• Published 5th Oct 2016
  • 11,925 Views, 760 Comments

Rise of the Crystal Emperor - Navanastra



Emperor Mateus of the Palamecian Empire fails to conquer the world not once but twice after getting defeated by Firion and his gang. Instead of just going back to hell the Emperor wakes up in a brand new world and in an even newer body as well.

  • ...
31
 760
 11,925

Chapter 23: Arranged Meeting. (Edited)

Chapter 23: Meeting at Canterlot

Edited by: The Great Khan

“You've been invited to Canterlot your highness?” Captain Silver asked while the Emperor was enjoying some morning tea.

Mateus nodded. “Well yes, their princess wishes to meet me in person. For diplomatic discussions and probably to also asses my character in person if I had to guess.” He responds.

“Well in that case, allow me to accompany you the sire.” Silver stated. “As Captain of the Crystal Guard, it is my duty to protect you wherever you go, Your Highness.” He states, hitting his chest piece.

“You know...” He began, "I can take care of myself. One or two guards should suffice.” He responds casually before returning to his tea.

The captain nods. “True, but… it's still a duty. Plus, this would give me the opportunity to see for myself how things have changed over the last thousand years. A though I still can’t exactly wrap my mind around it to be honest. One thousand years in stasis.” Silver responded before looking off to the side lost in his own thoughts.

Mateus sighs. “Very well, just don’t arm yourself to the teeth then. We don’t want to look ready for war towards out southern neighbors now do we?” That is up to them though. He thought the last part to himself.

“More Tea if you will?” He asks servant next to him.

The mare just nods before refilling the cup while holding the handle of kettle with her mouth. Something which he quietly finds absolutely disgusting.


“Well thank you, Your Highness. I shall prepare myself accordingly for the trip whenever you are ready to depart.” Silver acknowledges with a bow before leaving.

The emperor quietly hums to himself before looking back down at his cup and then back at the mare holding the kettle with her mouth.

He grimace. “Just bring me the tea kettle from now on.” He states before yanking the kettle away from her with his magic.

The maid was a bit confused but quickly nodded. “O-of course, Your Highness!” She replied before cantering off.

The emperor looked down at his hooves and back up at the kettle levitating next to him.

Sometimes I miss having hands...” He thought to himself before placing the kettle down and enjoying the rest of his morning in silence.

He had a diplomatic meeting to prepare for. When it was, he didn’t know, as the letter he received didn’t exactly specify when he could visit. Or it could be because the letter was badly handled in transit, with some of its last sentences being smudged and smeared.

Whoever was the courier for this letter was obviously incompetent, or maybe a 'derp' as the common folk would call it.

Either way he had to get it done. Even though there was still much work to do here, but he also knew that building up positive relations with his much larger neighbor was something which could only help his ambitions. It could buy him some time to build up his own strength before letting his true ambitions unfold.

A quick reply needs to be crafted first of course and send with a bit of magic. No point of barging in unannounced after all during peace times.

Now only one question still remained.

How to actually get there? Do we have trains of our own?” The emperor wondered to himself as he emptied his final cup of tea, as the kettle was empty and he already sent the maid off to do other things.

He should have asked for more.


.............................................................................................................................................


“So he is really coming?” Luna asked her older sister as they both trotted through the halls of Canterlot Palace.

“Yes.” Celestia replied. “I am quite curious to meet him myself. To see if he really is a crystal unicorn or not. If he is, then his existence alone might be a good source of hope that the crystal unicorns were not completely wiped out after all.”

Luna hummed. “That is all well and good sister, but still, inviting a complete stranger we have never heard before now or even then into the palace? Especially a pony who managed to KILL Sombra all by himself if the stories are true? That is a bit…hasty isn’t it? We don’t even know what his true motives are” Luna admitted bluntly.

Celestia sighs. “Well, I understand your concerns sister, but it is better to build up good relationships than to make rivals, Luna. Let's meet him first before we start judging.” Celestia argued.

Luna looked off to the side. “Well I guess, but my intuitions hold true don’t tell me that I didn’t warn you.” Luna pointed out which made Celestia shake her head.

“Luna, times have changes, and you should stop acting so suspicious towards every newcomer who trots through these halls. This is why I keep telling you to get out of your room and socialize more. It will really do wonders for you.” Celestia added before they both reached their intended destination.

“Well, this is where we must part. Unless you are willing to take my place at court.” Celestia stated as she gave her sister a smirk.

Luna flinched. “Dear heavens, no. The longer I have to hear nobility whine and complain the more I feel the urge to just throw them off of this mountain. You can continue to hold day court as you always have dear sister. I prefer the peace of my own night court” She respond with a huff.

Celestia fake moped. “No mercy for your dear old sister then?” She asks as she opens the door.

“’Oh, and by the way,” Celestia announced before looking over her shoulder. “If you are free today, which you most likely are, can you maybe help lead the preparations needed for our guest's arrival? I obviously cannot, since I'm busy with court now.” She requested.

“I guess I can.” Luna responded which made Celestia smile.

“Thanks Lulu!” Celestia responded before making her way to the throne room to finally begin day court.

A thousand years of doing this, and she still somewhat hates it. She has just gotten really good at hiding it.


.............................................................................................................................................


“Well, without a train how are we going to get to Equestria?” One of the guards chosen to accompany the emperor asks as they waiting around in front of the throne room. Fully equipped and ready to go.

One of the four guards shrugged. “No idea, but we have been instructed to just wait here until further orders by the captain. I'm not even sure if we are really going or not.” He stated while rubbing his chin.

“Yes, we still are.” Silver stated as he enters the scene, also ready to go.

“Come, follow me up to the emperor's chamber. We are to meet him there.” Silver ordered.

The four crystal guards nodded before following.

Once there, Silver immediately approached Ruby who was stationed right in front of his chambers.

"We are here. Is his Majesty ready?” Silver asks.

She nods “I think so.”

As if on cue, the doors to his chambers open. Revealing a fully dressed and geared up Mateus along with his staff.

“Ah, you are all here. Perfect, we are ready to depart then.” He casually states.

“Uhm, excuse me Your Highness, but… how exactly are we going to travel to Canterlot without a train? We could maybe prepare a carriage for you. But traversing through the snow-covered tundra is both dangerous and also quite slow. Not something I would recommend, even if it is our only option right now.” Silver stated.

“Then do not fret,” the emperor began. “We won't be traveling via carriage or any other form of civil transportation.” He explained, much to the confusion of Silver and everyone else.

“Pardon me, but how exactly are we going to get there then Your Highness?” Silver asked again.

“Simple,” the emperor began. “I am going to Teleport us there.” He responds nonchalantly.

The confusion continued. “Forgive me, but… did you say teleport? As in magic?” Silver again slowly asked. Both to not sound rude and to clarify himself a little bit better.

“Yes.” The emperor responded. “We are going to use magic to get there. I spent the majority of this morning and early afternoon refamiliarizing myself with an old spell I haven’t made use off for quite a long while. A spell simply known as “Warp” where I’m from.” He explains.

“Uhm… okay?” Silver responded. Still sounding quite confused and possibly a bit nervous.

“Anyway, there might be a 14 percent chance that this will fail. Especially when calculating the number of participants, I will have to warp along with me and the distance. But I'm confident that I can warp us all to Canterlot without any issues. It just requires a suitable beacon to home into. Princess Cadence should be perfect for that.” Mateus explained, before tapping the floor beneath him with his staff. Summoning a magical circle on its surface that was large enough to encompass the group.

Silver was now visibly getting nervous, but didn’t voice it. At least he wasn’t the only one. The guards behind him also looked fairly anxious as the runes on the inside began to glow.

Even the very air around them began to feel slightly energized. Which even Ruby outside the circle could tell.

“Be sure to keep standing still inside the circle once I release the spell. Otherwise, you might get split in half or suffer from any other form of magical mishaps.” Mateus explained, again with almost an almost infuriating tone of calmness despite the risks involved.

This just made the group even more anxious as tiny magical sparks began arch from the edge of the circle as the spell was slowly reaching its apex.

The emperor of course ignored their obvious expressions of dread as he turned his attention to Ruby instead, who was looking at the spectacle with mild fascination.

“I wish to have my tea ready by the time I return later tonight. As I always do at that hour.” He instructed before returning his attention back to the warp circle in front of him.

“Remember: tea ready at nine.” He announced before tapping the circle again and activating the spell.

With one bright flash they were all gone. Leaving nothing but a small cloud of smoke and a slightly-blinded Ruby as evidence of their prior presence.

Today’s lesson for Ruby though: never look directly into the flash of an activated warp spell, or suffer temporary blindness while stumbling about in panic when it's the first time that has ever happened to you.

She certainly learned that the hard way.

.............................................................................................................................................



Cadence was staring at her own reflection. Lost in thought at the idea of meeting this curious but still strange unicorn so soon. The letter which suddenly appeared an hour or so ago right as she was readying herself the day was quite the scare. But one which quickly dissolved when she had the chance to read its content.

She quickly shook her head. Before getting back to the task at hoof of figuring out what to wear for this diplomatic meeting if ever. She is sure her usual regalia should suffice. She wasn’t going to attend a wedding after all. A thought which made her frown when thinking of how her own weeding went.

She again placed these thoughts back to towards her mental back burner before picking up her brush to straightening out some of the lose ends of her mane.

Dropping it as soon as she picked it up when a sudden flash behind her scared the horse apples out of her.

The second time of the day.

“Did it… work?” A strange new voice stated, causing Cadence to squeak before turning herself around instinctively in a defensive stance.

“I warn you, just because I'm the Princess of Love doesn’t mean that I can’t-” She was about to threaten before she quickly recognized the ponies in front of her.

“The… the Crystal Emperor?” She stuttered, completely stunned.

“Princess! We heard your scream, is everything alri-” A guard burst in before noticing the band of armored strangers in front of him.

“In-intruders, INTRUDERS! I NEED BACKUP! WE HAVE INTRUDERS!” He quickly screamed before racing out of the room.

Mateus shook his head at the guard's unprofessional reaction. Leaving his princess all alone with a bunch of possible intruders while seeking backup. But then again, what exactly was he supposed to do? It is five against one; not exactly a favorable matchup for any skilled soldier.

“Greetings, princess. I hope our arrival was not too intrusive.” He greets her calmly.

Cadence blinked. “Uh… no… nonono it was… nothing, I guess. I was just busy doing my mane and… uh… So, it’s no big deal… really.” She responds, finding all of this to be quite awkward on her end.

“Uhm… are you here because of my Auntie's invitation? If so, then it would make sense why you're… suddenly in my room.”

The emperor nodded. “Yes indeed, that is exactly why I am here, and again sorry for this sudden intrusion. I hope that my sudden appearance here won’t cause a misunderstanding. Especially with my escorts next to me." He responded, causing Cadence to perk up.

“Ah, yes… the guard.” Cadence began. “I better go and deal with that right away then. Though it would be best if you and your guards were to leave my room first before either more guards or my husband see you here. Just to be safe.” She suggested to which Mateus nodded.

“Certainly, that would be for the best.” He responded before taking his leave, with Silver and his guards following suit.

Cadence also soon followed. Throwing away the idea of getting herself dressed properly first as he is already here and already causing a scene. Plus, she also needed to explain this situation first to both the guards and her aunts to prevent any misunderstandings.

Though now that the surprise and confusion from earlier had worn off, Cadence had to admit that she felt a tad bit violated.

Why her?

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait, also sorry for the short nature of this chapter. I know that most of you where expecting for the next chapter to finally feature the meeting of both Celestia and the Emperor.

But in the end I decided to end the chapter here because it seemed like a good ending.

I am overall decisive on his this chapter turned out personally. Let me know how the chapter reads for all of you.

Either way next chapter will finally feature the meeting of both Monarchs. Lets see what I can conjure up. Tips and ideas are appreciated.

Comments ( 71 )

Yeah I tried to read this, I really did and I do like your story. But this one NEEDS a proof reader, there are a LOT of errors in here. Such as

“Well that is all well and good sister, but still inviting a complete stranger into the palace we have never heard off? Especially Somepony who has legitly KILLED Sombra? That sounds well...I don’t trust him really if I have to be honest blunt here.”

Okay lets see...firstly 'but still inviting a complete stranger into the palace we have never heard of?' is confusing when you got the words set up like that. Should be "but still inviting a complete stranger we have never heard of into the palace?" Next legitly isn't a word, there is legit and legitimately. And yes I know people do sometimes say legitly, but it slang...which Luna would never use anyway cause she generally doesn't know slang.

As such instead of using that slang or some proper version of legit, that part of the sentence would sound better as. "Especially somepony that outright KILLED Sombra?"

And lastly lets fix the end part of that section. 'That sounds well...I don’t trust him really if I have to be honest blunt here.'

You can either just turn honest into honestly and that pretty much fixes it, or mess with the words and use "I don't trust him really, if I'm being brutally honest here."

Colors used to make it easier to spot the corrections in my long post, not intended to be me being an jerk honestly. Again I like this story and its' plot, but the amount of errors is...making it hard to read.

“Then do not fred then.”

REMOVE

remove

Actually I can imagine Princess Celestia looking the emperor's eyes and see behind it, seeying all the experience had, was not because from the way it looks, but to loses his life to it. And she can perhabs Emperor's Matheus died twice, thinking how did he died? And while they have a conversation Emperor's Matheus says she can found a secret behind him so he tells he discovered her secrety as well, it was both of the princess who did to Crystal Empire what they did, and it was all their fault.

So I think the meeting would be like a relationship of love and hate friendship, they wanting to go to the jugular of each and other, but it seems when they have problems they would count with each and other if another nation would interrupt to create problems or would appear a strong villain to take care.

Like rivals but not much enemies. Almost friends with someone you can hate for a while but can trust whenever it happens.

That and Shining Armor teasing Princess Cadance about what happened, trying to imitate Matheus voice. LoL

Oh men more please also i want a meeting hoppully princess admit it was her fault that make crystal empire be snow wasteland also we need to see celestia fake face and make true face reveal

Another excellent chapter.^^ And Merry Christmas, by the way.:D

Loved the maid part :D

10003462
Yes sorry, I was kinda in a rush to get this out. So I proofread it myself without contacting my usual editors.

I laugh so hard when Mateus pop in Cadence‘s room and act like it’s no big deal

Yeah and update, need some quick editing but good job

Celestia will want to know who exactly is Mateus and what does he want. Mateus on the other hand (or hoof) will want to know what happened in the last thousand year. Twilight will be doing information gathering about the Crystal Empire and its current state.

If my Shadow Hive Kingdom was to exist in this story, how would Mathis react?

10022120
... and the "breeding mares?" Were they released?:rainbowderp:

Does this "Empire Management" type of story have a genre or trope to categorize it?
Also, are there more stories like this?

10031301
Yes their are. I read a couple of them but can't remember the names of them.

10033009
It's brilliant. Would love to see more of it, got a place you post?

10033017
It just seemed like a sudden personality shift. She was all nice and "pony-like" for lack of a better descriptor because "docile" doesn't fit. From the moment we first meet her, right up until she's in the bar and suddenly she turns into a drunken berserker.

10033020
Eh, I'm just saying that it's not impossible for the crystal unicorns to crop up again. Whether that be from your typical genetics in a family line, a random mutation, or even Matheus himself having kids.

Sombra can't have gotten rid of them all no matter how hard he tried, simply because generations down the line more could crop up. Genetics are funny like that.

10033532
I have an Inkbunny and Deviant account.

10035060
Awh. If memory serves, I do have accounts for those sites, but I never really go on them. You do good art though. 10/10

Well I’ve caught up now.

I’ve gotta say, it feels like the quality of the story dropped a bit in these latest chapters. I can’t really pinpoint what exactly it is that made it feel like it dropped, but...

10039827
It dropped? How?

Oh, maybe Its because I don't add a lot of detail anymore. Getting more to the point in the later chapter.

10047886
That could be it. Just doesn't feel as fleshed out, like it stopped being the super cool story about what was happening, using story-telling techniques like show don't tell, and started being a narration of events from someone who didn't fully remember.

If that makes sense.

10048456
Well...it almost took me a year...or over a year to come back to this story. So I did forgot a couple of things in the previous chapters.

Great as always though I do have an inquiry.

Have you ever considered writing a crossover with a character from a more grimdark universe?

For example Chiapas Cain from Warhammer 40k

10092368
I am not very well versed with the Warhammer universe. Also my resources are already stretched thin as it is. Having to juggle so many stories while also working on art commissions.

10115170
At some point? I am working on a lot of art commission at the moment. Because I need the money.

I am very eager for the next chapter of this wonderfully crafted story :pinkiehappy:

10140155
Thanks but...I am working on art commissions now.

nice story hope to reed more*

That was an excellent read, hope to see more from this story in the future!

Comment posted by Navanastra deleted May 17th, 2020

I wonder who the main antagonist is going to be. Because it would be stupid to have all those war moves and no enemies. Preferable but unlikely as it is, I wonder if old Mateus's Demonic army will come back to try and split him apart once more.

10331034
never thought about food.

10332339
Well at this stage it is kinda to late, and I am certainly not re-writing everything. To lazy for that.

Sad times, I just got back into this story, and bam biggest cliffhanger yet.

10334656
Well that is the nature of stories.

I would very much like to see how The Crystal Emperor plays out. Im all for reading the ideas put forward by others when they become chapters. Im new to this site and story. I am starved for an interesting tale and this has mostly filled my need but I would be incredibly grateful if The Crystal Emperor would be updated soon. I enjoyed this story far more than I can express within the shackles of human language!!

Navanastra: Names the mooks of Mateu's army.

TV Tropes: Red Shirt, Named Mooks, Mini Boss-'Big Mook'

God author of the fic !!! bless us with more chapters !!! Please!!! hahaha I need my dose, I say my medicine fic !!!

Please bless us with more

Is this story dead? :(

Login or register to comment