• Member Since 25th Jul, 2013
  • offline last seen Apr 16th, 2019

GreyGuardPony


Just a simple pegasister who likes world building.

E

Since his attempt to unite dragonkind into a singular nation, the young dragon Spike has been feeling lost in the world.

Miss Cheerilee, Element of Laughter, knight of Equestria and teacher extraordinaire has been growing worried about him. But having heard of a dragon professor in the far off Crystal Empire, who lives and works alongside ponies, Cheerilee thinks that Spike could use his perspective.

But upon arriving in the empire, they find that Corona, the Tyrant Sun is also in the city, as well as a shadowy threat from a monarch long gone...

Chapters (5)
Comments ( 30 )

Good to see a new Lunaverse story, and its off to a solid start. Yangin is certainly one of the more unique additions to Corona's faction, and I like that Yangin is more blunt and up front with Celestia while at the same time Celestia recognizes the shared experience on the "complex sister issues" front.

Its sweet that Cheerilee wants to help Spike, and I'll be interested to see how things develop in the Crystal Empire. Oh, timeline wise where is this one taking place, by the way?

Neat. An exploration of the Lunaverse's Crystal Empire, and a follow up to Smoke and Fire.

Added it to the Season 2 lineup, specifically in Summer, as I think that was where you wanted it?

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I pictured it happening in the Summer, but before the events of Past Remnants. Just part of the lead up to the season finale.

Yangin does have an appreciation for Celestia. She's also pretty convinced that she's the only sane mare among the group.

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The Crystal Empire is very faux Switizerland in the Lunaverse.

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You got it, boss!

A good tale so far. :) Now Spike, don't worry. if you're anything like your canon version, you'll be able to resist the crystal just fine. It's Rarity people should be worried about. I swear, she was about half a second from dry-humping the walls there in the season-three premiere. :p

Her older self is probably what she's going to become anyway. They don't have movies in THIS Equestria so Cheerilee and Spike have no idea that they've just witnessed a coming attractions reel......

upposedly, it was built in the exact center of the city, which was at the exact center of the Empire itself.

Scandalous rumors that it's actually a few feet off from being the center abound in the Crystal Empire.

with tenure

All I'm imagining it Schwarzkopf giving the tenure speech that a teacher in American Dad was.

"So you see class, that's why the school can't fire me, no matter what I do." [bites a huge chunk out of the wall]

I like Schwartzkopf a lot. He's very similar to how I have dragons in my own fanverse.

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Yeah, there's a bit of irony involved there. Should be interesting when the season is done!

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.....Damn it, now I really, really wish I could have fit that joke into the story somehow. >_>....

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He's also a bit of a reference to a character in the Shadowrun table top RPG. He's a university teacher in that setting too.

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It would be deeply ironic if Corona ends up pretending to be reasonable until she actually internalizes sanity. . .

now the cats out of the bagand Yangin knows she is deeper shit then she thought at first, we can only hope she decides to get out before the shit hits the fan.

I think that surrounding herself with an army of idiots and monsters might be having an effect on Sunbutt. At some point, she's going to realize WHY she's hated and feared...she's the idiotic monster who's the menace. Once that hits her, she's going to spend a millennium or two making up for it.

Celestia 'forgives' Cheerilee.

Well, that takes some cahones.

Corona did have a way of sending everything straight to the sun.

Corona might contest that it's actually Luna's habit to send things to the sun.

It's good to have doubts about how moral one is. Not having doubts leads to yelling that one is the Sun and doing an impersonation of an ingrown hair.......

Somehow I doubt she’s forgotten that black eye I gave her

Yangin: "Luna! We meet again!"
Luna: "Yes, we do...you."
Yangin: "...Do you not know who I am?"
Luna: "Should I?"
Yangin: "Oh come on! We fought! I gave you a black eye and everything! A thousand years ago, give or take?"
Luna: "When I was wandering the land a drunken wreck?"
Yangin: "...oh. Right."

Yes, Cheerilee. You're a good pony.

Also, ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-MY-MY-MY CORONA! :D

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Interesting point. Though a little too much doubt and you land up where Luna did in season one. Afraid to ask.

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Ha!

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*squints at the pun*

....Get out.

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Interesting......we're getting closer to Celestia's final confrontation with getting over herself. It seems to me that she kinda needs to have what happened to Yangin to happen to her......

Great ending, here. Ah... I'd pay money for Celestia to get the 'reason you suck' speech she so richly deserves. And hell, Lunaverse or Maneverse! I'm for either one!

Her horn glowed as she summoned a tray of tea.

Even as Corona, tea remains the solution to all problems for Celestia. Or rather, it has the ability to replace all problems with a more fundamental one, viz., why isn't there any more tea?

It's nice to see the Crystal Empire get some screen-time... page-time, and some development.

But the story is kinda short and just sort of ends very suddenly.
(I get that Corona and Yangin have sort of done what they came for, but all the same...)

“You grant wishes!” Luna snapped. She stomped her hoof again, splintering multiple floorboards at once this time. “Cure Celestia of her madness! Fix her!”

In before this is a long job and Yangin is still working on this wish.

“Based on what he told me, a mix of willpower and the Crystal Heart itself. But he’s a dragon that’s been living alongside ponies for most of his life now. If there’s anyone who could help Spike deal with some of what he’s feeling right now…well, I think he’s it.”

This feels like a good suggestion.

First impression, Schwarzkopf is pretty great. He could turn out to be an excellent influence on Spike.

It looked...like a moth?

It's Mothra! Wait, what?

Ah, so it's some sort of vermin thing.

But all of that was secondary to the shadowy monster that clung to it. The moth was gently, almost tenderly, caressing the Crystal Heart. Cheerilee had no idea what was planning but she was quite sure that it was going to be bad. Dozens of members of the Crystal Guard had surrounded it and were preparing to attack.

That seems bad, probably.

Pretty good start to this PR campaign.

“I forgive you,” Corona said softly, before gently placing her back on the ground.

Hah!

“I think she deserves more than that.”

Hopefully not ominous.

The jinn in pony’s clothes strode over to her, throwing a leg over her neck. “In the flesh...so to speak. How have you been doing? Everything been working out for you?” she leaned in close, hissing the next part directly into Cheerilee’s ear. “You know, since you enslaved me?”

Well, that is what happened.

“And I would argue that the intent of the po- dragon that made the mistake and how much they desired to make amends plays a factor.”

“And I’d argue that if the dragon actually meant that, they wouldn’t have made the mistake in the first place!”

I feel like they're not talking about dragons anymore.

Yangin leaned forward, crossing her forelegs on the table. “Funnily enough, I’m not interested in your apology. As far as what I want...I want you to realize exactly what you did. I want you to know that you are less than the alicorn you’re so afraid of. Because while you took my service, the big bad Corona offered me her hoof in friendship.”

Which is probably going to be betrayed eventually, unless Celestia finally comes to her senses before there's a chance for Corona to screw up the relationship.

“I’m better than the alternatives! Besides…,” she trailed off, shaking her head again. “You know what? No. I don’t owe you an explanation. I’m not going to be some kind of prop for you to feel better.”

As much as I'm inclined to more or less agree that Yangin is in the right with her issues with Cheerilee, if this is how she's going to be in the conversation why did she bother to find her in the city anyway? To make Cheerilee a prop so that she's the one who can feel better?

Cheerilee pushed herself away from the table. “Fine. But just to prove that I’m not the monster you think I am? Solrath swallowed the Rainbow of Darkness.”

Probably a good thing for members of Team Celestia to know.

Spike clambered up onto a chair. “You know, if I didn’t know any better I’d swear this was your job instead of being a magic teacher.”

Even for someone who is normally an instructor, there's always the occasional need for advisement work.

Celestia’s mane and tail burst into crackling flames. The temperature spiked in the room, the edges of the furniture beginning to catch alight from the alicorn’s rage. “Watch. Thy. TONGUE!”

This conversation is going well.

That statement elicited an eyebrow raise from Celestia. “You are forbidden from harming her, Yangin. Whatever wrong she might have inflicted against you, she remains important as an Element Bearer.” She ruffled her wings, throwing in another observation almost as an afterthought. “Besides, it would undermine our goals if one of Equestria’s heroes was wounded here.”

Explicitly stating the warning is probably good.

Yangin’s eyes snapped open. Had Celestia? But the alicorn seemed to be engaging in some meditation or deep thoughts of her own. Yangin frowned before settling back into her own efforts. Celestia could be a stern taskmaster. But she wouldn’t torture her...right?

Don't forget that this is insane Corona, not pleasant Celestia regardless of what the PR campaign is trying to push.

Before, she was pretty convinced that she was, despite her more wild youth. But now that she thought about it more... What happened with Tarnished, driving her friends crazy with “training, seizing control of Yangin… It was hard to ignore the thought that she was perhaps a bit too ruthless, a bit too willing to do what was “needed” for the sake of her friends and Equestria.

The Lunaverse Element Bearers tend to err a little too strongly on the side of the ends justifying the means.

“Not really. I think it was something about ‘chaos’? It was kind of a while ago, you know?”

Chaos, eh?

“And I’m not going to put you into more of it!” Cheerilee snapped, stamping a hoof. “I’m not going to make another huge mistake based on the fear of what might happen!”

As before this doesn't really entirely seem to be about dragons.

Spike knows how to work the comp system.

Property damage!

“Trying to improve your public image are we? Well, we’ll see just how well that goes when I give them an insider scoop.”

That's not going to help the PR campaign.

Geeze, Yangin, now that was probably an overreaction. Really not a good idea to do it in front of the reporters, too. I wonder if she is being affected by the dark magic that came out of the crystal?

Well, you don't get too many opportunities to punch an alicorn in the eye.

Minutes passed with her sobbing in the middle of the floor. Cheerilee hiccuped when a pale white hoof clad in gold gently lifted her chin. She found herself looking into magenta eyes that were a mixture of soft and determined.

“We will get him back.”

Nice character development for Corona, I like it. Feels like another step down the road to becoming Celestia again.

Applying fire appears to be surprisingly effective.

“Face me, spawn of Sombra!” Corona roared.

And night became day. The whole of the alicorn’s body erupted into light and fire, filling every inch of the room with a sparkling radiance. The bubbling and churning cloud of shadows was banished in an instant revealing a moth shaped form at its heart. It wailed morosely, attempting to flee from the cavern.

Even more fire!

This has been good development for Spike, too.

Good story.

ok i can't picture Schwartzkopf without picturing the dragon selling hair care products

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