kongo open his eyes. "Can I help you, Spinel?" Spinel came towards him after picking up the Heart. "Apologies Kongo."

"I seen you returned back with no haze. And I heard about Phos sneaking into your mission." Spinel knew he would of guessed. "Yes, and I apologies about getting them shattered, even if I was slow at the time." Spinel apologised to him, as Kongo saw it in his eyes. "However, you did bring all the pieces back with you. What did you know about that Spire?" Kongo asked them.

"Well, not a lot. We think it's preparing for war or something. Not too sure why, but we'll find out what it is!" Spinel said, but they then remembered something. "And another thing about my disturbing your Meditation, I dropped this." They then brought out the Heart to Kongo. They picked it up and looked at it, not knowing what it is also. "Sorry Spinel, but I don't know what this is. Where did you get this?" "Phos took it from the Empire we were at. It was in a Podium surrounded by the same Crystals that has corrupted it. It doesn't look like any Gemstone we ever seen before." Kongo then gowned suspicious on the Empire and how they were brought there. He then gave the Heart back to Spinel. "If that part is important, you'll have to defend it until we know what it is!"

Spinel gave him a bow as they then left him to go back to his Meditation, only to look at the Empire. "Whatever that place is, it is a sigh of a danger towards the Gemstones!"

It was getting darker after a few hours, which gave time for Shining Armor to sneak in and steal the Heart from the Gemstones, but was also the time for the Gemstones to go to sleep and one to prepare for their Night Patrol. The Gemstone had a Dark Red in Colour, and were also carrying their weapon, being a red Crystal Katana. "Now listen, even as that Empire knows we have what they're now after we need you to alert us if anything weird is going on. Can I trust you, Cinnabar?" Spinel asked Cinnabar. "I guess so..." They said, not too sure on the task. "Oh yeah, but before we can start, you might need something if you were attacked." They then headed into another room, which was a wall of different markings. Spinel then took a Shield and Slammed it into the one that looked like a Helmet, which was falling apart.

They then gave it to Cinnabar. "Relentless Rust? The power that can turn any Armor into Rust and Dust?" Spinel gave them a nod, as Cinnabar was now confused. "Whatever that Armor is must have them under whatever Control. If your feeling threatened, Use that power!" Cinnabar wasn't too sure. They did hear about being transported to another Universe, but where was the question.

Once Spinel went into the sleeping room with the other Gemstones, who were already asleep, Spinel was looking at the Heart again, as Ming was also interested in it. "I have no idea what this is, but why is it important?" Spinel asked quietly as Ming gave some humming sounds. Still thinking of it as a question, Spinel put it above the top side of their pillow and drifted off to sleep, as Ming slept next to their head on the Pillow.

Outside, Shining Armor then begun his attack and snuck into the Building. He saw no one was around the place, thinking they were asleep or something, but he started to track the Heart. "Master will be so pleased to have the heart back!" Shining Armor said as he looked around the Building, finding it to be based around a Schoolhouse rather than a Resistant's base. "What are these things?" As he asked that, the halls were echoy, it caught Cinnabar's attention. "What was that?" They asked, as they went down the halls. Once around the entrance, they found Shining Armor, who was still in Sombra's dark Armor. "What the? What are you?" Cinnabar asked, as Shining Armor then was ready to attack then by bringing out his sword. "Your end!"

He then brought up his Sword and was ready to shatter them, but Cinnabar blocked off the attack using their Katana. They then pushed him off and picked themselves up, still ready to fight. "Your more Resilient than I thought." Shining Armor complemented them, as Cinnabar wasn't too sure, but he saw his opportunity to shatter them, but once they did, Cinnabar was slow and got grazed, which spilled some of their Mercury Poisons onto the floor, which caught Shining's attention and made them scream in agony.

Their scream woke up all the other Gemstones. "Cinnabar? They might be in trouble!" Some of them got up and went into the Armory, taking their Crystal Weapons if Cinnabar was in danger.

Cinnabar was trying to pick themselves up, as they didn't have a choice, as they brought out their Shield. "Relentless Rust!" After they said that, the Power then glowed and sparked, which made Shining Armor confused. "What kind of Magic is..." Just before he could finish, Cinnabar used all their strength and slammed their shield into Shining's Armor, which Rusted it all and cut off Sombra's control. Once that was done, the Armor then turned into dust and blew away. No longer in Sombra's control, he looked up at Cinnabar, confused. "What the?" Him and Cinnabar were confused on what they were looking at. "What are you?" Both asked, as Shining Armor was then knocked out by Bort, while the other Gemstones came their way in their Hibernation Clothes, as they looked down at Shining's knocked out body.

Once Shining's control was cut off by Cinnabar's attack, Sombra lost the connection. "What has happened? Where is my head General!" Sombra growled, as he slammed his fist onto the throne, he almost shattered it. "Don't know what happened inside that Building, my beloved, but something inside doesn't feel right, even to me." Cadence said. "If what is inside that Building is powerful to cut my control, I want to know what it is. I don't care if it's the heart or anything else, I want that power!"

The Next day, Shining was still knocked out, and as a safety precation, The Gemstones tied him down to a chair. The Gemstones looked at what he was, as had a Pony-like body, but mostly Human. They were confused on the Mark on his side of his leg. "What is this thing?" "Whatever it is, it's defiantly ugly!" Morganite responded to Phos, as Spinel was confused on one thing. "I think when Cinnabar used Relentless Rust on this things Armor, they didn't look like they wanted to harm them, but we don't want to take any risks." Shining Armor was then started to wake up, as he was looking at the Gem's, blury. "I don't think this is heaven?" "Excuse me, are you ok?" Diamond then asked him, which made him freak out.

"Wha-How are you talking? Diamonds can't talk!" "I mean that's what Diamond is, but we're Gemstones! Or Lustrous!" Spinel then corrected him. "Gemstones can't talk either!" He then found himself tied down. "What's going on?" "We should be the one asking you that question! Who are you?" Bort asked, bringing out their Whip. "I'm Shining Armor, Prince to the Crystal Empire, General to the Royal Guards and Husband to Princess Cadence, Princess of the Crystal Empire. Well, was." They were then confused on why he looked down. "Anything wrong?" "Well, after I returned to the Throne room at the Crystal Spire, I saw my wife now under the Control of Sombra, the Ruler of the Empire. I was in a mix of Horror and anger, as she then placed the Helmet on my head. However, I was then freed from his control after what Red Gemstone destroyed it." He explained.

Spinel was thinking. " So after Cinnabar used Relentless Rust on that Armor, it freeded you from this 'Sombra' and his control?" Spinel then thought as they then used their weapon on the Ropes, freeing him. "I'm Spinel, and as you guessed, we're all named after a Gemstone. You were introduced by Diamond, Bort and Cinnabar." They pointed the Pickaxe as only Bort and Diamond. "Cinnabar is only for Night Patrols, and this green one is Phosphophyllite, or Phos as you like." Shining Armor them remembered Phos stealing the Crystal Heart. "Y-You! Your the one who took the Crystal Heart!" They were all then confused on what he was talking about. "Crystal Heart?" Phos then asked.

Back at the Crystal Empire, Sombra called in some guards and Twilight's friends and once Elements of Harmony. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, all under his control. "You five! After I lost connection from Shining Armor, I think he failed to bring the Crystal Heart back to me. You five will go to that Building and Steal the Heart back! And maybe shatter some Gemstones along the way!" They all bowed as they marched out the throne room and towards the Building.

Back at the School, Spinel and Phos returned with the Crystal Heart, which Shining was Glad to see was safe. "That Heart is the source of the Empire! With it, it'll blast away the coldest of North's Winter and Sombra's influence! But after his powerful return, he must have overpowered it, rendering it useless." They look at the Heart, seeing how reflective it was. "Once you return it back to the Empire, it'll help heal the Empire naturally. Doing so, we might save Equestria!" They didn't know what he was talking about, but it was important of what they had. "I only heard the words 'Crystal Empire, Crystal Heart and Equestria'. That's where we must be!" Shining might of guessed they're not from here, as their was the sounds of marching coming close.

"Oh no." Shining said as he got what was remained from the Armor and headed out. Spinel, Bort, Diamond and Phos looked at what it was, finding many more creatures in the same Armor, and Five others, all without Armo, but were attacking. Bort and Diamond brought out their Weapons, as they saw Shining was doing his best to defend. "Help Shining Armor! I'll do the best to defend!" Diamond and Bort then jumped down to help Shining, as Spinel jumped down the other side. "You ready Ming?" Ming then gave some Humming as it then glowed a bright green and transformed into a Emerald Shield around Spinel's Left Wrist, as they were ready to defend.

Shinging Armor was doing his Best to Defend the Schoolhouse, but from Relentless Rust, it almost rusted everything he had away, but he was still doing good. "How was that power that strong?" He thought of, but was then rammed in by a Rainbow blur, as he knew who it was. "Rainbow Dash." Just before his former guards could finish him off, they were then blowned away by a powerful shockwave. "Devious Demolition!" He looked back, finding it was Diamond, as they had their Bokkin and another Forbidden Power, being an explosion with an evil grin. "Another one?" He asked, as he picked himself up. "Not just me, but Bort too!" They then saw Bort with a Forbidden Power of a Skull with it's jaws open with lightning coming from it. "Shocking Scare!" Bort announced as the power then blasted an aura that hit the Guards, making them scared. "I have to get one of those Shields!"

Around the Entrance, Spinel and a few other Gemstones were defending from the Guards, which then caused some Injuries to both the Guards and the Gemstones. "Screaming Shatter!" One of the Gemstones Announced, as a powerful Screaming Frequency came from it, which actually braked the Guards weapons, but also made them cover their ears. "Thanks Zircon!" They thanked an Yellow-Orange Gemstone Wielding a Scythe in their colours. "Well, why help Yellow rather then help others!" Zircon said.

As they tried to stop everyone, the Five without Armor got in. They were then after Phos, who was handling the Crystal Heart. "Get that Heart!" Phos was then scared, not knowing what to do, but shield themselves using the heart. Spinel and Zincon saw Phos was in danger as Zincon then used Screaming Shatter at the Five. The Frequency, not only distracted the five, but also snapped them out of Sombra's control. "Wha-What the hay happened? And Where in tarnation are we?" The Orange Pony asked. "Weren't we suppose to face Sombra? Where is he?!" The Blue one said. "Oh my, this place looks... spectacular!" The White one said.

Shining Armor then retweeted back into the Building, since Relentless Rust's Power was powerful. He then saw the Five Ponies. "Applejack! Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie! Rarity! Fluttershy! I'm glad to see your all back!" He was glad to see they were back, however, they were missing one, which then saddened him. "There's too many!" Diamond shouted and them and the rest came back into the Building, knowing their was too much. Shining then had an idea.

"Girls, you have to power up!" Shining said to them. "How? Sombra has Twilight under his control! We're powerless!" Rainbow Dash yelled, as Shining reminded them about something. "Your real power wasn't in the Elements. It was your friendship that was the power!" Realising that, they then powered up the Magic they had, hoping it'll be strong enough to stop the Guards. Once they got their power, they then tried to make a powerful Blast. However, Spinel was then pushed by one of them, which caught their Ming Shield into their Light.

The power was becoming too strong, that it was making them try and raise it up, but everytime they tried to resist, Spinel started to Shatter a little, as some shards were falling from their face, arms, legs and their body. "What's happening? Spinel?" Diamond asked. Spinel then roared as they then used their Power and created a powerful, Rainbow shockwave which knocked out many of the guards and went through the Empire and the rest of Equestria.

Inside the Crystal Spire, Twilight Sparkle, Elite Guard of Sombra then felt the shockwave, which snapped her out of Sombra's control for a little while. "Girls?" She questioned as she went back to being under Sombra's control.

Back at the School, after the Shockwave, Spinel was now laying, side down on the floor. Ming goes back into their Humming Bird form, trying to see if Spinel was fine, which they looked at them with their eyes, seeing they were still active. Bort and the other Gemstones wondered what power the five Ponies had to overpower Spinel. "What was that all about?" "I have no idea, but to Spinel's safety, don't get in the way of their powers again." Zincon said to Bort. Shining didn't know what happened, as the Mane 5 looked at what their power was like with Twilight, the Element of Magic. "We have to get my sister back!" Shining said to himself, as Diamond asked him that Question. "Sister?"