Change: Queen of The Hive

by tom117z


13 - An Empire of Crystal

The Crystal Empire



The sun was only just beginning to make itself known over the horizon, the first rays shining brilliantly against the crystal surfaces and architecture of the Crystal Empire. As the new day dawned, the crystal ponies managed to pry themselves from their peaceful slumbers and begin their daily routine, and it was no different for the royal family presiding in the palace at the very centre of the city. Today however, they were expecting to host Queen Twilight Sparkle and her entourage for a little while, the word of their arrival being sent well in advance, and there was one who wouldn’t let them forget it.

“Aunt Twilight is coming!” an eight, coming on nine, year old alicorn squealed gleefully as she jumped up and down on top of her parents’ bed. “Come on! Wake up!”

“Flurry Heart…” Cadance groaned, attempting to rub the sleep from her eyes as the world came into focus. “It’s too early.”

“But aunt Twilight is coming.” She punctuated her point by coming to a stop, the end of her last bounce reverberating through the mattress.

“We have a little longer to wait yet,” Cadance rebuked.

“But Dad is already up,” Flurry Heart shot back, waving a foreleg to his side.

Cadance glanced to the other side of the bed, and saw that Shining Armor was indeed missing from it. Groaning in defeat, Cadance managed to tear herself from under the covers and stretch her stiff wings out.

“Alright, go find your father while I get ready.”

Flurry Heart nodded vigorously, vacating the room as her mother continued to fully wake up.

The young alicorn scampered through the halls, past servants and guards, some of whom simply kept on moving and others briefly stopping to greet the young princess. She continued her way through the palace hallways, which she had long committed the layout to memory, and eventually found herself in her family’s personal lounge. The lounge had a lavish purple rug off to one side with pristine sofa’s surrounding it, all of which sat snuggly, not far from the toasty fireplace. There was also a medium sized table with enough seats for the family and guests too, and a personal bar just next to it. The rest of the space was taken up by cabinets, bookshelves and various personal knick-knacks decorating the place. It was this place that Flurry Heart would often come for some quiet time reading her books, or to play with some of her toys; on this occasion it was here that her father was examining his old armour on the table.

“Daddy!” Flurry Heart cheerfully greeted when she spotted the unicorn.

Shining smiled on hearing the familiar voice. “Ah, hey there kiddo. Is your mother up?”

Flurry nodded in confirmation. “Yup. I made her.”

Shining chuckled. “Did you now?”

“Uh-huh,” she responded, looking past her father and examining the armour he had in his possession. “Why have you got all those things out?”

“What? You mean my armour?” he asked, getting a nod in return. “Well, this is all out just in case I might need it. Your aunt and I have a lot to discuss when she gets here.”

“Do you think she brought me a new book?”

Shining Armor shot his daughter an apologetic look. “Sorry sweetie, I’m afraid this isn’t that kind of visit.”

“Oh…” Flurry Heart deflated a little. “Does she not want to spend some time with me?”

“Hey, it’s not like that. There’s just some very important things going on, and she won’t be here long,” Shining explained gently. “But I’m sure she will still be very happy to see you.”

That cheered Flurry Heart up a little, not back up to her previous mood, but it was an improvement nevertheless. And all of this heralded the arrival of Princess Cadance, who entered the lounge with a not-so-subtle yawn.

“Good morning,” she managed to greet them. “Emphasis on the morning, the very early morning,” she snarked.

“Oh no, an alicorn without her beauty sleep,” Shining joked. “You’re not going to go Nightmare on us, are you?”

“Funny,” she deadpanned, clambering up onto one of the sofas with her head resting on the side. “Have you heard any more from Twily?”

While Shining took his place on an opposing sofa, Flurry Heart went off to read one of her books in the corner.

“No. I don’t imagine we will until they get here.”

“They’re only meant to be here for a few hours, are they not?”

Shining nodded. “Just while their rides are sorted for the rest of the journey.”

Cadance went to say something else, but that was when she too spotted the armour of her husband spread out on the table. Her mouth shut again as her features creased up into a frown, a questioning look being shot across towards her husband.

Shining’s gaze flicked between his wife and his armour, and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Ah, so you noticed that then.”

“Why has your armour been brought out?” Cadance asked. “Going somewhere, are we?”

“It’s good to be prepared,” Shining retorted. “Twilight might ask me to accompany them, and I wouldn’t want to delay them any more than necessary.”

Cadance sighed. “Shining, you know I would jump to her aid should she need it, but she’s got an escort already. Besides, we both have duties here to take care of, and you know how much she hates it when you neglect them for her sake.”

“I’m her big brother, it’s my job,” Shining Armor shot back. “I’m not keen on letting her wander into a potential death trap alone.”

“But she isn’t alone,” his wife reminded him. “Vladimir, Broad Sword, her own Captain Scorpion plus a whole bunch of guards. You should know in particular that Vladimir and Broad Sword are perfectly capable.”

“I’m not disputing that,” Shining Armor stated. “But she isn’t their sister. She’s mine, and I need to be there for her whenever possible.”

“Well, we’ll just have to see what she wants when she arrives,” she said. “It won’t be much longer now, you might want to get a group ready to receive them.”

“Already done,” he stated. “While they’re seeing to the helicopters, they’ll bring Twily to the palace. Flurry Heart is quite looking forward to seeing her aunt.”

Cadance chuckled. “So I heard. Come on, we might want to go and get breakfast prepared.”

“We better tell the chefs to make extra,” Shining suggested. “It’s not just Twilight coming, and I bet they're all going to be rather peckish after their trip.”


The Crystal Empire stood as a shining beacon amidst the raging hurricane of ice and snow, the blizzard had seldom let up during the entire journey. The enchantment protecting the helicopters they rode in had held thus far, but they grew weaker by the second. Not to mention that, while the heat inside the cabin was tolerable, it couldn’t exactly be described as being toasty.

“We’re coming up on the Crystal Empire now, your highness,” the pilot informed the Queen. “We’ll be out of this blasted blizzard soon.”

“For a little while anyway,” the Queen stated. “At least until we get to the land beyond the Frozen North.”

“Good, because I could use some actual warmth right about now,” Captain Scorpion stated, his chitin shaking a little due to the cold.

“I still think you should let me make a small fire in the centre of the cabin,” Spike said.

“No Spike,” Twilight rebuked. “Regulations are clear, no fire on board. We don’t want to take unnecessary risks with our lives.”

“Yeah, fair enough,” he conceded, leaning back against the bulkhead. “It’s just that I’m a dragon, I’m not meant for the cold.”

“We’ll be setting down in a few minutes, I’m sure you can last just a little longer.”

“I’ll manage.”

The minutes for those travelling within the three machines seemed like an eternity, but eventually the blizzard gave way as they entered through the magical barrier holding back the ice and snow from the Empire. A frozen wasteland gave way to a lush green field with trees and flowers aplenty, thriving all around the edges of the gleaming crystalline city. They did a quick orbit of the city, spotting from the air a group of Crystal Guard already set up and waiting to receive them a short distance away from the train station, so once they came back around they quickly but steadily descended down from the sky to the marked out area. They came to a halt a little above the ground for a few moments, and then one by one they all lowered down onto the ground with a small bump. Overall, the landing had occurred without a hitch.

“We’re green across the board, the others are also giving the all clear,” the pilot reported, checking his instruments. “Your highness, you are clear to disembark when ready.”

“Thank you,” she said with a brief nod towards the pilot.

Twilight grabbed onto the door with her magic and slid it to the side allowing sunlight to come flooding into the cabin. The guards disembarked first, followed by Spike and finally the Queen herself. As her hooves touched the soft grass she gave herself a moment to enjoy the warmth of the sun, more than glad to be out of the blizzard raging outside the barrier close by. Looking towards the other two helicopters, the Queen could see their passengers had all also gotten off and were enjoying being off the machines as much as she was. As much as she enjoyed their technological and magical advancement, she still preferred to fly under the power of her own wings.

“Your highness,” a voice amidst the approaching Crystal Guard said in greeting. “I hope your trip was at least bearable.”

“Unfortunately, Sergeant Sentry, our trip isn’t over yet,” Twilight responded. “I take it Shining sent you all to greet us, Flash?”

“Yes, and to oversee all work done to your vehicles,” he confirmed. “The Prince is already waiting for you in the palace.”

“How long will this take?”

“A few hours at most,” Flash stated.

“Alright, then we’ll leave in six,” the Queen stated just as Broad Sword and Vladimir cantered over to her side.

“What’s in six?” the thestral captain asked.

“Vladimir, Broad Sword,” Twilight addressed the two captains. “It’s been a long trip, the guards can all consider themselves relieved for the next six hours to relax for a while. But at the end of those six hours I want them all back here without delay, understood?”

Broad Sword nodded. “Crystal clear. They will appreciate the opportunity. I expect most will go for some food and maybe a drink, the rest will take the opportunity to sleep.”

“The palace is open to all of your escort,” Flash interrupted. “I believe the Prince has sent for a large breakfast to be laid out on the dining table waiting for them.”

“We’ll let them know,” Vladimir stated. “But we’ll be heading up to the palace with the Queen. It’s as good a time as any to catch up with an old friend.”

Flash Sentry nodded in understanding. “Very well, then I will leave you all to your business. I have a job to do after all.”

Twilight watched as Flash left to direct those working on the helicopters, while Broad Sword and Vladimir went to talk to the guards under their command. Twilight gave her own changelings their instruction to rest for the next six hours quickly over the hive mind, though most had been listening to her conversation with Flash Sentry anyway. As an afterthought, she suggested they all top up with a quick visit to the Crystal Heart.

“So, looking forward to seeing the family?” Scorpion enquired knowingly.

“You know I am,” Twilight responded happily. “A bright side to this whole mess. Though I wish I had brought little Flurry Heart something.”

“You do so love to spoil your niece,” he noted. “Though I’m sure she’ll understand that we didn’t exactly have time to go shopping before we left. Your highness, you may be looking forward to seeing them but this still isn’t actually a family visit.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” the Changeling Queen deadpanned. “Either way, it will be a nice little break in our adventure before the real fun begins.”

“I can’t wait,” Spike sarcastically added in.

Twilight simply rolled her eyes at the dragon’s remark, and began to walk towards the front gates of the city with both Spike and Scorpion falling closely into step beside her. The route directly in front was a large open road leading directly to the palace building, stretching all the way down the great crystal road.

“Well,” Scorpion continued. “Whatever happens out there we have your back, my Queen.”

“And I know I can rely on you all,” Twilight said with a small smile. “You’ve been at my side for eight years, Scorpion. I trust you.”

“Your faith fuels my own, your highness.”