• Member Since 14th Sep, 2012
  • offline last seen Nov 1st, 2016

Friend_Computer


I put my friend in a coconut! He lives in my hat!

T

Trolls and dragons stalk the plain
Seek for mischief they may wreak
Hush now child, they seek in vain
We are gentle, but not weak

When the night seems cold and frightening
And you know not what to do
They will be there, fast as lightning
So no harm can come to you

Do not dread the sun descending
Know that they are always near
And their vigil never ending
And they face the things we fear

For they are our good protectors
They are strong, and kind, and brave
While the Lance does still protect us
Little children can sleep safe

- Crystal Empire nursery rhyme, author unknown

After a thousand years of absence, the Crystal Empire has been freed from Sombra's curse and returned to the world. The crystal ponies can finally live free from fear and slavery, but their once mighty nation has dwindled to a mere shadow of its former glory. Still, their tribe was never known for a lack of tenacity, and with their chains broken at long last, the crystal ponies are willing to face any challenges the world might throw at them.

I these difficult times, the young crystal pony Ruby Chip has risen to knighthood, and proven herself to be worthy of joining the legendary Order of the Crystal Lance. It seems like she has achieved everything she ever dreamed of, but then she starts being plagued by dark and frightening visions from the Empire's troubled past.
To make matters worse, Ruby fears that the Order might come into conflict with the Empire's new ruler. As a former officer of Equestria's military, Prince Shining Armor is not very fond of the way the Empire's armies are run and organized, and sees them in dire need of modernization. It remains to be seen if the traditional warrior caste of the Empire still has a place in the military force he seeks to create.

Very soon, Ruby and her brothers and sisters in arms will have to prove that they are more than a misplaced remnant of a long gone era, and show that the knights of the Empire can still fulfill their sworn duty as champions and protectors.

However, whether or not Ruby herself will be ready to be the pony others need her to be, that is another question altogether.

Chapters (12)
Comments ( 47 )

Frankly Stalwart Heart needs to go. His attitude towards the Imperials help cause the whole incident. Her being hotheaded/ Stalwart is more so. The fact she is given no actual command authority is a another major flaw. Shining sorry but you failed here.

5592447

Shining definitely didn't handle things all that well, that is true. But it's not an easy situation for him. One day, he has a relatively straight-forward job as captain of the Royal Guard, and then suddenly he rules a nation with a military that is just so horribly backwards and inefficient compared to what he's used to, or at least that's how he sees it.

He's falling back on what he is familiar with, and trying to fix what can be fixed, but when you have that many balls in the air, you will probably end up dropping some of them. Especially when two of those balls suddenly start punching each other.

Stalwart Heart is an abrasive jerk, but he's also a good officer who genuinely cares about getting his boys and girls home safe. Ruby let her pride and temper get the better of her, but again, Stalwart was pushing her buttons like he read a manual on how to do it.

Basically, I was trying to construct a situation where everyone is having at least somewhat understandable motives and grievances, but also ends up making really stupid mistakes.

5594526 again. Shining KNEW there was issues happening between the Imperials and the Equestrians. Stalwart may care for his troops but has no diplomatic tact. He shouldn't have been part of the expididtionary force. And aain a failure of Shining on how to arrange the patrols. Giving the imperial officers no authority at all in these patrols was really stupid and this proved it. I would of had Ruby in charge of the patrol since she knows the land and the enemies with Stalwart as second in command since he knows the tactics of the Equestrian military.

In the end i hope Stalwart got punished as well for he handled the situtation all wrong.

If people think Cadance is weak, they are wrong. Remember who raised her. And people do go to extremes for love.

5634907
I could always see her as a ruler who would adhere to the principle of 'be nice until it's time to not be nice.' As a person, trying to get along with everyone would probably be in her nature, but as a ruler, I imagine she would be smart enough to realize that's not always possible, and sometimes, you have to tell someone in no uncertain terms that you won't be taking any of their BS.

Thanks for taking the time to comment, by the way. This thing doesn't attract a whole lot of readers, but I really appreciate every bit of feedback that I get :pinkiesmile:

5644883 it's an interesting premise. the only real issue i had was the crap Ruby got after that battle. The Equestrian commander was fully in the wrong. He didn't respect Ruby so why should she feel that he will act soon enough. Her concern was the lives of the ponies she was with. Frankly even Shining is to blame. Ruby was given no real power in the chain of command. She honestly should of had command with the Equestrian as second. She knows the land and the creatures there, he knows Equestrian tactics. The pairing style could have worked.

As is i think the commander should have been sent back to Equestria and a more tolerating one sent in his place.

Poor quicksilver rest in peace

okay, i'm gonna say this. Something better be happening to Stalwart as well or I'm gonna BEAT Shining.:twilightangry2:

5672385
“rest in peace”

Yeah... About that...

Hmm. I guess you'll see.

5672771
Without spoiling anything, I can say that Stalwart will not be showing up in the near future. The officer Ruby is currently serving under is definitely not Stalwart Heart, I guess everyone involved knew what a horrible idea that would be.

I guess I have to edit this in somewhere, because I realize that it's a bit of a blank spot at the moment, but I can tell you that not a whole lot happened to Stalwart after that little incident. Now, if you get the impression that there might be some sort of favoritism on Shining Armor's part... I won't blame you, because it actually seems like there is.

5673064 Yah I'm starting not to like Shining in this story. Ruby did what she did because Stalwart was a jerk to her the entire time and she had no clue that he will even listen to her since he really showed no signs before that. So she for sure saved lives and is getting crap for it. Stalwart should have never been sent to the Empire. He may technically be a good soidier but has real trouble working with other armies. Shining should have never assigned them like they did. in this case Ruby should have command. She knows the terrain and the opponets, Stalwart be second in Command since he knows Equestrian tactics. Shining the Empire jump in time 1000 years so yes their army is outdated in things but it will take more than a few years to 'update' them. That will likely take longer then your lifetime. Heck let's take the Solar Army from the story Lunar rebellion and it got sent to this point in time they would have the same bloody problem. :twilightangry2:

Stalwart has to be punished for both he and Shining also hold blame to what happened.

5673599
"Yah I'm starting not to like Shining in this story."

Well, that's not entirely unintended on my part, as long as you're mad at the characters for acting a certain way, and not at me for writing them like that. That's the fine line I have to traverse as the author :twilightsheepish:

But seriously, since the narrative is mostly focusing on Ruby, I know that Shining is coming across as somewhat unreasonable and even antagonistic. I am going somewhere with this, and he has reasons for acting this way. As I've hinted at in the summary, the conflict I'm building up there is going to be very central.

5674063 more as being stupid. He asks for a commander who I bet if someone looked shows him unable to work with other armies. Then when that guy gets in trouble and Ruby saves his troops from massive loss SHE'S THE VILLAIN!? I'm okay a bit for her being somewhat punished but not Stalwart, who if handled the situtation differently would have prevented it. Shining is just making the rift between the Imperial army and the Royal Guard worse. I think he needs Twilight to knock him in the back of the head.

This story needs a lot more attention than its getting. I came across it by chance, and am really enjoying it so far. Try to find some groups to add it to!

Okay, while I do love this whole story, I must say I love the culture and traits that you've given the Crystal Empire here, I love the idea of the order of the Crystal Lance, and the tensions you've created of the Equestrian Military and Crystal Pony knights. It gives the crystal ponies their own unique society, and I wish I could've come up with something like that for my pony fics! Really, really good job!

5674568
Thank you, glad you're enjoying it :pinkiehappy:

And yeah, since it's the first time I uploaded something here, I'm still pretty clueless about how to put myself 'out there,' so to speak. I hope I find the time to add this to a few groups in the near future. I was also wondering if I should add a few more character tags, but I'm still unsure about that. They would either spoil that someone is going to be in this, or the characters in question take a long time to show up, and aren't that central to the story when they do. So promoting the fact that they're in this would feel a bit like false advertising.

5674691
Very kind of you to say, I'm glad you like it.

While I'm normally of the opinion that it's not a good idea to get too attached to your headcanon, I really like what I cooked up for crystal ponies. I'm probably going to stick with it even after it gets inevitably stomped by canon :rainbowlaugh:

The cultural and social ramifications of an entire nation disappearing for a thousand years are another thing I was really interested in. It's not really touched upon in the show (even in my story, the problems aren't nearly as severe as they would realistically be in a real-life context), and honestly, they don't have to deal with that in my opinion. It's pretty heavy stuff for what is still basically a fun kids cartoon, but the opportunities for storytelling it provides are something I enjoy immensely. Friendship is Magic is absolutely filled with stuff like that, things the show itself only hints at, but that offer so many possibilities to be expanded and fleshed out. Maybe that's why of all the nerdy things I'm into, this is the one that got me into writing fanfiction after all these years :twilightblush:

Very short chapter, so I'm going to upload another one during the weekend. I'm getting closer and closer to the end of what I have prepared, so I really have to stop lazing about and write faster. My stockpile of finished chapters won't last me for much longer.

I can tell there was effort put into this and it certainly paid off. Good job. :heart:

The problem here isn't stalwart hart, it's Shining Armor showing preference to Foreign Troops instead of the knights.

If you ask me, Shining is Showing far too much loyalty to Equestria with his preference and treatment of those equestrian soldiers. I know he used to be a soldier of Equestria, but as the prince of the Crystal Empire his loyalty lies to his new nation now. It must be hard for him to sever his old ties and loyalties, but if their prince continues to use foreign troops, and favor equestria in his political decisions, how long is it going to take for him to alienate his crystal subjects? With his lack of concre for the crystal knight's pride and traditions, how long before the crystal ponies believe that their own prince wants to turn them into a province of Equestria?

LOVE THE NEW CHAPTER, AND AWESOME TO SEE THE MANE SIX ENTER THE SCENE! And why do I think Pinkie Pie and Emerald are going to be best friends? :)

one issue. it shouldn't be Amazing Bulk it should be Saddle Rager

and the mane 6 and Spike was pure fun

I still say Stalwart should have been punished.:twilightangry2:

Originally, the chapter I was going to upload had a word count of 18k. Then I realized 'Yep, that's insane, I'm already pushing it with my usual chapter length.' So I picked a spot where I could take a break and split it in two. I'm going to upload the rest in a couple of days, maybe even tomorrow.

"NOOOOOO!"

I WAS SAYING THAT BEFORE I READ THAT PART!:rainbowlaugh:


the whole Flugglehorn scene was priceless

5723792
Hehe. Ain't I a stinker ^_^

Next chapter is probably going up tomorrow, but if you found this cliffhanger annoying, the next one will probably make you want to punch me.

And about your earlier comment, yeah, I guess it should have been Saddle Ranger. Buuuut this is one of the little jokes I put in there pretty much solely for my own amusement; The Amazing Bulk is actually a real movie. Eh, well, calling it a movie might be stretching it, seeing how horribly, hilariously inept the thing is. It's like Sharknado if it had been filmed entirely in front of a greenscreen made in MS Paint.

5687364
Oh, they're gonna get along like a house on fire. But that might not be a good thing. There might actually be literal houses on fire before the day is over.

5679396
Thank you :twilightsmile:

So, that's officially the end of the chapters I had finished. The next one, and of course everything after that, is still work in progress. Which means that from now on, the uploading schedule is going to change from 'about once a week' to 'whenever I have something ready.'

okay, how did he survive getting blown to smitherins!? :rainbowhuh:

and Ruby has Pinkie nailed.

yeaaahhh, there had better be a good explanation to how he's back; the story was amazing up until that point.

5743124
5747546

Wait... I need an explanation for this? Ah, damn it, I knew I forgot something! :derpyderp2:

But seriously, I'm not doing the Lost thing where I come up with stuff without knowing where it's supposed to go. All right, I do that sometimes, but not in this case. There is an explanation, and I hope I'll get to it in a reasonable amount of time. As to whether it's a good one, eh... I think it's decently thought out. Then again, I came up with it, so I may or may not be a little bit biased.

So far, it certainly seems like whatever saved his skin didn't really save his... well, skin. Nor any other fleshy bits, for that matter.

5748155 well I was kind of hopping to not see him in other than flashbacks. i different villian or situation I was hoping for. Heck Heck you created strife between the Equestrian Gard and the Imperials. there;'s great potential there.

5748570
Oh, don't think that last one's off the table yet. Not by a long shot :raritywink:

Well, the fallout from abandoning her charges is not going to be good. Poor Ruby.

5952412
From a strictly speaking pragmatic warrior standpoint:
I would argue that finishing off Sombra is way more important than baby sitting. Sombra is a legitimate threat to all living things. If the Elements aren't tough enough to hang with some minions maybe they need to be thinned out a bit? Toughen up buttercups.
Ruby really just needs to go full on Blood Knight and kick the shit of of anyone who gets in her way. Besides, she's sworn a blood oath to kill that murderous bastard. That's more important than anything except possibly close family.
Surely she's got enough XP recently to have leveled up enough to take on anybody in a duel of honor.

Can I please get an unstoppable murderous berserker ronin knight Ruby hell bent on glory and vengeance? Pretty please?

5952679 agree here. Heck it's Twilight's fault for not training in combat magic considering everything she's faced. And If Sombra was taken out the threat overall would be gone. so 50/50 on this issue.

Wait, English isn't even your first language? $#!%. You have just made me feel inadequate, and that's really hard to do.

So, as I've been reading this, I noticed that a single type of grammatical error seems prevalent, probably due to the language barrier. When addressing people by name or title, you need to use a comma. For instance, "Of course Ruby." should be written as "Of course, Ruby." instead.

6286328
Yep, that's an error I made quite frequently. I mostly remember the comma by now, but I still haven't gone through all my previous writing to fix it there, although I should really do that at some point.

Is this going to update anytime soon? Because I really want to see where this goes.

This is good ps for me it's 3:53 am and my battery power is at 8%

I absolutely love this! This is my favourite fanfic ever, and you are an amazing writer of characters and action. I REALLY hope that you finish this story, because I want to see where this progresses!

5680903

I don’t think the problem is racism or nationalism. The problem is that Shining believes, perhaps correctly, that his “modern” soldiers are more capable and reliable than the Imperial knights. If he had Crystal soldiers trained in the same style, I’m sure he would use them. As it is, he uses the Equestrian troops because they’re the only ones whose training he fully trusts.

5673599

One of the things I think you’re missing here is that Shining probably trained Stalwart. Certainly he trained in the same tradition as him. In a very real sense, what happened between Ruby and Stalwart is a microcosm of what’s happening between the Crystal Lance and Shining and his “modern” armies.

Shining’s duty is to make the best army he can for the Crystal Empire. He believes, completely honestly, that an Equestrian-style army is better than Imperial-style knights. He therefore wants to create an Equestrian-style army for the Crystal Empire, and the Crystal Lance is an active obstacle to him doing so.

As far as Shining is concerned, Ruby and those like her are a problem he has yet to figure out how to solve. That’s why he lashed out.

they need to take shining armor out of the guard captain position.
He is making the crystal ponies second class citizens in their own city.

5634907
yeah she has to be strong to hold the empire together while shining armor is desctroying it.

Fantastic story. It's criminal that this doesn't have hundreds of likes. Shame it seems abandoned now, but nonetheless it was a great read

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