Do You Hear the Ponies Sing?
Chapter 1
Three years.
It's hard to imagine that it's been three years since the Crystal Empire was pulled back into reality. But in those past few years, so many changes have taken place that it seems like it's been three centuries rather than three years.
When the empire was first saved by Equestria's Elements of Harmony, the Crystal Ponies had actually believed that things would get better. No longer were they slaves, no longer did they suffer under a tyrant. And no longer did ponies have to worry about their loved ones.
Things were great for a time, but as Princess Cadence and her husband Prince Shining Armor took more and more control over the empire, they began to make a few... questionable choices.
Due to Cadance being raised as an Equestrian, she allowed several 'gifts' to be sent to her former home to appease the equestrians.
The first was a hoard off precious stones so large that the great dragon Bahumult would be jealous. These jewels were the left overs from the ponies times as slaves. While an understandable gift to the equestrian kingdom, what didn't go over well was the Princess' promise of similar hoards being sent over every year.
The second one was the cheap exportation of goods that the Princess promised to the Equestrian kingdom. All goods, from the priciest silk to the common stone, would be shipped with cheap exportation prices.
And finally came the heavy equestrian military presence the Princess allowed into the empire. This was to prevent any further dangers from entering the empire until the Crystal Empire's military force could be rebuilt. In the mean time, the princess swore that her own populace would be happy to share their meals with the guards.
After a few families refused to give away their hard earned food, which was progressively becoming harder and harder to get, the princess passed the 'beggars law' a law stating that no soldier should have to beg for food that that all soldiers must be provided for unless you wished to be fined.
All this put a heavy pressure on the empire and soon the reality became present to everypony. The Crystal Empire had become a colony of the Equestrian Kingdom.
Already the effects of this were present as the crystal mines were constantly under heavy strain to mine out enough crystals to appease the Equestrian kingdom, while the cheap exports were putting a strain on every merchants wallets. Already several merchants had closed shop, unable to support their families and their kingdom.
The empire was being strangled, and anyone who tried to strike back was quickly silenced by the equestrian military. Stating that they were just extremists trying to get Sombra's tyrannical rule back into place. If things continued, economists estimated that the empire would be bankrupt in a few more years.
Then, one day, A crystal Pony by the name of Jecht Stream rose above the masses to give the people a voice.
Jecht: Do you hear it princess? Do you hear the ponies sing?
Chapter 2
Crystal Empire: 3 years After Release
The crystal fair had always been a tradition of the empire, to refuel the crystal heart and spread happiness and joy to everyone in the empire. Every year before the empire's release, the ponies celebrated with jousting, unhealthy food, and carnival games. These events were traditional and gave everyone a chance to hang out and talk with their neighbor.
But this year, nobody was really feeling any joy. With the heavy military presence, few stalls, and disgruntled populace, the heart itself was overshadowed by the statues of the elements of harmony that had been erected around the heart. Each one had been carved out of the finest crystals, and each one had been paid for out of the pockets of the ponies, and sent to a private contract in Equestria.
As the ponies in the fairgrounds idled about, a few whispering harshly under their breaths about the princess, said object of their anger was happily sitting atop her throne, her husband by her side while surrounded by some of Equetria's finest. Each other couldn't possibly be happier with how their lives were. They were happily married, they had an empire, and they were in such good graces with Equestria that they felt their kingdoms could soon join boarders and become one large country!
As they chatted with one another, one of the equestrian guards situated around the room looked over to his fellow soldiers and with a shared look, they nodded and approached the empire's rulers.
"Princess Cadence, Prince Shining armor..."
The two broke away from their conversations to look at the guards who's spoken up.
"Yes, peace keeper?" Spoke Cadence as she addressed the speaker of the group.
Gulping for a moment, the guard took a breath before expressing his worries. "Your majesty... I fear that there is unrest in the population." Peaking in a formal tone to give no trace of the worry he was feeling, he continued as the two rulers eyes rose in surprise. "Word of a 'revolution' is being spread around by the scholars and I worry that this will be too much for us to handle."
Silence reigned in the hall the guard awaited the ruler's judgment. Anger, surprise, fear, all of these things were expected from the two, but instead what came was... laughter?
"Your majesty's?" Peace keeper spoke with a hint of disbelief at the sight of the rulers laughter. As the two laughed, Cadence was the first to calm down. "O-oh, I haven't laughed like that in years." Looking over to her husband, she sent a quick elbow to the prince's side which quickly shut him up.
Coughing into her hoof, the princess addressed the guard. "You believe that a bunch of school children will revolt? You believe that this poses a threat to my empire? And you think that all of the guards will be wiped out from this... revolution?" Believing that the threat was just the idealistic dreams of a bunch of know it all scholars, the princess gave the guard her best skeptical look; a look which Shining armor mirrored.
"But your majesty-" Spoke out another soldier before he was silenced by the hoof of Shining Armor. "Private, over a fourth of the population are highly trained guards, there are enough weapons to heavily arm each guard three times over in the armory, and you are also assuming that this force will be large enough to pose a threat?"
"But sir-!" another guard was about to speak up but a small shield spell around the soldier silenced any noise he was making. Sending a look of gratitude to her husband, Cadence stood up and walked down towards the soldiers. "Look, I have faith in my little ponies, and I trust that this 'revolution' will either pass without any issue, or will be stomped out with little issue." These 'revolutionaries' had caused a few issues in the past, all of them thinking that their way of thinking was better than her own! Could they have picked up the pieces of a broken empire? Could they lead their country into what was soon to be a golden age with equestrian? They would sooner strangle any future for their country than help it?
In the past year, a few revolutionaries had caused some issues, and while each one was stopped, they were becoming more and more frequent. Thinking for a moment, a brilliant idea entered into the princess' head. "You know what..."
Silence reigned over the hall as the princess began to speak once more. "These revolutionaries are causing a lot of problems... Perhaps it's time to show them that we won't take things lying down any more... prepare the fair, it's time I addressed the revolutionaries!" Exiting the throne room with her husband, cadence was soon followed by her husband who she began to explain her plan to. When the door behind them closed, the guards standing around the throne room gained nervous looks. Things clearly were about to get worse.
Overlook above the Crystal Fair: 3 A.R.
The quiet mutterings and curses which had plagued the ponies lips all day had fallen silent as Cadence made her appearance on the balcony overlooking the fair. Accompanied by her husband, she still carried the regal air about her, and judging by her looks, she still looked well fed and living a life of luxury. A stark contrast to the ponies below who were starving.
"My little ponies..." Her voice carried to the far corners of the empire, thanks to several systems installed in the recent weeks. every mare, stallion, and filly lessened in to their princess' address to her subjects. If there was one thing the ponies of the Crystal Empire had learned over the years, it was that the princess had her way with words. She could talk for hours on most subjects, even when she had little to add. Thus for the next few hours, the ponies listened in, with rappent attention as they all tried to decipher past the BS and understand just what their princess was saying. For those hour, to one soul dared to act on anything she was saying, until in the final pieces of dialogue, she announced her ideas.
"... So to improve not only our way of living, and move closer to our equestrian allies, I've decided to dissolve the boarders of our land!" Pausing as if to allow for cheering to break out, Cadence looked down to see the mouths of all of her subjects dropping in shock. Believing that this was a good sign, she continued.
"We've given only a little bit to Equestria as thanks for saving our empire, and as Princess, I believe that we can give so much more!" Holding up a letter written in eloquent handwriting, the only think most ponies could make out was the fact that the letter had her large signature on the bottom. "With this letter, I plan to invite Celestia, Luna, and the elements of harmony to our land to formally announce out dissolving of our boarders!"
Silence continued as Cadence seemed to be basking on what she believed was silent joy. Shining however seemed to be a bit doubtful over just what the masses were feeling, but felt it best to not shatter his wife's ideals.
The speech continued for a few more minutes before the subject matter discussed in the throne room was brought back up. "... going further, I wish to address those unsavory individuals who would seek to ruin the chance for our boarders to be dissolved and would attempt to undo all that I've brought about during my rule." Dropping her kindly leader persona for a moment, she seemed to glare out at the masses.
"I don't know who you are, but I will say this. Drop all thought's of this revolution and I will simply ignore such thoughts. But if you continue, you will be crushed. To affirm this, I am appointing my husband, General Shining Armor, to be the head of the equestrian guard. It will be his job to keep our land safe from such individuals who would seek to ruin our way of life." As her speech finished, she turned to walk back inside to her castle, leaving her husband and her ponies behind.
Staying a moment to look down at those he'd be working for, Shining Armor couldn't hold back the feeling in the back of his mind that something was terribly amiss. Still though, if he could hold off whatever forces this 'revolution' would throw at him and his wife for just a while longer, he and his wife's dream of a unified nation would be complete.
Turning from the crowd, he headed back inside to his home, unaware of the turmoil his wife's words had caused.
Crystal fair: 3 A.R
Shock was the only feeling that went through the populace's minds as they tried to comprehend their ruler's plans. To dissolve their boarders and essentially wipe away their countries place in the world seemed almost like a nightmare. But where one could at least wake up from one, this was reality.
Any happiness and hope that would have been generated for the crystal heart suddenly evaporated, leaving the crystal heart to fall to the ground without magic.
They had no hope, they were finished. They'd sent letters, petitioned, and even protested. But every letter was returned unopened, every petition lay dormant, and every protest shut down by the guards for 'disturbing the princess'. This looked to be the end of their empire.
Look down and see the beggars at your feet
heads down and weary looks on their faces, the crystal ponies colors seemed to dull slightly as they began to return to their homes.
Look down and show some mercy if you can
Closed businesses, homeless ponies, even a few ponies who lay broken in both body and mind lay in the streets, as dead as they would be to the world until they finally passes.
Look down and see the sweepings of the street
Sure Sombra was bad, but that was to be expected. The prince and princess were suppose to heal the wounds the former tyrant had inflicted, not create new ones. The empire was on the verge of collapse, their existence was to be wiped away, and no matter to who they turned, these issues remained unsolved.
Look down, look down,
Entering into their homes, some began to cook with what little food they had in preparation for whatever guards decided to drop by. Others began to comfort their children, sprouting lies that they themselves didn't believe. And some just curled up into a ball in their beds, wishing that this nightmarish living would end.
Upon your fellow ponies!
When the streets were cleared, only one crystal pony remained. His mane a royal purple, it seemed to stand out against his grey coat. He stood a bit taller than the average stallion and while his body lacked strength, behind his amethyst eyes lied a brilliant mind.
His name was Jecht Stream, one of the crystal empires top gem cutters... or at least he'd been until his pay had been cut heavily due to the lost cost at which the jewel's were being shipped.
At one point he could have been one of the richest stallions in the kingdom, as his work had involved cutting mystic gems to achieve amazing effects. From the gems which produced light used in homes and the streets, to crystal kingdom weaponry, using gems to give any pony magic similar to a unicorn.
But now he was just a simple beggar, using his dwindling fortune to pay off a small house in the outskirts of the city. Getting by on only the basics while trying to search for a job. He'd kept idol these past few years, believing that the prince and princess needed just a little bit of time to adjust. Now however the time to sit by was over.
Turning to one of the street lamps which housed one of his previous works, he shimmied up the pole to where his work was housed. Grabbing the hoof sized crystal with his teeth, he pulled it from his resting place and with a pulse of his magic, the crystal shut off.
Descending, Jecht began to make his way back to his home, his mind racing with thoughts of getting back in touch with an old friend.
