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// A Princess' Thoughts 
// Story: The Crystal Empress 
// by Mystic Sunrise 
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It was not every day that a Crystaling happened in the Crystal Empire, and the crystal ponies couldn't be more excited about the occasion. This was one that was even more special than usual, for it was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Twice if you happened to live long enough.

A Royal Crystaling.

While a normal Crystaling happened when a filly or colt was a newborn, a Royal Crystaling only happened only when the Crystal Heart believed the current Crystal Princess was ready to truly step into her mother's shoes.

This didn't mean of course that the Crystal Empress was about to step down in favor of her daughter, or that she was about to die. But it was the first sign that her daughter was ready.

Empress Rose Quartz, the current ruler of the empire, knew the moment she awoke that one morning, that it was time. Soon the news had gone out that the Royal Crystaling was soon to take place. News that was greeted with much joy.

Princess Mi Amora Amicitia, or Twilight, as her friends called her, was much loved around the empire. There just seemed something about her that made it easy for ponies to love her. Not just as their princess, but as a pony. Twilight made friends so easily that some foals were jealous.

Not that they ever hated her for it of course. Even if hate was something few in the empire knew of, there was just something about the young princess that made it hard for ponies to not like her.

But there was more than just her title and her family that made Amicitia stand out amongst ponies her age. And it was this last part, that convinced her mother to do something that surprised many of her advisors.

She invited Princess Luna of Equestria to the Royal Crystaling as well.

Many had heard of the young nation to the empire's south and the princess who ruled them, but few had ever been there, and even fewer from Equestria had come to the Crystal Empire.

The empire did not turn away those that came to their realm of course, but many still remembered the racial hatred that had nearly destroyed them all, only a few years earlier. While the Crystal ponies counted earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns amongst them, all three had lived in harmony for so long that most found the so-called Three Tribes Era disgraceful to all ponies.

Princess Luna was even more of a mystery to most. None would deny that she was kind, beautiful, strong, and the kind of leader Equestria needed, but none could understand what kind of pony she was. Some said she was an alicorn, a pony that embodied all the best traits of all three kinds of ponies, but none knew for sure.

Empress Rose though, for all she still had suspicions of some in Equestria, knew that Luna was a kind and fair ruler, one that she was happy to have to deal with in the few time the two had met. And now that her daughter was about to come of age, she felt it only right that she was invited to the Crystaling as well.

After all, she and Amicitia shared much in common.





As she watched the ponies below her set everything up for her Crystaling, Twilight sighed, as she plopped her head down on the window sill of her room. It was not a very princess thing to do, but she was not in the mood at the moment to care.

She still was not sure how she felt about all of this. Oh, she had known her whole life that this day would come. But that did not mean she was ready for it. For crying out loud, her mom was still young! She still had stallions knocking on the door, looking to try and score with her.

A feeling that Twilight knew rather well, as well. She'd had more stallions, and not a few mares as well, try and hook up with her. And while she could appreciate that most meant it, she did not doubt that more than a few only cared about her title and what it meant for them.

And if there was one thing Princess Mi Amora Amicitia disliked more than anything else, it was flank kissers that only cared about her title and what it could do for them and their own family. More than one stallion had literally been kicked out of her room when that became clear that was all they wanted. 

Her wings fluttered at the thought, making Amicitia turn and look at them. She'd had grown used to their doing that as she grew up. It came naturally, as her mother had explained to her. And while she would not be winning any awards, Amicitia considered herself a rather good flyer.

She wondered if what made her so different was why Princess Luna of Equestria had been invited to the Royal Crystaling as well? Twilight had never met her, of course, as she turned back to the scene outside her window. But she had always heard good things about her from her mother.

Amicitia's ears twitched as she heard somepony come to her door. Her mother's calming presence told her who it was, even before she felt a wing wrap around her. She smiled as she pulled herself closer to her mom. 

Rose smiled as she looked down at her daughter. "I thought I might find you up here. I cannot count the number of times I have found you like this. Why so glum? This is a big day for you."

Amicitia sighed. "I am just. Thinking. About how much will change after today. I cannot just be another pony in the crowd after this. What about my friends? Will this drive us apart? I do not want that. I do not want to lose them."

Rose sighed. She had thought this might come up. "Mi Amora Amicitia. Do you really think so little of your friends that they would do that? I have never seen a closer group than what you have."

Twilight shook her head. "Mom, please. Do not call me that."

Rose shook her head. "It is your name, Amicitia."

Twilight gave her mother a flat look. "Yes. My Throne Name. One that will not really matter until I take the throne."

Rose sighed. This had been a recurring argument between the two of them for some time now. All members of the Royal Family had two names. Their Throne Name, which was used in any official capacity, and a Personal Name, which they could use at their leisure and among their friends.

For instance, Rose's full and official Throne Name was Crystal Empress Mi Amora Venus, while her Personal Name was Rose Quartz. While her daughter's was Mi Amora Amicitia, while her Personal Name was Twilight Sparkle. Mi Amora was a holdover from the very first pony to be the Crystal Princess when the empire had been founded.

The names fit as well. Rose's coat was a beautiful shade of rose red, while her mane was as blue as the sky while Twilight's coat was lavender mixed with pink at the edges of her wings, while her mane was a navy blue with three colors streaks of dark purple, blond yellow, and Fuschia.

Of course, Twilight's Personal Name did not really seem to make much sense when compared to her Throne Name. And the same could be said for Rose Quartz as well. But neither had ever really cared either way.

Nopony would deny that Rose was beautiful and that her Throne Name of Venus was well earned, though few knew where that name had come from. The same was said of Twilight and her Throne Name.

Amicitia meant Friendship in the Elder Tongue, and very few would say that it was not a well-earned name, for the young princess was well known for being one of the friendliest ponies in the Crystal Empire, and that alone was saying something, for crystal ponies were generally friendly all around.

Rose sighed, as she pulled her daughter closer, Twilight snuggling closer as she did. "Twilight. Today, of all days, do not shirk away from who you are. I will not be around forever." She gestured at the Crystal Empire outside the window. "One day, I will be gone, and all of this will be yours. The crystal ponies will look to you for help and guidance, and the Crystal Heart will need your love and compassion to keep the empire safe in the years to come."

Twilight gasped, as she pulled away and looked at her mother with mounting horror. "You're not, dying are you?" Tears gathered in her eyes, as she hugged her mother tightly. "Mom, please! I am not ready. You can't go. You can't leave me. Not like this."

Rose chuckled as she held her daughter close and let Twilight cry onto her shoulder, just as she had done ever since she was a little filly. She gently stroked Twilight's mane. "I am not dying, Twilight. I still have many more years left in me before I go to the Summer Glens." She lifted her daughter's chin with a hoof. "But Twilight. Today, of all days. You have to be strong. If not for our subjects, then for me. Can you do that, my Little Star?"

Twilight hiccuped, smiling at the use of the old fillyhood nickname her mother had for her. For all they might argue about some things, she still loved her mother, and she knew that she was loved just as much, if not more so. "For you, mommy. I will." She smirked. "But I am going to complain about it anyway. I am making it a Royal Order as well."

Rose smiled, as she kissed Twilight's forehead. "Thank you, Twilight." She smirked as well. "And you can complain all you wish once the ceremony is over. I do not know how Crystal puts up with it."

Twilight giggled. "What can I say? It is one of the reasons I chose her for my Life Guard. All of the girls in fact."

Venus's smile widened knowingly. "Oh? I thought it was because she was cute? I have seen how you look at her flanks, Amicitia. I do not need to be your mother to know why that might be."

Amicitia's blush lit up the room. "I. I do not know what you are talking about!"

Venus giggled. "I'm sure you don't dear. Here is a piece of advice your grandmother gave me when I was your age. Something that helped me with your father. Do not let her go. The two of you have something few others do. Crystal is more than your Life Guard, honey. She is your friend. All of your Personal Guard is. I have seen how some of them look at you."

Amicitia gave her a confused look. She had an idea of what kind of looks those might be. "Then why don't they say something? The girls know they can come to me about anything."

Venus shrugged. "That is something only they can tell you, dear. They may fear that if they do anything, then you will cast them out, or worse. Crystal fears it the most. She has not said anything. But I can feel it deep inside of her. It grows stronger every day."

Twilight thought about that for a moment. It might explain a few things she had seen from her Life Guard. For the most part, she had thought it was only the rigors of her station. Could it be something else though? But that could wait for later. For the moment she sighed, as she all but melted into her mother's arms.   

That sat like that for some time, even as at the border of the Crystal Empire, another visitor made her way to the capital city.