The Munificent and Magnanimous Crystal Empress, Trixie Lulamoon Midsummer

by Archmage Ansrit

Shine your way

"Are you sure that the Equestrians will not realize the deception?" A changeling asked, nervously pulling one of the sleds where the more vulnerable members of their group weathered the cold. Adjusting the dark visor meant to diminish the glare from the snow and gulping nervously, the changeling spoke again.

"I know your group did fancy and dangerous magic back there, but, are you sure?"

A bandaged hoof, apparently armored in amethyst-colored metal gauntlets with tiny claws, rose from that very sled.

"If they do notice something, they deserve to notice. That was some high-quality sneaking back there." The mare, owner of the hoof, spoke tiredly - even after days had passed. "Even a cutie mark in detective-work won't help you - not by itself."

"If you say so." The changeling sighed, wings almost buzzing, were they not under thick layers of winter clothing.

"I do say so. Plus, with the conveniently-timed 'attack' of the Timberwolf Emperor, the other group got away nicely, too."

"We'll be there next morning at the latest!" The caravan leader shouted, making cheers erupt from the whole gathering.

"You are awfully happy to leave Equestria behind." Another changeling, this one carrying saddlebags with supplies, commented to a stallion who was strapped to another sled.

"Oh, I wonder why would that be..." The pony replied sarcastically. "Maybe it is because Celestia banished my wife - my very visibly pregnant wife, I might add - to Tartarus, without a trial, just because she is a succubus whose disguise failed at the wrong time. Ah! And let us not forget the part when it was declared that I was suffering from 'chronic mental distortion' and all but labeled legally insane and thrown into the mental ward by Cadence because they could not even think of the possibility that I might actually love her anyways!"

The stallion was panting at the end of his rant, having stubbornly insisted on doing physical labor - and yelling during it - despite not being all that fit.

"Honey, your anger will make the baby cry again." From the stallion's sled, another mare with clawed hooves scolded in a stage whisper tone, then, she turned to the changeling. "Don't worry too much; Lilim is one of the Paladins of Tartarus, and no creature there, not even the insane ones, would cross them - it'll bring at least another two down on them, hard. Having your great-great-great-and many more greats-great-grandmother as one of the chiefs of the Wardens gives you a very high degree of safety; she's best friends with Lamia and Melusine, after all."

"You are even angrier than I am." The stallion pointed out, flicking his ear and snorting. "All I had to do was see my life falling to pieces, you are the one that had to care for a foal in there."

"True, but Lilim told me something that I found quite useful: If you cannot do anything about it, then why worry? If you can do something about it, then why worry? Rest assured, if I can make any of the two feel sorry about what they did to us, I will." She growled the last part, one of her hooves - the one not holding her foal - briefly glowed an acidic green.

Meanwhile, around the middle of the group, a changeling, helping with the heating spells to guard the more sensitive of the pilgrims, faltered.

He caught himself, but stared off to the distance.

He was feeling love coming his way; potent, honest love. He had no idea of how, since being able to feel it at a distance meant that it was love given to him because of him, not just in spite of him... Somepony out there loved him without caring for his status as a changeling. Sure, the ponies and so-called 'demons' around him were respecting him, some giving him their friendship, but somepony out there was more than just acquainted with him.

It just wasn't possible. He was a captain! He was much more discrete than other changelings, and more individualistic, to boot. He did not use a hive mind that often, or with that many members even when it happened - the most changelings he had linked deeply with were five, during the rescue of their unjustly-imprisoned fellows, and even then he left them to their own devices for the most part...

Alright, so not being domineering and letting them take so many choices for themselves was part of the reason he was so liked in his hive, but it was no enough to justify the influx. The relationships he did have with those that knew him well were almost strictly professional, since his task was to stay hidden and supervise those that did go into pony society and make friends to harvest love.

He shook the snow out of his mane, and checked once more that the sleds with the half-serpent ponies were fine. He did not know why Lamia's children would go north instead of getting back to Saddle Arabia, but he was not about to give them a hard time.

The ponies had done enough of that.

*****

The Bold and Relentless Trixie spearheaded the incursion to the territories of the kitchen, which were taken without resistance (there was nopony to resist, nevertheless, it was a valid account of the event). With her army of foals, the Adjective and Other-Adjective Trixe was unstoppable!

She needed a little extra push, however; one of her eyes was blurry and unfocused, and she was certain that her smile was staying up on prayers alone.

The pantry was well-stocked, though regrettably devoid of coffee; the Foresightful and Ever-Prepared Trixie knew it was a possible outcome ('Come on, they've been gone for over a thousand years'), so she had a few emergency rations.

"Rosetta Latte, I could kiss you." She mumbled as she took out a jar of instant coffee out of her hat - thanking whoever it was that decided to invent storage spells in the process - and taking a long, deep sniff of the plantly miracle. "Hay, Trixie would add you to her herd in a heartbeat."

After exploring the pantry some more, she turned to address the foals.

"Now, those who like these... shining berries Trixie has on her hoof, please raise yours." She asked them, lowering the aforementioned hoof for all to see. The response was unanimous, with some of the foals jumping in excitement.

"Ah!" A pegasus mare - a servant, apparently - gasped at the sight that she had stumbled across. "M-mu-mistress! Wha-what are you doing out of bed, and working in the kitchen so early?"

Trixie, though wishing to take care of her caffeine deficiency before dealing with other ponies, did not miss the nervousness of the servant- oops, better make that plural. There was a small crowd of ponies gazing almost-fearfully at the interior of the kitchen.

"Auntie Lula is making pancakes!" Was the general response from the foals.

'The buck's a pancake?' The mare mouthed, furrowing her brows in confusion; Trixie paid the gesture no mind.

'Wait, "auntie"?' Was the mare's next thought, but by then it was too late to ask.

"Indeed, the Trustworthy and Reliable Trixie is making breakfast for the foals, as she had stated a desire that the foals left homeless - either by Sombra or other circumstances - be cared for in all aspects." She answered, gathering the ingredients with her magic as she spoke. "Trixie is merely keeping her word, and remembering that the majordomo said that Sombra had kept a large stock of foodstuffs that could see use to fulfill Trixie's goals."

The maid(?) noticed Trixie's calm, yet resolute, tone of voice, and the care with which she moved the foals about so that they could see how she mixed the ingredients she had gathered.

"But, by yourself, mistress?" The maid asked tentatively; she knew Trixie was worlds different from Sombra, but she did not expect her to do the labor herself.

"If need be; though, given the amount of foals that need feeding, help would be appreciated." She smiled as she poured the very first crystal berry pancake in history - shooing away a little filly so that she would not touch the (hot!) stove.

"Ah! Right away!" The servants spazzed out for a second as they tried to jump into action, show their respect to Trixie, mind the foals currently occupying the dining hall and kitchen, and process Trixie's attitude all at the same time.

"This is what you have to do to make pancakes..."

*****

"Court?" The now Satiated and Caffeinated Trixie blinked. The advisor of the previous king (previous to Sombra, that is), a pegasus with a thick mustache by the name of Golden Quill, had just asked whether they should hold a celebration or court as customary.

"I cannot speak for the masses, but it might help reestablish a sense of normalcy and security; a celebration, on the other hoof, might lift spirits and increase the flow of positive emotions into the Crystal Heart." The stallion, yellow with an auburn mane and an inkpot and scroll cutie mark, bowed respectfully as he spoke.

Trixie reached with a hoof, took her hat from the really pink filly that had been playing with it, and put it on her own head.

"The reasons are easy to understand, but why would you ask Trixie to attend court?" She tilted her head; the foals turned curiously towards her.

"Attend?" And then it hit him. "Oh, no... we are asking if Your Highness is going to hold court."

Inside of her mind, her train of thought suddenly collided with a mountain that dropped out of nowhere. Logic almost bit it, but Self-Preservation had been in so many brushes with death that she could keep her head cool and/or react in a split-second, heroically pulling the wounded Logic out of the wreckage. Logic took a nasty hit to the head, and wasn't breathing, but Self-Preservation was a stubborn mare, and inhaled...

Lust, despite being forgotten, and, in fact, thanks to it, was witnessing the moment... the horrible future might have changed Trixie, but there was still some of the Self-Biased and Narcissistic Trixie left in a few aspects - particularly without somepony to call her out on it and return her to reality - , so she thought it was hot, thus utterly ruining the moment. A thought made it throught the haze, nonetheless; the crash happened because ponies were thelling her that she was their queen, or even empress.

The Real and Whole Trixie, having her thoughts salvaged and her ability to reason stabilized (and her ego inflated), laughed haughtily yet nervously...

She still needed a couple of seconds.

"Trixie asks that you bear with her, this might sound a little rude, but she feels the need to ask: Why would she be considered for this? Trixie would be most grateful for your Honesty, and begs you to dispense with the formalities."

The stallion smiled gently, making him look like her grandfather for a moment, mustache and all.

"When we all had lost ourselves to our despair, you brought hope!" His voice was soft, and his warm, throaty chuckles made some of the foals giggle. "You personally did... something to erase all traces of the magics that were so cruelly cast upon us. And just look around you, and tell me what you see."

Trixie did so.

"Dazzle sitting pressed against T-my hooves." The really pink earth filly that had worn her hat. "Silver Shoes, rubbing his full belly." A unicorn colt with a grey coat. "Star Dust..." She was interrupted by a hoof as she looked at a unicorn filly with a silvery and yellow mane.

"That, and the efficiency with which you took control of the situation, makes us believe you are what we need to - as you yourself said - 'leave the pain behind us, build a better future, and make Sombra stay as the unpleasant memory he is'."

She thought about it.

She did, indeed, bust out the knowledge and experience she had gained getting the part of the rebellion she was at to stay organized, doubly so after Swarm died... had she really given them an impression of leadership strong enough to get them to...? Surely she hadn't...

'Give... myself self-doubt-free credit, huh?' She thought.

She might not have been the top rung of the ladder, overall, but she still had a part to play; defending the hidden settlements, organizing the ones under her care, training both for herself and others, and many more activities to ensure that something of Equestria survived.

This was remarkably similar despite the near-polar opposite circumstances, albeit in a much larger scale. This was not some forest hamlet with secret gardens, or cave dwellings where they farmed mushrooms; she was being asked to help a whole city that was many times larger than Ponyville.

It didn't help that the Crystal Empire was an enigma, not from being too isolated, but rather, because it was too new. Quill looked old enough to be a second generation crystal pony, third, if age wasn't kind to him; the youngest foals following her were around the fifth. She knew this from the princesses' own admittance.

The whole place began as an experiment. They were loyal to the family that grew the freaking place, which was almost lost after Sombra killed them to steal their knowledge. Cadence, despite being descended from the survivors, didn't know a thing about how the place worked any more than the princesses did.

Had she succeeded, the crystal ponies would have given her their allegiance just like they were offering Trixie.

Wait, why was she even considering it? It wasn't like she had something against Cadence taking the throne... maybe she just wanted their approval. Yes, that had to be it. She was still herself; still looking for the acceptance of a crowd. She had to stop doing that. She would make her own way through.

Ugh. Cadence would arrive in four days, thankfully without any black crystal golems nor hypnotized ponies on the streets.

"I feel that a celebration is in order." She said, measuring her words to control herself, giving gentle pats to the head to the foal nearest to her (Emerald Glitter). "As for restoring the city, I have... experience in the administration of resources. I still do not know what to think... it is an honor, yet I am still unsure. I need time to think - I did not desire to rule when I set out to give you back your freedom, I merely sought to ensure that Sombra would be stopped."

Quill bowed.

"It shall be as you wish."

Author's Note:

The succubus pony design is based on fanart. I know it's not meant to be a succubus, but I saw it on someone else's story and it just felt perfect. I can't take the DMFA succubi out of my head, either.

They are similar to changelings and, like changelings, have a similar weakness. They might have very varied, strong abilities, but they lack the 'magical fortitude/stamina' of a pony - if a cubi and a pony fight, with no tricks or preparation, it would take really strong cubi with deeper reserves than average to beat the pony in a straight-up confrontation. They do not need to feed on emotion like changelings, but it does replenish their magic. Lilith was basically EoS Tirek, but without aiming that high nor with the desire (or ability) to just drain every pony like that - plus, the way I see it, it is neither un-blockable, nor un-counterable, thus the need to make the victim vulnerable by some means (in Lilith's case, seduction, earning the 'cubi a reputation as seducers without shame, and her tendency to drain ponies so much made others think of them as soul-sucking monsters).

Of course, alternatively, you can just do like the majority (both cubi and changeling) and just be nice about it, without taking any more than you need.

Lilith tangled with Celestia; she had used disguises and shapeshifting to get close to her; after finding out, Celestia was in a state of confusion and emotional turmoil, which gave Lilith the upper hand through most of the (undesired) confrontation - although she almost killed Celestia, it wasn't intentional. Celestia is afraid of lilins - more than she already was, anyways - because of that.

Timberwolf Emperor.

I think there should be a drinking game - whenever she says her own name, down one. When she's being referred to with two adjectives, take one and a half - unless those adjectives are Great and Powerful, in which case take two. Subtract one if she speaks of herself in first person, subtract half if she starts to talk of herself in third, but catches herself. Your liver will fail looong before I get anywhere with the plot.

Also: Hurrah for crystal pancakes!

If anyone can do anything to help, even if it's just as a soundboard to bounce ideas off of, I'll be really grateful.

One more thing, if someone knows a good group to add this to, I'd be very grateful. Comments and views are a great motivation.

Comments

[Blade Dancer]

Nice Chapter ! keep going, i cant wait to see more

[nightmaster0]

Great chapter.

[Gremory]

honest, constructive criticism:

Direct explanations to the reader should be kept at minimum and subtle. However, if you can't find any alternative that is not the characters themselves doing the explanations(Explanations the characters involved in said conversation probably already know) then it would be better to just explain.

[Emperor]

I see Trixie will take some convincing to become Empress of the Crystal Empire. Of course, given the title of this fic, it's all but a given. It'll be interesting to see how those events go, though, and if Celestia and/or Cadance demand that Cadance be given the throne as an Alicorn and descendant of Crystal Ponies. But, well, Trixie single-handedly defeated Sombra and brought the Crystal Heart back. Difficult to beat that! While you appear to be doing a little bit of world-building here with new creatures and pony hybrids, between the first scene and last chapter it appears Celestia is more than slightly paranoid, and this could set her off as well, especially given the hint of Trixie offering the Changelings and succubi sanctuary in the Crystal Empire.

Trixie's future-Changeling-boyfriend is probably the specific Changeling mentioned in the starting scene, and Swarm, the creature Trixie mentions as having died in the rebellion, might be his name. I guess it's a RAFO situation.

The Bold and Relentless Trixie spearheaded the incursion to the territories of the kitchen, which were taken without resistance (there was nopony to resist, nevertheless, it was a valid account of the event). With her army of foals, the Adjective and Other-Adjective Trixe was unstoppable!

Simply adorable.