-Royal Conference Room, Crystal Palace-
Empress Cadance sat at the end of a pure white marble table, buried up to her neck in paper work. Her usually well kempt, purple and yellow mane, hung loosely around her face in an untidy fashion. Brushing away a few strands from her eyes, Cadance readjusted the straps on the royal crystal regalia around her neck.
All along the table was what could only be described as a sea of paperwork. Tomes, tablets and thousands of odd pieces of paper covered every square inch of it. A purple crystal pony was carefully balancing several ledgers on her back, standing within hoof’s reach of Cadance. No, no, no. This is even worse that we initially thought.
“My empress, I have brought Princess Twilight and Prince Blueblood, as you commanded.” Diamond took a moment to pause, and added, “I also request to wait for Prince Shining Armor to join us. I have urgent news to discuss with him.”
Cadance felt her joints pop and click as she rose up from her seat. “Twilight, Prince Blueblood, it’s a relief to that the two of you arrived here unharmed.”
Both Twilight and Blueblood performed a small curtsey before rising up. “Well it is truly an honor to meet with you, Empress Cadance. It has been far too long since we were able to talk without the paparazzi harassing us in public.”
Cadance gave the unicorn prince a knowing smile. “Well now, will you all please take a seat with me at the table? Prince Shining is almost done debriefing the guard; he will be joining us in a while.”
Blueblood immediately placed himself in the chair on Cadance’s right while Twilight sat on the second from her left to save a seat for Shining Armor. Always the one to get close to those in power, as always, Blueblood. “Amethyst Shine, I need you to stay as well.”
“Yes, empress.” Amethyst picked up the ledgers from the floor. Squaring away the books on the table, Amethyst took a seat one chair away from Twilight.
“Princess Twilight and Prince Blueblood, I have no doubt that Princess Celestia has informed you of the current predicament that the Crystal Empire is facing?” Both of them nodded in confirmation.
“Princess Celestia told us that the Empire is in desperate need of resources and we need to act soon,” Twilight answered, while Blueblood remained silent.
“That is correct. One of the first things I did when I became the Crystal Empress was to check the royal treasury.” A large, raggedy book that Amethyst had placed on the table earlier began to levitate in an aura of blue magic. It landed in front of Blueblood, sending up a small plume of dust. “If our current projections are accurate, the Crystal Empire will not likely last beyond half a year.” Her words carried an air of finality in them.
Blueblood’s eyes roved over the ledger, not even bothering to look up at Cadance. “We have received aid from Princess Celestia for the past few months; however, it won’t be enough.”
Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but immediately closed it before letting a sound escape. Why did she say Celestia’s title with such, anger?
“Did you have a question, Twilight?” asked Cadance, taking note of the purple alicorn’s look of concern.
“Yes, I was wondering how you were able to keep everything together,” she lied.
Whether or not Cadance could see through her falsehood, the empress continued where she left off. “Celestia knew that the empire’s curse would soon expire, so she decided to form a reconstruction project for the railways. As luck would have it, something unexpected happened. When the excavation team finally arrived, they were greeted by a group of reindeer pioneers.”
Both Blueblood and Twilight sat up a bit straighter at the mention of reindeer. Cadance continued, “An archaeological dig group was on their annual trip to the Crystal Empire. For the past one hundred years, they’ve traveled over the Crystal Mountains and have been studying the curse that was cast by Sombra. They had deduced that the curse was close to breaking, but not exactly when it would break. That was when Celestia and the reindeer began to devise new plans for when the Crystal Empire would return.”
Cadance took a small sip of mineral water from a glass by her side before continuing. “One interesting fact that she learned was that the Crystal Empire and Buckland had held close ties before its disappearance. When the empire was enslaved, the reindeer of Buckland retreated back to their homeland. All traces of them in Equestria were subsequently erased from history.”
Twilight could barely restrain a welling sense of pure anticipation. She barely noticed that she had been slowly leaning closer to Cadance. So much history, so many lost stories. I could publish a book on everything I could rediscover and share with the rest of Equestria. She had thoughts of university professors and famed historians lining up to meet her for signed copies. A small cough brought her back to the present from the white stallion across from her.
Blueblood cocked an eyebrow at Twilight. “As amazing as all of that sounds, how does any of that pertain to our journey, Empress?”
“I was just about to explain that, Prince Blueblood,” Cadance retorted with a snort. “Buckland helped Equestria rebuild the railways for the Crystal Empire without asking for anything in return.”
“I find it hard to believe that they didn’t ask for anything, Empress,” said Blueblood through narrowed eyes.
“Not everypony expects a reward for helping those in need.” Prince Shining Armor entered the room in his trademark captain uniform. He walked with a soldier’s bearing, his eyes fixated on Blueblood. “I wasn’t aware that you were going to be escorting my sister to the Crystal Empire, Prince Blueblood.”
Blueblood turned to face Cadance with a skeptical look on his face. His only response from Cadance was a sheepish grin while Shining Armor took a seat next to her. “I see that you are unaware, Prince Armor, of what I’m doing here,” he said. “Aunt Celestia has tasked me with being an ambassador alongside Princess Twilight.”
Although the prince of the Crystal Empire didn’t even so much as flinch, the tension in the air was palpable to everypony sitting at the table. “I see. I hadn’t been informed of this... altercation.”
“We’re getting off topic,” interjected Cadance loudly, trying to dispel the bubbling anger in the air. “When the Crystal Empire did reemerge and Sombra’s spirit was rooted out, Buckland established their embassy here. Soon they were sending supplies, materials, anything we needed from beyond the Crystal Mountains. We paid for what we could, but that’s when the real issue surfaced.”
An ivory scroll tied with a red ribbon materialized in a burst of blue sparks right above Twilight. “That document empowers Princess Celestia’s right, as one of the di-archs of Equestria, to supersede my authority in any future matters.”
The scroll unfurled itself, the parchment rolling down on to the table. A large golden C with a green V right below it were stamped onto the bottom of the page. Cadance’s wings visibly shifted, breaking her perfect composure. “She felt it was necessary for her to oversee all trade negotiations. After a few months, the Prime Minister of Buckland and Princess Celestia met here. They both came up with a final solution.”
Cadance rose up out of her seat for the first time since starting her meeting. “The two of you will be escorted by a reindeer of their choosing, into Buckland. You will be delegating any future long standing trade establishments as well as showing Buckland that Equestria welcomes them back onto our lands.”
“Amethyst,” began Cadance, causing the crystal pony to shuffle in her seat, “will be joining you as well. She’s going to help with your coaching and is well versed in the ‘cervidae’ language and dialect.”
Twilight felt her stomach dance a flamenco as the implications began to grow. “Cadance, when will be leaving for Buckland?”
“We can expect the ambassador sometime within the next two to four days. The Northern Wilds are notorious for their erratic changes in weather.” Cadance paused a moment to choose her words. “In that time, I will see to it that you both be brought up to speed on everything you will need to know about Buckland. From the smallest formalities to the largest social taboos. I, no, the Crystal Empire needs this.”
Cadance clapped her hooves together three times in rapid succession. Two crystal pony servants entered the room, dressed in matching suits. “Starting tomorrow, we will begin your formal education on Buckland. Until then, please enjoy the rest of your day. Diamond and Pearl, please direct our guests to their quarters.”
As soon as the door clicked shut, Cadance reclined back into her chair. Shining Armor rested a hoof on his wife’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me Blueblood was going to be involved with my sister?” he inquired.
Cadance gave Shining a guilty look before sitting up straight. “Shining, I know how protective you are of Twilight. If I had told you, I have no doubt that you would’ve written to Celestia to beg her to reconsider.”
Shining Armor stared at his wife, cold anger burning behind his deep, blue eyes. “You’re right,” admitted Shining Armor. Adjusting the cuffs on his uniform, he looked over to Diamond Shield. “Soldier, I believe you had a report?”
“Yes, sir.” Diamond Shield retold every detail of the earlier incident. Shining’s face went from calm, to enraged, to proud, and then finally back to calm. “Sir, I will say this now, even in front of the Empress: I take full responsibility for failing to keep a proper watch.”
“At ease, Shield. You’re positive that our perpetrator was hardly older than a teenager?”” asked Shining Armor. Shield removed his helmet, letting his sweat drenched mane fall around his face. “Go over everything in detail.”
“I believe so, sir. With information compromised from our latest reports, it would seem most of these would-be attackers are generally young. Hazarding a guess, I’d be willing to group that at least sixty percent are in their late teens.”
Captain Shining Armor tapped a hoof against the crystal floor. In the past four months, small incidents with young ponies seemed to be popping up. Until recently, most of these crimes were rather tame, rarely bordering on what could be dubbed a terroristic level. “This goes far beyond their usual modus operandi. What we had here is deliberate intent to harm.”
“I agree, Sir. Shall I give the order for the guard to be on the lookout for this pony?” Diamond Shield waited patiently as Shining Armor furrowed his brows in thought.
Cadance silently fumed at the thought of somepony harming Twilight. She knew that now that somepony had attempted to harm his sister, Shining wouldn’t hold back to apprehend the culprit.
“I want a full scale investigation, Shield. We will not wait for the next one. We’re nipping this evil in the bud, now.” Diamond Shield snapped to attention and saluted before exiting the room. Shining waited until the door clicked before turning to face Cadance, “I knew we should’ve put out a watch for them earlier.”
Cadance nodded her head. “We couldn’t have foreseen this happening. What’s done is done.” The royal couple exited the room and made their way up the stairs. “I’m sure you’re going to have a ‘talk’ with Blueblood, Shining. Don’t tell me you won’t,” Cadance said, silencing her husband. “All I ask is that you don’t go overboard with him, okay?”
“I promise.” Not to go that far overboard. Sharing one final kiss, the two went their separate ways.
-Royal Guestroom, Crystal Spire-
Twilight sat on her bed, a book laid open on top of the sheets. After being escorted into her room, the saw that a pile of books had been stacked by her bedside with a note on top.
Twily, found these in the Royal Archives in the Crystal Library. I’m sure you’ll like them.
-Cadance
As soon as she had flipped open the cover, Twilight became enthralled by the book’s contents. “I can’t believe how Crystal Ponies can shape the earth like this,” Twilight muttered to herself. A sudden knock at the door pulled her attention away. “Come in.” Out of everypony inside the Spire, Twilight didn’t expect Cadance to come to her room so soon. “Cadance!”
“Sunshine, sunshine.
Ladybugs awake!
Clap your hooves!
And do a little shake!”
The two princesses laughed as they completed their old song, “You don’t know how much I wanted to do that as soon as I saw you," Cadance said. Removing her regalia and placing it on Twilight’s bed, she shared a tight hug with Twilight.
“Twilight, I’m sorry for what happened in the marketplace,” apologized Cadance.
“I’ve wanted to talk to you about that. Why was somepony throwing rotten tomatoes?” Twilight observed Cadance’s rapidly changing expressions. She had a feeling in the pit of her chest that her explanation wasn’t going to be a pleasant one.
Cadance steadied herself, “Twilight, were you able to see who it was that attacked you?”
Twilight flinched at the way Cadance worded her sentence. “Well, it wasn’t so much of an attack, I would call it. I just saw a young colt throw a tomato at the carriage.”
Worry flickered over Cadance’s face as soon as Twilight had said the word "young." “Twilight, there’s something you should know. In recent months, a ragtag group of ponies, most of them young, have been slandering Shining Armor and I. Most of these attacks were on a small scale, but they’ve become more bold. An outright attack is not something we can just brush off.”
Twilight stood there, mouth agape, as Cadance continued her explanation. “The attacks have been few and far between. Nothing too serious that weren’t able to stamp out. Today, however, was the breaking point for both of us. Shining will now be sending out random sweeps to find these ponies.”
Twilight felt an icy hoof rove up her spine at the seriousness of Cadance’s words. “What’s going on , Cadance? You’ve protected these ponies from Sombra, even returned the Crystal Heart back to them. What’s happening in the Crystal Empire?”
The alicorn inhaled and let out a long, drawn out sigh. “I honestly wish I knew myself, Twilight.” Cadance walked over to a window and pushed open the pane. “Look outside and tell me, what do you see?”
Perplexed by the question, Twilight stared down at the Crystal Empire below her. Thousands of ponies were outside, enjoying a crisp autumn day. Nothing that would be considered out of the ordinary. Some were bartering at the stalls in the market. She could make out a small family of four sitting on a blanket in a park. Life seemed normal. “I see ponies enjoying a sunny day,” answered Twilight.
Cadance shook her head, “On the surface, yes.” Closing the window, Cadance walked over to Twilight’s bed. Grasping a thick, red book in her magic, she began to flip through the pages. “However, beneath those smiling faces are groups of ponies who wish to do away with me. As of right now, I’m hanging onto the Crystal Empire by a thread. A thread that is unraveling faster by the minute."
Cadance levitated the book over to Twilight. The page in front of her showed a tree with names written inside of the branches. While half of the picture was intact, the other half was smeared as if a messy foal had splashed ink on it. “That book shows my great, great, great, great, great grandmother, Princess Amore. She was the ruler of the Crystal Empire before Sombra conquered it.”
“So then you are, in fact, the true heir to the throne.” Twilight tapped her hoof against the floor. “Still, why would the crystal ponies be against you if they know you’re a direct descendant of their princess?”
Cadance delicately placed the book back on the bed. “When Sombra stole away the throne, he also wiped out all of the noble houses and anypony with ties to them.”
Twilight watched as Cadance slumped to the floor. She hadn’t noticed how exhausted she looked. A few pinions had dropped from her wings, her coat a tinge greyer than the usually light pink. “As soon as Shining and I settled in, we were faced with a power struggle by nearly everypony. Each one came to us seeking restitution from Sombra’s reign. I couldn’t deny my ponies, but I couldn’t give them everything that they wanted at the time either.
“So now I’m faced with three different factions. The first are those who see me as the rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire. These are the ponies who don’t mind that I’ve ascended to the Crystal Throne. The second and third groups are an entire bushel of rotten apples.”
A small picture began to form in the air. It stretched and weaved until a picture of the Crystal Heart formed. Around the artifact was a broken chain, with tiny lettering that spelled out ‘Liberty’. “This is the sigil of the Crystal Liberation Militia. There a motley crew of vagabonds that wish to see me off the throne and a ‘True' Crystal pony put in my place. They’re backed by a majority of the old nobility and have flooded my courts for months with petitions and calls for action.”
The picture violently tore itself apart, catching Twilight off guard. The colors began to swirl around in the air, shifting and shaping into a new picture. It began to stretch out and elongate until it started to form a coiled purple snake with green fins along its edge. “This is the mark of the ‘Draconic Liberation Front.' they believe that since Spike was the one who carried the Heart, he’s the one who should lead the Empire.”
Twilight felt her eyes cross at the sudden news, “They want Spike to take the throne?”
Cadance let out a sad laugh as she cancelled the spell, “As much of a joke as we see it, Twilight, the crystal ponies are dead serious. They’ve been under a curse for a thousand years and are dealing with an entirely different Equestria. I believe that the colt who attacked you was part of this group. They recruit the young and the weak to fight for their cause. Their tactics have grown in numbers and levels of violence. Their philosophy holds an ‘ends justify the means’ outlook. Nothing is forbidden to use against me to chase me off the throne.”
Pulling a book from a shelf above the bed, Cadance levitated it towards Twilight. “At first, we could contain the small outbursts of unrest, but with winter beginning to nip at our flanks, more weight has been placed on us. I’m afraid I won’t be able to save these ponies from themselves.”
A violet wing brushed away a budding tear from Cadance’s eyes. “You’ve done so much for them, Cadance. No matter what anypony says, there’s no other pony who’s heart is strong enough to guide them through this.”
For the first time since starting her rule over the Crystal Empire, Empress Cadance felt a sensation of relief, that everything would just be fine, fill her heart. “Thank you, Twilight.”