//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Title 2 // Story: Twilight Sparkle, Princess-Regent of the Crystal Empire // by Eltirions //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer grinned as she lowered her hoof to the ground. ‘’It’s good to see you again, Twilight.’’ Twilight’s face broke out into a smile too, and she stepped forward to give the unicorn a hug. ‘’You too, Sunset.’’ As she stepped back after the hug, Twilight took a moment to analyze Sunset’s appearance. Her mane was tied back in a ponytail, partially hidden under the cap she wore. Her uniform was the standard outfit for her rank: green with red and golden markings. ‘’I’m sorry for your loss,’’ Sunset said sympathetically, before her eyes darted past Twilight towards the people behind her. ‘’Hello again, Spike.’’ ‘’'lo, Sunset,’’ Spike replied. ‘’Nice of you to join us.’’ Sunset nodded, before turning her attention to Flurry, who was still next to Twilight. ‘’Hello, princess.’’ ‘’Hi,’’ Flurry replied softly. ‘’It’s nice to meet you, miss Shimmer.’’ ‘’Call me Sunset,’’ Sunset offered. Twilight approved: it was something the old Sunset would never have done, at least not while actually meaning it. Flurry nodded. She was still a little shy around older people. Not as much as Twilight had been at her age, but still. ‘’Shall we go to the palace?’’ she suggested. ‘’There is a lot to talk about, after all.’’ Sunset nodded, then turned towards the soldiers. ‘’Oi, Lt General! Make sure the lads get settled, I’m headed to the palace.’’ One of the soldiers - an earth pony with a purple coat and a light blue mane - turned to Sunset and saluted. ‘’Copy that, sir,’’ he said with what Twilight assumed was a Severnayan accent, if she understood correctly. Sunset tipped her head at him, then lit her horn. Bags floated out from the carriage she’d stepped out of, over the heads of the soldiers. ‘’I’ll follow you, Twilight. I’m afraid I don’t know the way.’’ Twilight nodded. ‘’Let’s go then. This way.’’ |-x-X-x-| Star checked his reflection in the mirror. Suit, check. Flowers, check. Hair, check. Right then. Time to face the music. As he walked out of his room towards the entrance of the castle, Crystal emerged from one of the side hallways. She took a critical look at him. ‘’Passable,’’ she declared after a moment. ‘’I can and will drop a bucket of ice-cold water on your head,’’ Star drawled without any heat. Crystal put on her most innocent look. ‘’Pranking your little sister?’’ ‘’Yes.’’ Star wouldn’t actually do it, they both knew that. He adored Crystal. Despite the less than ideal situation - him being forced to raise her on his own from the tender age of fifteen - Star had done his damned best to raise her. And some things had actually sprung from it that had benefited him.  Example: when Crystal had been one-and-a-half, Star was sitting his exams for the standard CSGU education, with Spellcrafting on the Advanced level. It had been two months of Tartarus, but Star had found a way to study and be with his sister at the same time: before she went to bed, he would read her historical tales and stories from the subjects he was studying, leaving out the details she was too young for of course.  After his exams, Star had taken a look at his notes and then done something he was still celebrating to this day: compiled all the stories and released them in the form of a book. Instant bestseller in Canterlot, and later throughout more parts of the nation. He had released the book under a pseudonym, so aside from Crystal and the publisher, no one else knew that it was him. Oh, they’d arrived at the entrance. Terrific. Crystal gave him a hug. ‘’Good luck, brother.’’ He shot her a smirk. ‘’Thanks.’’ She smirked back, then held the door open for him. Star stepped out of the castle. Right. To the Boutique it was. He considered, for a moment, to cast a slight distraction spell over himself. He could guess what would happen otherwise. But no. It was better to face any criticism head-on. As he walked from the castle to Rarity’s boutique, Star ran his checklist again. The suit he was wearing was actually one of Rarity’s; she’d probably recognize that immediately. The flowers were hoof-picked from his garden in Canterlot; a quick teleport back and forth earlier in the day had all been that was needed for them. He was so lost in thought he almost didn’t notice that he’d arrived at the Boutique, though the building was impossible to miss. He stopped in front of the door, raised his hoof, and knocked twice. As he waited, he spared a quick glance at the nearest clock. Right on time. The door opened, but instead of Rarity, there was a shorter, younger - about Crystal's age - mare, with a curled mane of pink and purple. ‘’Hello, mister,’’ she greeted. ‘’You’re here for my sister.’’ ‘’That I am,’’ Star agreed, before sticking his hoof out. ‘’I’m Star Tower.’’ ‘’Sweetie Belle,’’ the mare replied as she shook his hoof. ‘’Nice to meet you.’’ ‘’You too.’’ Star inclined his head. ‘’Darling!’’ Sweetie stepped aside as Rarity appeared behind her. Stars, she was beautiful. Her hair was done in an elegant bun and she was wearing a gleaming black dress. ‘’My lady,’’ Star greeted with a bow, before showing her the flowers. ‘’Good evening, sir,’’ she replied, taking the flowers with her magic. ‘’Sweetie?’’ ‘’I’ll find a nice spot for these,’’ Sweetie promised as she took the flowers from Rarity. ‘’Have fun, you two.’’ And she turned and left. ‘’They grow up so fast,’’ Rarity mourned. ‘’Don’t they?’’ Star agreed, before offering her his leg. ‘’Shall we?’’ Rarity took his hoof. ‘’By all means.’’ Star closed his eyes and focused, before teleporting. |-x-X-x-| ‘’So, how did you become a field marshal?’’ Twilight asked as they walked through Crystal City back to the palace. ‘’Well, I graduated from the Academy as a major instead of a normal officer thanks to my experience,’’ Sunset replied. ‘’I led a division in Yeahcon and was promoted to major general for that. When Luna came to find me, she asked for my story, and so I told all her that I had done in the other world. She listened to it and then promoted me to field marshal.’’ ‘’Was that the rank you held in the other world as well?’’ Spike inquired before Twilight could. Sunset shook her head. ‘’I was a colonel.’’ ‘’Huh. Neat,’’ Spike remarked. ‘’So what’s your plan?’’ ‘’We’ll see about that once I have the papers I need,’’ Sunset dryly answered. ‘’My assignment is to rebuild the Crystal Army into something that can defend the nation.’’ She shivered and used a hoof to pull her uniform tighter around her. ‘’Step one of that is figuring where to get a warmer uniform.’’ ‘’That can be arranged, field marshal,’’ Note spoke up. Sunset glanced at her for a moment, then nodded. ‘’Thanks.’’ Aside from the colour, Twilight hadn’t known there were any differences between the uniforms of the Crystal Empire and Equestria. But in hindsight, it seemed obvious that those of the Crystal Empire would be made to be warmer. ‘’Well, we’re here,’’ she said, having arrived at the gates of the palace. ‘’You can give your suitcases to one of the guards, they’ll see that it’s moved to your rooms.’’ ‘’Of course,’’ Sunset agreed, before allowing her suitcases to be carried off by two of the guards. ‘’Flurry,’’ Twilight spoke up, looking at her, ‘’can you go play with some of the other foals?’’ ‘’But auntie, I wanna stay with you,’’ Flurry said, half-whining. One day, Twilight would be able to say no to that. Today was not that day. She smiled and nodded. ‘’Okay, Flurry, but it’s going to be a long talk with lots of big words.’’ Flurry nodded, looking determined. ‘’I understand, auntie.’’ She was so damn proud of Flurry. ‘’Then let’s go inside.’’ |-x-X-x-| Luna strode into the throne room of Canterlot with all the determination befitting an alicorn princess. ‘’Good morning,’’ she greeted amicably as she took a seat in her throne. ‘’Court has begun.’’ As expected, there was a moment of shock, and then people started asking where Celestia was. Because apparently, Luna couldn’t solve their stupid problems. ‘’Our sister,’’ Luna cut through the voices in the crowd, ‘’is taking a well-deserved rest for the day. You can address your problems with us.’’ Or just leave, was left unsaid. After a few seconds, a stallion stepped forward. Luna took one look at him and promptly determined that the chance of whatever he was going to say being worthless was high enough that it probably wasn’t worth paying attention. ‘’Princess,’’ the stallion began, ‘’I have here a protest signed by several dozen other ponies.’’ Huh. Perhaps Luna was wrong. ‘’And the subject of this protest, sir?’’ ‘’The unreasonable new taxes levied on the decent folk of this great city.’’ Nope, perfectly worthless. Luna suppressed a sigh. ‘’I assume you are referring to the taxes introduced to fund the Crystal War.’’ ‘’Yes-’’ the stallion said. ‘’The taxes which,’’ Luna cut him off, ‘’are what enabled our soldiers to have working guns and equipment so they could beat back a conqueror that would have enslaved all of Equestria and liberate a people oppressed by said conqueror?’’ The stallion took a step back, obviously intimidated by Luna’s sharp retort. ‘’Now see here-’’ ‘’Sir, these taxes will remain in place,’’ Luna declared simply. ‘’The need for an army has not vanished with the death of Sombra. Equestria still has many enemies, and if it wasn’t for the work of brave volunteers, cities like Whinnyapolis and Marechester would have been razed to the ground, with hundreds of thousands of deaths as a result.’’ She glared at the stallion. ‘’The ‘decent folk’, as you put it, can more than survive these new taxes. Was there something else?’’ ‘’... No, Princess,’’ the stallion all-but-growled. He huffed, then turned and left without even bowing or asking for permission. Luna watched him go with contempt. ‘’Was there anyone else that had complaints about the new taxes?’’ she asked no-one in particular. No one answered, but more than a few ponies quietly left the room, some pensive and some fuming. Worthless wastes of air, Luna decided. Right then. On with the next petitioner, and here was to hoping it wasn’t for something stupid.