//------------------------------//
// Revelation 
// Story: The King Is Dead, Long Live The Emperor! 
// by Bucking Nonsense 
//------------------------------//

"So, I assume that you've got a plan in mind?"
Chuckling, Pan turned away from the mirror, and towards Princess Celestia.  The changeling had to admit, this was getting interesting.  All the pieces were starting to fit together.  While he may have been a natural born actor, he supposed that politics was also in his blood.  Things were getting exciting, and admittedly very dangerous, and yet now, the emperor was beginning to see a way through all of this.  Now that he knew who and what his enemies were, he could begin working on a method of defeating them.
"I do have a plan forming, your highness," Pan said, a grin forming on his face.  "And I promise you, it will be a good one.  However, I need to confirm a few more pieces of information before I can for certain that it will work."  Turning towards the Crystal Heart, still in its place on a cushion upon a chair, he said, "But first, there is something I need to confirm.  Crystal Heart, can you hear me?"
The Crystal Heart pulsed, then said, "Affirmative."
Nodding, he turned towards Princess Luna and asked, "Please ask the Crystal Heart a question, Luna.  Any question will do."
Confused, Luna took a moment to think, then asked, "Crystal Heart, what is two plus two?"
The relic remained silent.
Turning towards Pen Stroke, Pan asked, "Now you, Pen, ask the same question."
The chancellor, a little less confused, asked, "Crystal Heart, what is two plus two?"
"Four," the relic stated without hesitation.
Luna's eyes narrowed in irritation, but surprisingly, Sombra laughed, then said, "I get it.  The Crystal Heart won't answer to anypony who is not a citizen of the Crystal Empire!"
Chuckling a little himself, the changeling admitted, "That's what I was thinking.  It seemed odd that it would ignore Luna and Celestia's question earlier, but it would answer anypony else's.  I suspect that, since the Heart predates the city becoming a part of Equestria, it does not recognize their authority."  A half-smile crossing his face, he added, "But I can fix that right now, I think."  Turning back to the relic, Pan said, "By the power vested in me as a citizen of the Crystal Empire, I, Emperor Pandinus Imperator The First, Ruler of the Crystal Empire And All Who Doth Dwell Within, do hereby nominate Princesses Luna and Celestia for citizenship in the Crystal Empire."
The Crystal Heart pulsed with light, and replied, "Your motion has been heard.  In order for the motion to be carried, it must be approved by the royal chancellor, or another authorized representative, should he be unavailable at this time."
Pen Stroke coughed, then said, "My name is Pen Stroke, royal chancellor.  I give my approval for this motion."
The relic pulsed, and for a second, both Celestia and Luna's coats shone like those of other Crystal Ponies.  Both ponies, after the moment passed, seemed to be sitting a little straighter, and seemed a little less weary than before.  It seemed that citizenship came with benefits, even for princesses...
Looking over at the relic through his spot in the mirror, Sombra noted, "So, we've established that the heart can grant citizenship to others, but it only answers to other Crystal Ponies.  While certainly interesting, and something I'd not even suspected before, what good does that really do?  The Circle is comprised almost... exclusively... of... citizens..."  Realization began to dawn, Sombra's eyes widening in shock.
Not quite as fast on the uptake, Celestia did note Sombra's expression and asked, "What?"
Smirking, Pan said, "If the Crystal Heart has the ability to grant citizenship rights, couldn't it also revoke that citizenship?"
Straight Arrow, confused, asked, "What good would that do?"
Pan sighed, then said, "This will get a little bit long winded, but I will do my best to explain: My kind, changelings, come from an alternate future where a group of Crystal Ponies abandoned the Crystal Empire while Celestia and Luna were fighting King Sombra.  Those ponies tried to start up a new kingdom elsewhere, but because a spell banished the Crystal Empire, and the Crystal Heart, from time and space, these runaways were no longer as strong, either physically or magically, as they were before.  Without the heart, they could not hope to survive the way they were, so they tried to permanently sever the link between the relic and themselves.  This created my kind."
His eyes widening, Straight Arrow said, "So if their citizenship were to be revoked, causing them to be cut off from the Crystal Heart, the Circle would be drastically weakened..."
"Precisely," Pan said, his expression solemn.  "The Circle has, as Pen Stroke noted, a number of dark magic users, as well as at least one skilled necromancer who controls the wights.  Sever their connection to the heart, and their ability to wage war will be drastically reduced."  Clearing his throat, the emperor said, "But that's not the main reason for revoking their citizenship.  The main reason is this: As observed before, the Circle is a cancer, eating away at the heart of the city.  If the Circle's corrupting influence were removed, then the Crystal Empire, and the Crystal Ponies, will be freed from their taint.  And if I recall correctly, we have a fairly complete list of their membership, thanks to Scarlet Wake's book."
Clearing her throat, Luna said with a grin, "Well, before you start congratulating yourself on your clever ideas, you might want to confirm that the Crystal Heart can do what you think it will."
"Good idea," the changeling admitted, grinning.  "While it would certainly be dramatic to wait until the last minute to find out, it wouldn't be very smart, especially if it turns out that it doesn't work that way."
Turning back towards the relic, Pan asked, "Crystal Heart, do I have the authority to revoke a pony's citizenship?"
"Negative," the relic stated, "only a user with Emperor level clearance may negate a citizen's access to the Crystal Network."
Surprised, Pan said, "But I'm the emperor!"
The Crystal Heart responded, saying, "Negative.  While any pony may potentially be given the title of emperor, that does not give the bearer of that title Emperor level access rights.  Any usurper to the throne could be given that rank, so a security key was created to prevent anypony unworthy from taking control.  Only possession of the Crystal Crown can confirm Emperor level status."
"Oh dear," Pen Stroke said, his expression suddenly worried.
Looking over at the chancellor, Pan asked, "You know something about this?"
Closing his eyes, as if struggling to recall something from the past, Pen Stroke said, "If I recall correctly, I think I may know of this Crystal Crown: Before the Crystal Emperor left, he bestowed upon his subjects the gift of the Crystal Heart, to ensure they could live in peace and harmony here in the frozen north.  However, he also bestowed a second gift upon the one that he chose to rule in his stead, as a sign that the king had the emperor's authority while he was away: A crown, little more than a headband of almost perfectly transparent crystal.  The first king wore the crown with pride all his life, but sadly he died suddenly, shortly after his son came of age.  The new king, being more... materialistic than his father, decided he did not like the current crown, and had it interred with his father.  He commissioned the creation of a new crown.  In fact, he had several made, all of them made from precious gemstones and precious metals... and in all honesty, all of them were embarrassingly gaudy affairs."
Celestia, an eyebrow raised, asked, "So the Crystal Crown would be buried in the tomb of the first Crystal King?"
"Indeed," Pen Stroke admitted.  "We're rather fortunate, in that regard: The royal catacombs are here on the palace grounds, and it would not be difficult to send a party down to retrieve the crown.  Almost no pony goes down there, save when a member of the royal family passes away..."
A new piece entered the jigsaw puzzle inside of Pan's mind.  An ugly, nasty little piece with sharp, jagged edges.  It fell right into place, in the worst possible way...
Gulping, Pan asked, "Pen Stroke, you mentioned that only about three quarters of the wights were accounted for, right?"
Nodding, the chancellor said, "Yes, my lord.  As I said before, Scarlet Wake suspected that the remained wights were kept on Lady Midnight Black's estate."
"That would be a good guess, but a foolish one," the emperor stated, his voice now very worried.  "After all, if somepony stumbled upon them, that would be highly incriminating evidence that would point directly to her.  I suspect that there would be little more than a 'skeleton crew' at her estate, used only for emergencies."  With a sad chuckle, Pan continued, "If I was a bastard, and my father was almost certain that I was, then I wouldn't hide those wights someplace where they could be traced back to me.  I'd hide them someplace where I could make good use of them when the time came for a full-scale coup de tat.  And where would be the best place to hide a large number of corpses?"
Celestia's and Luna's jaws dropped.  Pen Stroke's eyes widened in horror.  Sombra's expression became almost unbearably grim...
"The best place would be somewhere that already holds a large number of dead bodies," Pan said, his tone and expression grave.  "Better yet, hide them someplace where your enemies rarely go, and yet someplace where the wights could be used to strike quickly and decisively when the time came.  In the event of a war, the other deposits of wights would likely be used to encircle the palace, forcing us to try and lock down the grounds, and hole up for an extended siege.  And then, when there's no way out... the wights in the catacombs come out and slaughter everyone in the palace."
"Ironwood, Nopony, and Golden Grace have confirmed that Dream Charmer, sole member of the royal family still present in the city, was a member of the Circle.  She'd know of the catacombs, and would no doubt have had information that could aid in smuggling the wights in."  With a chuckle, Pan said, "Perhaps I am wrong, and all that the party that goes in will face is cobwebs and stale air.  But if I am right, then the only way to take the Crystal Crown will be to wade through a sea of wights."
"A grim picture, milord," Pen Stroke admitted, then added, his expression hopeful, "But as Sombra mentioned, the wights require time, energy, and concentration to awaken and control.  If we are determined to claim the crown, there is a limited window of opportunity in which we can do so."
"Indeed," Pan admitted.  "But there is something that has been worrying me.  While I have no doubt that the Circle has benefited from Dream Charmer's presence in their ranks, she alone could not account for everything that has happened recently."
Surprised, and seeming a little concerned, Luna asked, "What do you mean?"
"Scarlet Wake had an agent infiltrate the palace and provide me with the tainted wine, the one which contained the love poison," Pan said, turning his gaze to the ceiling and seeming to search for answers there.  "And yet, our return to the palace was spur of the moment, allowing for very little time to plan the event.  The fact that Scarlet Wake was able to, within only a day after Sombra's defeat, dredge up a bottle of uniquely drugged wine that was not supposed to exist anymore, seems highly suspicious.  Moreover, how would Scarlet even know of this tainted vintage?  Unless somepony already had the wine here, and had told Scarlet of it.  In that case, all it would have taken was a fire mail message to an agent present in the palace, telling where the wine would be and what to do with it."
"A conspiracy, then, put in place here in the palace itself," Pen Stroke deduced, after a moment's thought.  "I admit, given the... sudden and spontaneous nature of the poisoning, it does seem as if the groundwork had already been laid for it to occur, well before your arrival..."
"You have it exactly right," said a voice as sweet as honey, from the doorway.  
A large, homely mare walked into the room, followed by a pair of guards and a... griffin?  That was definitely surprising.  Craning his head to get a better look, and saw... the griffin in question had the hind legs of a pony.  A hippogriff?  Here?  How?
Still, the mare in question held most of Pan's attention.  She looked to be in fairly bad shape: Bandages covered a noticeable portion of her body, and while some were stained the dull brownish red of dried blood, a few others were... worryingly bright and wet.
"Goldie," Pen Stroke began, his tone one of great worry, "what happened?"
Then this was Golden Tone, Pen Stroke's sister-in-law?  She looked... well, exactly as Pen Stroke had described her earlier today when he'd told the emperor about the plans that the chancellor had made, regarding the investigation of his wife's murder...
The mare chuckled and said, "I did what you wanted, brother-in-law: I went and asked questions.  It seems that some ponies out there didn't like what I was asking.  I've been dodging thugs half the day, and when the sun set, I had some really freaky stuff coming after me."
Startled, Pen asked, "Wights?"
"Well, they sure weren't ponies," 'Goldy' said, chuckling.  "But I finally got a few answers, Pen.  I know exactly who killed Roundelay, and why.  And if I heard what you're discussing right, it may tie everything together."
"Well then, don't leave us in suspense," Pan said, very excited.  There was a piece missing from this puzzle.  One that he felt he could almost grasp, and could help in putting all of this together...
"You were wrong about it being Midnight Black, Pen," Golden Tone began, without preamble.  "The target was your wife, not the queen.  The bottle of wine was given to the royal family, knowing full well it would probably be given to you as a gift.  The assassination was put into motion by Dream Charmer, the disowned daughter of the king and queen.  Dream was insanely jealous of Rondelay, because your wife was getting too close to the queen, becoming something like a surrogate daughter.  While her parents had tried to make her removal from the royal line as gentle and painless as possible, DeeCee was still horribly bitter, and couldn't stand the thought of being replaced by somepony else, especially by a commoner.  She was also still angry with her parents, so even if the king and queen drank the wine instead, she'd have counted it a win.  But that's not the most unbelievable part!"
Pen Stroke, now clearly shocked, asked, "Well, what is?"
Strangely excited, the minstrel exclaimed, "The one responsible for the poisoning itself was Malted Barley, The Royal Tapmaster!  He's been using his role in the palace to murder aristocrats left and right since the end of the Black Feather War.  He'd used it as a means of lining his pockets, as well as to curry favor with the nobility: A number of firstborn sons would have found themselves disowned for... unsavory appetites, had their replacements, or their parents, not met a sudden and tragic end.  It seems he'd been doing the job of an entire assassin's guild, all by himself.  And all of it was so that he could convince them to join some sort of a club he was organizing...  something he called 'The Circle'..."
The largest, and most important, piece of the puzzle fell into place, and the picture it formed in Pan's mind was so colossal, so breath-taking, and so nightmarish that it took Pan's breath away...