Do You Hear the Ponies Sing?

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?