//------------------------------// // Rough Start // Story: Cold Confrontations // by Dapper Guy //------------------------------// -Topaz Train Station, Crystal Empire- Coal Vein glanced down at his watch for what seemed to be the fiftieth time today. Standing near the edge of the train platform, the station master could hardly sit still after being informed that royals of Equestria would be arriving soon. Coal could hardly remember feeling such a rush welcoming ponies into the empire. Then again, I can’t remember that clearly after waking up from that curse, he thought dryly. Pocketing his watch back into his uniform, Coal flicked his tail in annoyance. He was never one to fold under pressure but the weight of the situation was beginning to take its toll on his nerves. I don’t know whether to call myself lucky or not. The sound of a train whistle brought him back to reality. A small but rapidly growing trail of white smoke could be seen rising down the line. Alright, here goes nothing. Dusting off his uniform, Coal slicked back his charcoal black mane and tightened his tie. “Everypony, they’re almost here!” Coal’s voice thundered across the platform. Casting a quick glance at the entrance, he could barely see the two guards that had positioned themselves at the entrance of the station. Coal nearly fainted on his hoofs wheb the Royal Crystal Guards had shown up to his front door with a letter addressed from the empress herself this morning.Thankfully he was able to maintain his composure in front of the two stallions while he read the letter. Never thought I’d be the one to welcome two royals to the empire. Coal gave his uniform one last cursory glance to make sure no discrepancies could be seen. It wouldn’t be a very pleasant memory if I looked like I just walked out of the mines. A metallic hiss grated against Coal’s ears as the steam engine came to a halt. Making his way down towards the caboose, Coal stopped at an ornate, purple door on a magenta train car. Trying his best to not lock his knees, the station master stood at the ready to greet the princess. Magenta light encompassed the door. Princess Twilight Sparkle casually walked out onto the platform with saddlebags strapped to her sides. A worn out book was levitating so close in front of Twilight’s face that she didn’t notice that she was about to walk into Coal. Coal felt his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth. “Gre-“ “Oh, I’m sorry,” apologized Twilight, taking a step back from Coal. Failing to realize the dumbfounded look on Coal’s face, Twilight closed the book and placed it in her bags. “I swear that’s got to be the fifth time I’ve done that. I couldn’t just put down this book. Well I could’ve but I couldn’t when I was getting into the more informative part of it.” Coal stood as still as stone as Twilight continued to ramble on. An ache in his legs began to grow as she continued to talk to him. “Ahem.” Prince Blueblood stood in the center of his doorway, his eyes trained on Coal. Coal bolted over to Blueblood’s train car and immediately bowed his head. “Greeting, Prince Blueblood. On behalf of the Crystal Empire, we welcome you to our fair nation.” Coal raised his head up but was met with only an empty smile from the prince. “Wonderful,” Blueblood said. Stepping out with his head held high, the prince walked over to Twilight. “Well, princess, do you wish to simply walk to the Crystal Spire or should we hail a carriage?” “Excuse me, your majesties,” spoke up Coal. “A carriage was already brought for you, courtesy of the Crystal Empress. If you would, please follow me.” Coal felt a bead of sweat trail down his mane. This wasn’t what he had in mind when he was told to greet royalty. As Twilight and Blueblood were led to the carriage, a reflection of light caught Twilight’s attention. Two crystal pony guards were standing by at both sides of the entrance to the station. Beyond them was another pair standing in front of the carriage that she assumed was meant for them. Taking a look around, she noticed that a fair amount of guards could be seen scattered around the train station. “Your majesties, it was an honor meeting with you.” With a final bow, Coal left leaving Twilight and Blueblood to the guards. “Princess Sparkle and Prince Blueblood, we are happy to see that you have arrived on time,” announced the guard in a flat tone. “I am Lieutenant Diamond Shield. We are here to escort you and the prince to the empress immediately. They are eagerly waiting for your arrival at the Crystal Spire.” A rather tall guard opened the carriage door for them. Giving a small thank you, Twilight leaned back in her seat as Blueblood took the seat opposite of her. As soon as the door was closed, the carriage immediately began to move. Poking her head out the window, Twilight drank in the view of the ancient kingdom that was brought back to life. She was never able to explore the sights when she first arrived. The architecture, the animals, even the crystal ponies were just so fascinating to even look at. All of this, a piece of Equestrian history, had been gone for a thousand years because of a curse by a mad king. As they made their way into the central hub of the empire, Twilight felt like she was in main street of Manehatten. Vendors were calling out to anypony to take a look at their wares. Bargains were struck and deals were being made. It looked like merchants from all parts of Equestria were out on the streets. A mule was selling potted plants and fertilizer at his stall. Next to him was a griffoness selling talon crafted bags on a rather worn looking mat. A small crystal filly was selling what looked like crystal apples for a few bits in baskets outside of her house. Her tiny head was barely visible over the baskets of fruit as a grey minotaur examined her produce. The two seemed to be haggling over the filly’s prices. “Enjoying the sights, princess?” quipped Blueblood. Ignoring the snide comment, Twilight continued to stare out into the world. Everything seemed so new for an empire that was gone for a thousand years. Suddenly, Twilight noticed something peculiar out of the corner of her eye. A young colt was slowly keeping pace with the carriage. Not too fast that he’d bump into somepony but not outright sprinting to make his intent obvious. The colt seemed to notice that she had spotted him and changed from a hurried pace into a full-on gallop. Blueblood turned his attention outside as he watched the colt begin to charge at the carriage. When the colt broke away from the crowds, Twilight was able to finally catch a clear look of him. An orange crystal pony charged towards her with a small black bag hanging around his neck. A small set of scars were etched into forelegs. As he neared the carriage, he skidded to a halt before reaching into his bag and pulling out a small spherical object. Winding back his foreleg, the colt hurled the object in a wide arc straight at Twilight with all of his might . Fwish! A clear purple barrier surrounded the carriage in an instant, drawing everypony’s attention to it. A moldy tomato exploded against the dome’s surface, putrid juices started running down the sides as a rotting stench began to fill the air. The orange colt ran back into the crowds, promptly making a quick escape while everypony was too busy distracted by the sudden turn of events. Guards responded by surrounding the carriage. Diamond Shield could be heard barking orders to the guards, while Twilight dispelled the barrier spell. Everypony in the area began to backaway from the scene of the attack. Diamond Shield threw open the door of the carriage with such incredible force Twilight thought he almost ripped it off its hinges. “Prince Blueblood, Princess Twilight. Are the both of you alright?” Blueblood gave Shield a rather miffed look but answered with a “yes.” Twilight could feel legs shaking from the sudden attack but gave the officer a small “yes,” as well. "Did either of you see your assialant?" inquired Shield in a hoarse voice. "Yes. I did. It was young colt, hardly out of his teens. He was orange and had scars across his legs," recounted Twilight. Diamond Shield winced when Twilight finished her description of the would be attacker. “Private Graphite and Wingcolt Jade, front and center!” commanded Shield. One grey unicorn and a lime green Pegasus ran towards the lieutenant and saluted. “Fan out and find whoever just threw that tomato at royalty. Snap to it!” Both guards snapped a quick salute before heading off into the dwindling crowds. Shield called over another pair of guards, relayed another set of orders and sent them off towards vendors. “Your majesties, I hope you will forgive my lack of attention,” apologized Shield. “We will double time to the Crystal Spire immediately.” As soon as the carriage door was closed, Twilight was thrown back into her seat as it lunged forward. The sound of metal horseshoes clanged against the stony road as the guards pulled the carriage at breakneck speed. Twilight cringed inwardly at the thought of how painful it was to run in guard’s armor, especially when they were pulling a carriage with two ponies inside. -Crystal Spire, Crystal Empire- A few minutes later the carriage came to an abrupt halt, nearly catapulting Twilight out of her seat. A small platoon of crystal guards were stationed outside of the main doors. Each one of the guards was covered in a full suite of crystal armor and a helm with a visor. Not a single part of their bodies were exposed, each one was covered from mane to hoof. All the of the guards were equipped with lances held tightly in hoof. As the two royals stepped out into the open, two of the armored guards broke away from the formation and began to walk towards Twilight and Blueblood. Diamond Shield cut the two guards off, barring them from the royals. “I have information that must be reported to the empress. There was another public incident.” The crystal armored guard stood still for a time until finally nodding his head. The pair of armored guards stepped to the side, allowing the three of them passage into the Spire. After passing through the doors, Shield turned to face the royal pair. “Your majesties, I had hoped for your arrival in the empire had been less eventful in a sense. What had happened earlier was one of the most recent outlandish acts against royalty.” Shield removed his helmet, revealing an oblong scar running along the top his head. It ran through his mane and on to his ear, tapering off at the end. “As you can see, such acts can become increasingly violent. I am thankful that wasn’t the case in today’s situation,” he said as he donned his helmet again. “What’s happened to the Crystal Empire?” blurted out Twilight. She could see that even Blueblood looked surprised by this unnerving news. “I will explain everything as soon as we reach the Empress and Prince Shining Armor in the meeting hall.” The three walked in absolute silence as they made their way up the Spire. Odd, I never heard of such things happening in the Crystal Empire. What other surprises will be in store for me here? Blueblood wondered. He had seen public outcries before. As a prince, he had seen the odd vagrant try to make a statement by performing some insipid act in the past. This, however, was on a completely different scale. The perpetrator had decided to assault him in broad daylight. Either the state of the empire has finally reached a boiling point, or somepony thought they were actually making some kind of message. How sad. Blueblood looked to his left, watching Twilight as she continued to observe the interior of the Crystal Empire. His thought went back to the little tiff they had inside of his train car. Blueblood was well aware of Twilight’s her keen intellect and comprehensive skills. So naturally, this would’ve been an easy lesson for her to grasp. To his dismay, everything he said was overanalyzed or questioned so heavily he would just drop the subject. After several glasses of wine, it became painfully obvious to him that Twilight was clearly unable to understand the basics of politics. Well, it looks like it falls to me to make sure this whole ordeal will end on a good note. Not to mention that other thing, Blueblood recalled as he adjusted his trademark collar. Steel Wheel’s muzzle popped into his head a few times on the ride down. He was resourceful type, despite being a pegasus. He’d have to deal with his request as soon as everything else was wrapped up. “Lieutenant Shield, what has been Empress Cadance been doing since she began to rule the Crystal Empire?” Twilight asked. With the “The empress has been locking herself away recently in the record room. Well, at least what’s left of it,” Shield replied. “When Sombra had taken over, his only interest seemed to be in arcane tomes. Everything was superfluous to him in his desire for power. All of the books that kept track of anything in the empire were left to rot or simply thrown away. We haven't been able to recover everything that was lost but we've done all that we could.” “Now that Empress Cadance has assumed the throne, she’s been dedicating herself to undo all the damage that tyrant had done. It has been a rather tiring affair,” continued Shield. “For days she’ll be locked away, barely eating or sleeping for that matter. Servants go in and out of her chambers but she hasn’t made a public appearance in nearly six days.” Twilight listened to what Shield was saying but couldn’t help but worry about the alicorn of love. From what she understood, Cadance may have been in a tighter bind then what Celestia may have guessed. After the fourth flight of stairs, Shield led them down a hall compromised entirely of sapphires. Shield stopped in front of a pair of double doors with rubies along the frame. “This is the meeting hall, your majesties. Empress Cadance will no doubt be able to answer all of your questions.” I hope so, Twilight thought as Shield opened the door to the meeting hall.