Nigel M Chalmers, Emperor

by Dropbear

Rating: mature
Tags: Shining Armor, Crystal Ponies, Human, Changelings, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Dark, Comedy
Length: 113046

Something made it to the returned Crystal Empire before Shining and Cadence, that something not being at all pleased with its current situation.

Now with a sequel: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

What if when the Crystal Empire had returned, Shining and Cadence had not beaten Sombra to it? The King returns to his old tricks, enslaving the population once-again, leading them into a new age of despair and misery.

That is, of course, what might have happened if a certain deranged Human hadn't woken up in the snowy wastes clothed in nothing but a singlet, a set of Boxers covered in hearts and smilely faces and armed with an empty bottle of vegetable juice and a large wheel of cheese.

All that is certain is that the Crystal Empire will never be the same again...

Also, on May 5, 2014, the fic encountered a massive flamewar of epic proportions. Blood was spilt and there was much lamenting.

A little side-project I started, don't worry, i'm still working on Saviour or Destroyer
Takes place apart from Saviour or Destroyer, but Nigel is still the same old Nigel. Enjoy

Coverart done by Avatar of Madness

Published 2013-12-05 14:30:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-06-05 13:07:16 UTC

Mothers and Monologues

Author's Note

2/02/2018

So just a heads up, this story is pretty dodgy with grammar, spelling, and pacing in the first chapters. It was pretty much a side fic written adjacent to my first one, and I was still pretty new with writing. Actually embarrasses me now that I look back on it.

Still, I've neglected to go through and re-edit it so far, as I like to use it as a comparison to my later ones and see how I've improved (ignore the people saying I never did. They lie, lie I say!).

So if you read this and go 'Bleh, should be edited better', leave a comment to let me know. I might have to then go through and edit this bitch.

Mothers and Monologues

“Damn it, why the hell is my arse so cold?”

The owner of the voice raised itself of the snowy ground, the tall human shaking its head to clear the drowsiness from its mind. He was dressed in a simple white singlet with multiple stains on the front and a worn pair of boxer shorts, the blue fabric adorned with icons of hearts and yellow smiley faces. He rubbed the sleep from its ice blue eyes before scratching behind one of its ears, messing up its tan-coloured hair in the process. Its ritual complete, the human scanned his surrounds, the snowy wasteland defiantly not the cheap hotel room he remembered passing out in.

Nigel M Chalmers, feared killer and a Commander in the Internal Security Agency, shifted from foot to foot, the snowy ground irritating his bare feet.

“Just what happened last night? There was the work party, the after party, the after-after party and then the kebab shop.” Nigel recounted out loud, using his fingers to keep track of the multiple events, “Then the holo-theatre, the opera, the horse-racing and then the hotel room, and I’m fairly certain that this is not a hotel room, no matter how cheap it was.”

Nigel looked down towards his feet, noticing a large amount of empty V8 vegetable juice bottles around him as well as what appeared to be a large, partially eaten wheel of cheese easily the size of a basketball. Chalmers retrieved the wheel and sniffed, his expert sense of smell revealing it to be a massive chunk of Bitto cheese, hardened by age. Nigel stared at the cheese, shrugged and stored it under his singlet, reasoning that by the looks of things he would need every ounce of nutrition in this wasteland to survive. He picked up one of the many empty bottles as well, filling it with snow in the hope that when it melted it would provide an adequate source of water.

Now, the only thing left to do was to find out where he was, Nigel scanning the horizon, revealing an endless expanse of nothing. He turned around, nothing but more snow and rocks, until he spotted a sliver of something in the distance. Nigel leaned forward and squinted, trying to bring the elusive object into focus, a task which proved futile.

“Guess it’ll have to do, maybe someone will be able to give me a lift back to the capitol.”

Nigel began to trudge off towards the spiral, leaving nothing behind except for vegetable juice bottles and a large, human-shaped imprint in the snow.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel had been walking for hours now, the sun barely visible in the sky due to the clouds shrouding the land in shadow. The snow in the bottle had melted, and proved to be safe to drink, providing him with the small comfort that if he was stuck out here then at least he would not run out of water for a while. He looked towards the spire, the shaft of what appeared to be crystal reaching high into the sky.

After he crested a small snowy ridge Nigel took in the sight arrayed before him. The spire was appeared to be part of a large crystalline structure, the structure possibly some sort of citadel or palace. A blizzard of snow was raging at the top of the structure, hiding it from view. Arranged around the crystal structure was a large city, multiple buildings that also appeared to be crystalline in nature surrounding it, forming a star shaped pattern.

Nigel headed towards the city, and it was not long before he reached the start of a long road, no gates or walls barring his way. He advanced towards the citadel, his cold feet stinging as they propelled him along the cobbled path. The buildings around him at first looking like they were empty, however on closer inspection Nigel could see frightened eyes staring out at him through closed windows, shades and blinds covering those who dwelled within. The majority of the buildings seemed to be residential dwellings, with a few smattering of shops in a few places. The buildings possessed smaller doors than what he was used to, more and more evidence pointing to the possibility that whatever lived in this city was not human.

Nigel reached the base of the citadel, four long legs holding it off the ground, much like the Eiffel tower back on Terra. There were no guards or sentries to block his way as he entered via a door set into one of the tower legs, ascending the staircase he found within. He strolled through a lavish entrance hallway, the walls covered in black crystal, no sign of life present at all in the lonely rooms. He reached a large spiral staircase, the circular walkway leading upwards, towards the top of the castle. Nigel began to ascend, muttering to himself “Whoever built this should get around to inventing bloody elevators.”

He reached the top of the staircase and was confronted with a large pair of double doors, the brown oak they were constructed from appearing firm and strong. Multiple sobs could be heard, filtering out from the other side, overlaid with maniacal laughter, the crystals growing out from the walls pulsing with a black glow every time a peal of laughter was released.

“Well, any port in a storm,” Nigel grumbled before pushing open the doors and striding into the room.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

King Sombra was having a good day. Having escaped from the banishment that was imposed on him by those wretched Equestrian Princesses, he had returned, his Empire of slaves returning with him. It had been easy regaining control of the empire, the citizens all fleeing from his presence, hiding in their pathetic excuses for homes. A few were not so lucky, however, a multitude of Crystal Ponies were chained up in his throne room, reminding him of the good old days. He glanced down at the six young mares chained to his throne, all of them huddled together as far as possible from him, another twenty ponies chained to the walls surrounding the room, black crystals locking their chains in place.

Sombra eyed one of the mares, his former personal servant by the name of Sparkling Scroll, the mare having functioned as an assistant back before his banishment. Sombra flashed a grin before levitating Sparkling up in his magic, the Mare beginning to thrash around, the chain attached to her neck clattering as she tried to escape. Sombra levitated her closer, stopping only when her face was right before his. Her eyes were clenched shut, tears streaming down her face before Sombra once again used his magic, forcing the mare’s eyelids open, revealing dull purple eyes. The mare continued to sob as Sombra began to levitate her closer, the other ponies chained to the throne, looking on in horror. Sombra began to open his mouth, revealing a forked red tongue as he began to lean for-

SLAM!

Sombra jolted back, his magic dissipating, the mare falling down, colliding with his armoured body before coming to rest at the foot of the throne, her head bleeding from a gash above her right eye. Sombra glared at the doorway, a strange bipedal figure dressed in a single white piece of dirty fabric and wearing a blue pair of pants on its forelegs, the pants covered in strange symbols, their bright colours of red and yellow clashing with the faded blue of the pants themselves.

“Sorry to interrupt,” the figure announced, “but I was wondering if you could kindly direct me to the nearest UIP military base?”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel glanced around the room after his opening statement, the forms of what appeared to be small ponies chained up against the walls of the room. In the middle of the room on a throne constructed of black crystal sat a black horse, a red horn lodged in the middle of its forehead indicating that it was a unicorn. The horse was wearing a crown and armour that appeared to be made of silver, a red flowing cape topping off the whole evil villain look. The horse glared at him intensely, its abnormally large eyes sporting red irises tinged with green around the edges.

At the foot of the throne was a prone pearl white pony, blood flowing from a cute to its head with colour of the vital fluid matching its crimson mane. It was attached to the throne via a chain, along with another five ponies that were currently gazing at him in terror, although Nigel noted that they were straining the chains around their necks, trying to get as far away from the seated horse as possible.

“Creature,” the black horse hissed, a forked tongue flickering out from between its lips, “why do you disturb me with your disgusting presence?”

Nigel was quite put-out at being referred to as disgusting

“I’ll have you know Horse, I was voted number one best looking psychopath of the year in UIP weekly!”

“I AM KING SOMBRA CREATURE!” The horse roared, jumping of the throne over the injured pony, landing in front of Nigel “I AM RULER OF THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE, MASTER OF ALL THESE WORTHLESS SLAVES!”

At the word ‘slaves’ Nigel’s brow furrowed, slavery viewed as a vile practice in the UIP “So, you're King Sombra, slaver, arsehole and premature ejaculator, that about right?”

Sombra’s glare intensified, he didn’t know what an arsehole was, but he certainly knew what the last insult meant
“YOU IGNORANT PEASANT! I’ll HAVE YOU FLAYED ALIVE FOR SUCH MOCKERY! ILL HAVE YOU PUT IN A ZOO, FOREVER DOOMED TO AMUSE ME LIKE THE FILTHY ANIMAL YOU ARE!”

“The only thing that belongs in a zoo,” began Nigel, utterly pissed off at this point, “is your skank of a mother, cause man, was she an animal last night.”

That was it; Sombra could take no more, even despicable, slave-driving tyrants hate people talking trash about their mothers “DIE YOU IGNORANT FOAL!”

Sombra’s horn became wreathed in black smoke before a black spike of crystal shot from the tip, striking Nigel in the chest, right where his heart was. Nigel was propelled backwards by the spike, the flimsy singlet providing no resistance to the crystal projectile. His body crumpled to the floor, the tail of the spike pointing upwards into the air. The surrounding ponies gasped, this was Sombra’s first kill since the end of his exile. Sombra turned around triumphantly, facing the ponies chained to his crystal throne.

“SEE WHAT HAPPENED SLAVES; SEE WHAT BECOMES OF THOSE WHO DISOBAY YOUR MIGHTY KING!”
The downed bipedal figure gave a twitch, going un-noticed by the evil King, Sombra being too preoccupied with his monologue

“I AM SOMBRA, MOST POWERFUL OF ALL UNICORNS!”

The biped picked itself up, moving over towards the remains of a wooden table before selecting a rather hefty ornate table leg

“I HAVE OUTGROWN ALL MORTALS! MY POWER UNMATCHED! MY STRENGTH BEOND REACH OF ANYTHING ELSE ALI-“

Sombra was interrupted by a tapping on his shoulder, the King turning around to view what dared intrude on his victory gloat.

Before him stood the bipedal creature, its appearance unchanged except for a long gash in its white cloth covering its upper body, seemingly unaffected by his crystal spike

“BUT HOW!?” Bellowed Sombra, incredibly confused as he saw his attack strike his target. The biped pointed to an item on the ground where it had fallen with one of its claws. Sombra gazed at the Wheel of cheese on the floor, the spike having impaled it before having its momentum halted by the steadfast dairy product

“I like my cheese aged,” answered the biped, before an ornate wooden table leg collided with Sombra’s face, knocking the King to the floor.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sparkeling Scroll watched through the stream of blood flowing down her head to the floor as the strange biped smashed the table leg it was carrying into the face of Sombra. The biped began to beat the King with the table leg, bringing down upon his head over and over

“This is- ‘CRACK!’ why you always- ‘CRACK!’ make sure your opponent- ‘SMASH!’ is not going to get back up- ‘CRACK!’ before you monologue- ‘CRACK!’ you tosspot!”

‘SPLAT!’

With a final swing the battered leg shattered Sombra’s skull, slaying the despicable slaver-king once and for all. The biped’s chest was heaving, the exertion of killing the former King taking its toll. The biped dropped the bloodstained table leg and turned to face Sparkling Scroll and the other ponies chained to the throne, its form covered in blood spatters, the gore of the dead king coating the surrounding area.

“So,” the blood-stained King-slayer began, “does this mean I’m now Emperor?”

Sparkeling Scroll fainted, the blood loss from her head wound combined with the violent display sending her into unconsciousness, the last thing she saw was a beam of sunlight piercing through clouds, shining light into the bleak throne room.

Settling In

As soon as Nigel had finished off the King, the black crystals all arrayed around the room, embedded into the furniture, the chains of the captive ponies and the walls themselves shattered, the remaining fragments fading into dust. The ponies previously attached to the walls fell to the ground and the ones chained to the throne were released, their bonds broken as the dead King’s magic dissipated. The ponies all looked upon Nigel in fright, the person in question prodding the King’s corpse with his foot. Nigel stopped his investigation of the dead King and began to move towards the throne, the five mares in front of him scattering as he approached. He sat down on the throne, his form melting into it as if it had been made for him, the black crystal absorbing his body heat and amplifying it, giving the cold, hard throne the feeling of a comfortable chair. Nigel was so preoccupied with settling into his new throne that he didn’t notice all of the ponies running out the doors until they were almost all out of the room

“Hey, can someone bring me some more cheese, my first batch kind of got ruined and killing things makes me peckish!” He yelled out after them, the ponies already long gone.

Nigel began to tap his fingers on the throne and swing his feet, waiting patiently for his cheese to arrive. One of his bare feet suddenly made contact with a soft furry object, and Nigel looked down to the bottom of the throne. Lying down, Nigel somehow having missed it earlier was another pony, a gash in its head slowly leaking vital fluid onto the crystal floor. He stared at the gash, before finally coming to the conclusion that he might have to do something about it as every other one of the ponies had vacated the room in haste.

He sighed; evidently he would have to do everything around here

“And here I was thinking that an Emperor had servants and butlers, now where the hell am I going to find a bandage around here?”

Nigel scanned the room from the comfort of his chair, until his eyes landed upon the body of Sombra, or rather the flowing red cape that was sprawled over the corpse

“Well, I already killed him, so I may well loot the corpse,” Nigel spoke, lifting himself out of the throne and walking over towards the fallen King. He reached down and tore a strip of red fabric from the cape before giving the cooling body one last kick. He returned to the throne before fastening the bandage around the gash on the mare’s head, the red fabric stopping the flow of blood. Nigel sat back in his chair, his task complete and continued to await the arrival of his sustenance

‘I really hope they have crackers to go with the cheese.’

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sparkling Scroll opened her eyes, blinking her right rapidly to try to clear the dried blood from her vision. Her head really hurt, but she couldn’t remember what caused it to hurt so much, did she fall down? She shook her head, causing the pain to flare up, eliciting a wince from her. This did clear some of the fog from her mind however, and she could now see her surrounds much more vividly. She could see that she was still in the throne room; however all the other ponies appeared to be gone, the chains attached to the walls were empty. Her eyes glazed over the rest of the wide room before coming to a stop upon a black and red shape lying in the middle of the floor. She leaned forward slightly, raising herself up on her front hooves, her rump still planted on the floor, fearing that if she got up she would aggravate whatever was causing the pain in her head.

“AAAHHHHHH!”

She drew back quickly upon realising that she was looking at the dead body of a pony, King Sombra no less, a pool of blood surrounding him. The momentum of her startled retreat caused her to topple over onto her back, the rear of her head smacking against two fleshy objects, her legs spread-eagled around her.

“Ow”

She rubbed her head with a hoof, the hoof coming into contact with some form of fabric wrapped around her head. She traced the strange cloth with the hoof, jerking it back as it came into contacted with a wet section of the cloth, finding the source of her headache, a wound just above her right eye. The strange thing was, there was no-other pony in the room and the King was dead, so who…

Sparkling Scroll suddenly remembered all of the previous events that had happened in the Throne room, from the strange biped, the conversation it had with Sombra all the way to when it killed the King with a piece of furniture. She shuddered as she remembered the brutal act of violence, the biped seemingly genuinely amused as it destroyed the once-feared despot. What had happened to the biped, had it left to continue its reign of terror elsewhere, snatching up lone foals for a quick snack? Sparkling Scroll shuddered at this thought, the very idea of being in close proximity of the Monster sending a chill up her spine. A chill that was countered by the warmth spreading through her back through the two objects she was resting against, two, long fleshy objects much like…

Two warm bipedal legs.

Sparkling Scroll ever-so-slowly tilted her head back, praying that when she looked up it would not be what she thought it was. She traced the two long white trunks up to a piece of blue fabric, continuing onwards towards a white cloth garment before her vision stopped, her eyes looking into two orbs, the irises seemingly coloured with winter itself

“Sup?” Questioned the biped as it flashed Sparkling Scroll a smile, its mouth filled with rows of teeth

Sparkling Scroll once again slipped into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness, her head once again impacting with the legs of the biped.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel kept staring at the mare with the pony in question having passed out, no doubt because of his amazing Royal visage, a sight which was unfit for mere mortals.

“Great,” grumbled Nigel, nudging the unconscious mare with his foot, causing it to roll over, returning it to a more decent position, the evidence of its gender now less noticeable from before from when it was on its back

“And I still don’t have any cheese!” lamented Nigel, rising from his chair, stepping over the prone form of the mare before striding out the main door, seeking a source of curdled dairy product

“There’s got to be some more around here somewhere, god help these ponies if I don’t find some soon.”

After a long time of cheese-less searching Nigel stumbled upon the palace kitchens, large Crystal stoves accompanied by Crystal benches covered with spoons made out of, you guessed it, Crystal.

“Come on, for once make something out of wood or plastic, this place has more Crystal then a bad rap video.”

Nigel was starting to get sick of all the crystal, his only consolation being that at least the ponies weren’t made out of shining substance, because that would be just plain retarded.

“Bingo!” Nigel exclaimed as he noticed a door with the label ‘Pantry’ on it, no doubt this would be were the ponies kept the goods. He rushed over towards the door, flinging open the barrier with much enthusiasm. Gazing into the depths of the pantry his eyes began to water with tears of manly joy and he dropped to his knees, throwing open his arms and looking towards the ceiling

“YES! YEEEEEEES!”

Situated on a rack at the back of the food storage area was a row of majestical wheels of cheese, all different sizes and types, surrounded by packets of dry crackers, framing the dairy products like a shrine to God himself

“Best. Day. Ever,” said Nigel happily as he rushed into the pantry to raid the delicacies within.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sparkling awoke to the sound of munching and groans of contentment. She picked herself off the floor, the pain in her head having diminished to a dull throb, pulsing in time with her heart. She swivelled around to face the noise, the monstrous biped from before was sitting right behind her, devouring a piece of cheese with a content look on its face. The biped stopped the consumption of its meal and looked right at her, causing her body to freeze and her mind to blank as its baleful gaze focused on her.

“Oh, you’re up again,” the biped observed, casually plopping a piece of cheese into its mouth, chewing the morsel before continuing, “listen, next time you faint, do you think you could do it over in the corner over there,” the biped gestured over towards a corner at the back of the room, “having to step over you every time I want to move is really becoming quite a chore.”

Sparkling was speechless; the biped continued its rant

“I mean, I know I have a smoking bod”, the biped looked down at itself, large spots of blood still prevalent on its garments, “but really, fainting? I’m not even the same species as you but I guess when you look at King Sombrero over there,” Sparkling glanced at the corpse before turning back round, “It looks like you ponies really are pressed when it comes to finding a good-looking ruler, would you like some cheese?”

The sudden change of subject snapped Sparkling out of her daze and she noticed that the biped was holding out a slice of cheddar cheese in one of its claws, evidently having washed Sombra’s blood off of it earlier.

“N-n-no than-k yo-u,” she stammered, the biped shrugging and taking a bite out of the slice

“Suit yourself, means more for me anyway,” The biped continued to eat the cheese, downing the entire slice.
“So, do you have a job or do you just hang around castles all day fainting whenever a charming gentleman arrives and kills the former ruler?”

“No, I worked as the King’s assistant before…” She once again glanced at Sombra “well, before you came.”

“Assistant you say?” The biped replied, rubbing its chin in thought with a claw “Tell you what, go home for the day, if you come back in the morning I’ll give you your old job back, except this time without all of the slavery.”

Sparkling was shocked, did this biped just offer her a job, could she really work for a creature that barely an hour ago had brained the most feared pony in the empire to death?

“I guess I could Mister?” Sparkling was beginning to build up the confidence needed to converse with the creature

“Just call me Nigel; since you’ll be working for me as my assistant I don’t expect you to call me Emperor all the time.”

“Okay… Nigel,” Sparkling felt weird saying the name, having expected the creature be named something more… evil. Actually when she thought about it he didn’t really seem that malicious towards her at all, he was certainly nicer than her old Boss, Sombra. Sparkling began to exit the Throne Room before realising that she didn’t remember where she lived

“Um, Nigel, Sir?” She questioned,, turning once again to face the new Emperor

“Yes my little pony, what can the all-powerful Emperor Chalmers do for you?” Nigel chuckled, obviously enjoying his new title

“I don’t really remember where I live, everything before today is a little fuzzy.”

Nigel leaned back in the throne, deep in thought

“I’m sure that this place has plenty of bedrooms, just pick one and you can have it until your head feels a little better.”

“Thankyou Sir,” she replied, surprised by Nigel’s generosity before she left the throne room in search of a bed.
Nigel watched the mare disappear, only to realise that he had forgotten to ask her name

“Eh, she’ll be back in the morning, I can just ask her then,” he muttered out loud before looking towards the ex-king “As for you dear Sir, I have the perfect idea” he said as he once again left the Throne room, heading towards the kitchen

“All I need is a sharp knife…”

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Northern Wastes
Hours later

“Shining come on, we have to make it to the Crystal Empire as soon as possible!”

Shining Armour mimicked his wife under his breath as he continued to trudge through the snow after Cadence, him and the four Royal Guard Pegasi assigned to accompany the guard Captain and his wife struggling to keep up with the pink alicorn in the snowy blizzard. Cadence seemed filled with a desperate energy, and she had been like this ever since Princess Celestia had announced that she felt the presence of the Crystal Empire once again.

“SHINING!” He stopped; his wife’s commanding voice ringing out from the front, piercing through the noise of the blizzard. He lifted his head, cloaked under a dull brown hood so to protect his head from the snow and spotted Cadence, the Alicorn looking at him sternly from under her own pink hood

“We have to hurry up, with our chariot grounded Sombra could have already arrived before us, who knows what evils he is subjecting the poor Crystal ponies too!”

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Crystal Empire

“Ahhhhhh,” Nigel moaned in pleasure as he dug his feet into his new rug, the warm material providing a comfortable buffer between his feet and the floor, who knew that pony fur could be so nice and soft? The Sombra rug sat at the foot of his throne, the red cape having been removed and flung over Nigel’s shoulders after he had given it a wash to rid it of the blood of its former owner. The silver crown was planted firmly on Nigel’s head and the silver armour was piled up in a back corner, Nigel planning to have it smelted down later. He had disposed of the rest of Sombra down a toilet, the hole seemingly going on forever into the ground, the inky blackness swallowing up the skinless corpse.

He glanced down at the rug, his feet resting on what the pony equivalent of shoulders were, withers he believed they were called. With his feet warmed by his new furniture and the crystal throne bathing him in warmth he drifted happily off into slumber, his dreams filled with fire and chaos, causing him to smile in his sleep, awaiting the coming day.

Respecting the Dead

Sparkling Scroll awoke in the lavish bed, a few shafts of sunlight piercing through the snow to land where her head was resting on the pillow. She yawned as she sat up, clambering out of the four-poster bed and stumbling towards the connected bathroom. She began to tidy her unruly mane with one of the many brushes she found in the bathroom, this room’s purpose possibly being quarters for important emissaries in the past. Once she had finished she looked into the mirror, her purple eyes reflected back at her. She tugged at the piece of cape covering the wound above her eye with both front hooves, pulling the makeshift bandage away from her head. The wound was quite small, thankfully, and did not appear to require any further medical attention. Sparkling used a washcloth to clean away the blood from the surrounding area, aided by the warm water.

As she walked out of the room she went over the events of the previous day, her thoughts straying to the new creature that was now also the self-proclaimed ruler of the Empire. She was willing to bet that none of the other citizens would question this, considering the circumstances through which he came to power. She began to descend a staircase, one of many in the palace, this one leading down towards the main entrance hall. She paused briefly to look out a window, the sky while cloudy no-longer possessed the thick menacing black clouds that were there yesterday, a few shafts of sunlight piercing the heavens amidst a light shower of snow.

Sparkling continued on, reaching the bottom of the staircase and finding herself in the entrance hall, the hall being illuminated by the many light-emitting crystals that were installed in many of the buildings around the empire. She pushed open the throne room doors and was greeted by a strange and disturbing sight.

Slouching in the crystal throne, with his feet resting upon a rug appeared to made out of the skin of Sombra was Nigel, the biped’s head resting on his shoulder, a trail of drool tracing from the edge of his mouth to the bottom of his upper garment. Sparkling advanced on the sleeping Emperor, making sure to keep her distance from the morbid floor rug.

“Um, good morning Sir.”

Nigel bolted upright “Whazzit? It’s time to go to school already?”

Sparkling couldn’t help but giggle at the biped’s reaction, Nigel smacking himself in the side of the head with an open palm to wake himself up. Nigel stared at the giggling mare, a drastic change from the nervous wreck he had encountered yesterday.

“You seem chirpy this morning, I’m sorry but I didn’t catch your name yesterday.”

Sparkling stopped her giggling when she was reminded of the day before, her good mood slightly dampened “My name is Sparkling Scroll sir.”

“Please Sparkling Scroll, drop the formalities, God knows I get enough of that at home.” Sparkling’s ears perked up at this, the origin of the Emperor shrouded in mystery, Sparkling not even knowing what his species was called. “Anyway, Iis it alright as I address you as Sparkling while we’re in an informal setting?”

“Yes si- Nigel,” Sparkling managed to stop herself calling him ‘Sir’, pleasing the Emperor, the biped clapping his claws together

“Great, well Sparkling, what do we do now, I would ask my predecessor but,” Nigel glanced down at the Sombra rug, “he’s feeling a little gutted about the situation.”

Sparkling didn’t know what disturbed her more, the fact that Nigel had just made a pun regarding the pony-skin rug or the fact that she actually found it a little bit funny, maybe she should find a job which has her interacting with unstable, violent individuals less often.

“I believe that now is the time for morning court Nigel,” she began before scanning his form, “but would you possibly like to, um, excuse me for saying this but, clean up first?”

“Why would I do that?” responded Nigel, “I’m fine as it is.”

“Well Nigel,” Sparkling continued, “your clothes are kind of dirty, and you are covered in bloodstains.” She found herself staring at a particular stain located on the area around his stomach was, the stain shaped like a heart, the brown dried blood standing out from the white colour of the cloth. “They might scare any subjects which wish your guidance.”

“And my floor rug made out of the skin of their former Tyrant wouldn’t?” deadpanned Nigel

“You… do have a point there; in all honesty it is incredibly disturbing.”

“I disagree, I think it really brightens up the place, you know, improves the feng shui and the positive aura and all that trash,” answered Nigel, digging his heels into the rug, “and it’s so bloody soft, I love it.”

“I can see that,” commented Sparkling, before turning towards the door, “however no one appears to be here, they’re all probably still hiding from Sombra.”

“Probably, I did see things hiding in the houses when I arrived,” Nigel scratched his chin as he recalled this, “I have an idea Sparkling,” the mare looked at him quizzically, “you should go around and doorknock on some of the houses, you know, spread the word that the Empires under new management.”

Sparkling thought about the idea, it was quite sound and it could work well, she smiled at Nigel and nodded.

“I’ll get on it right away, you can count on me,” she replied before rushing out of the room to complete her task. Nigel chuckled, the mare’s cheery attitude vastly improving his mood. He sat and waited, drumming his fingers whilst contemplating the situation. Overnight he had become an Emperor, he killed a slaver and he had acquired a rather upbeat assistant, all-in-all a rather productive day.

“Hold the phone,” said Nigel as he thought about his assistant

“Am I supposed to be paying her for this?”

____________________________________________________________________________________

Sparkling trotted merrily down the street; a good night’s sleep having put her in a great mood. The streets were deserted with not a pony in sight so Sparkling stopped at the door of the first house she came to, the building being made from a red crystal, the walls shining in the sunlight. She cleared the snow away from the step with a hoof and knocked on the wooden door. The curtain to the side of the door moved and a single, blue eye looked out. Sparkling raised her foreleg and waved at the eye, whoever was at the curtain quickly pulled it shut. She could hear hoof steps through the door, followed by the sound of multiple latches unlocking. The door opened a crack, a silver mare’s face appearing in the doorway, framed by a dull green mane

“Go away, Sombra could be here any second.” the mare whispered fearfully

“No he won’t, he was replaced by the new ruler, Emperor Chalmers!” Exclaimed Sparkling cheerfully

“What do you mean replaced?” .questioned the mare, the door opening wider, revealing a small silver foal hiding behind her

“Well, the Emperor and Sombra,” the silver mare flinched at the name Sombra, “fought and Emperor Chalmers won, so that’s why he’s our new ruler.”

“He beat King Sombra?” the mare said in disbelief

“With a table leg!” replied Sparkling cheerily, perhaps a tad to cheerful considering the subject

“Oh…” the mare replied, glancing at the ground before looking back up at Sparkling “What is he like?”

“Well,” began Sparkling “He’s a tall two-legged creature with blue eyes, a light brown mane and he wears clothes, oh, and he really likes cheese.”

“No,” said the mare “I mean, is he evil like Sombra?” as she said this she pulled her foal closer, the young colt glancing up at Sparkling fearfully through his light-gold mane.

“He’s actually really nice once you get over how he looks, but he does like to make some pretty bad jokes,” Sparkling giggled as she said this. The silver mare relaxed at this, and Sparkling decided to continue. “He did kind of kill Sombra and made a rug out of his skin though.”

SLAM!

Sparkling stared at the door, the mare having shut it violently in her face

“Was it something I said?”

Sparkling continued on her quest, however the majority of the crystal ponies either refused to believe Sombra was truly defeated or that the new Emperor was any better. The snow had started to fall more heavily, and it was with an equally heavy heart that Sparkling found herself back at the throne room doors empty hooved, not a single pony showing up for morning court.

She let out a sigh and walked into the throne room, Nigel still sitting in his throne expectantly, looking a bit like a colt on his birthday right before that cake was brought out. Sparkling looked up at her Emperor, preparing for him to burst into disappointment. She began to open her mouth to tell Nigel the bad news but he beat her to it

“You look a little down Sparkling, what’s wrong?”

“None of the crystal ponies wanted to come, they are far too scared of y-“

“Woooooow!”

Sparkling turned towards the young voice that had interrupted her, the young colt from the first house she had visited was standing at the door way, taking in the sights of the throne room. The colt must have only been around the age of six or seven and it entered the throne room, before spotting Nigel and stopping in its tracks, amazement in its eyes..

“Hi there,” Nigel grinned at the colt and waved with a claw, the colt slowly trotting over towards the seated Emperor.

“Hel-ll-o Emperor Chalmers,” the colt answered, bowing awkwardly upon the floor before Nigel.

“Don’t worry about the whole bowing thing,” dismissed Nigel with a wave his hand, “what brings you to my fine palace young one?”

The colt raised his head, looking up at the large creature. “Is it true that you fought the King and beat him?” he asked.

Emperor Chalmers let out a chuckle, pointing down towards the ground with a claw “Ask him yourself.”

The colt glanced down at where the Emperor pointed.

“AHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The colt fell over in fright, covering his eyes with his forelegs, having spotted Sombra lying on the floor glaring at him and baring his fangs. He stayed like this on the floor shivering, waiting for the evil King to take him away to the Crystal mines. When no demonic-pony King came to grab him he cracked open an eye, the laughter of the Emperor filling the air. The colt once again looked towards Sombra, still in the same position as before, not having moved an inch. Upon closer inspection the colt noticed that the King was rather… flat and empty. The silver colt slowly got up and moved over towards Sombra, heading off towards the side, attempting to avoid the King’s dead glare.

“He can’t hurt you,” the colt broke his gaze and looked up towards the throne, the Emperor having gotten his laughter under control, “he’s deader than Disco.”

The colt cautiously approached the rug and poked it, his hoof connecting with Sombra’s blank-flank. Seeing that the King was truly dead, the colt began to poke the rug in earnest, over and over again, much to the amusement of the Emperor.

“Ha, hey kid, you should sit on him, it’ll be fricken hilarious.”

The colt grinned at this prospect and planted his rump on the dead king’s back, looking like a human riding a horse, granted a dead and skinned horse.

Nigel was already laughing his arse off at the colt’s actions, but he absolutely lost it when the young pony grabbed Sombra’s ears, using them to shake his head from side-to-side while roaring.

“GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Sparkling was staring shocked at the spectacle, never in her life thinking that she would one day bear witness to a colt riding atop the back of King Sombra whilst using the King’s head as a puppet.

“SHINING BAUBLE, WHERE ARE YOU!?”

At the sound of the shout everyone stopped in the throne room, Sparkling was looking at the doors, Nigel was no-longer laughing and the colt had ceased its activities, staring at the door way in fright.

“Oh no,” he whimpered, “Mom.”

________________________________________________________________________________________

Bright Jewel raced up the steps leading towards the entrance hall, her legs propelling her up the crystal steps, panic in her heart. Soon after that crazy mare had visited her house, proclaiming that Sombra was dead she noticed that Shining Bauble was missing. She traced the tracks of a foal that led to the palace, the place that contained one of the greatest evils ever to walk the planet. Without thinking she had rushed inside determined to find her son, worrying about all the dastardly things that the King could be doing to him. She burst through the wooden doors guarding the throne room, her heart stopping at the sight before her.

Shining Bauble was currently sitting on King Sombra and grasping the king’s black ears with his forelegs. The King’s face was set in a scowl, and Bright Jewel almost collapsed then and there when she noticed that the King’s dead eyes were locked right onto her. Her son was planted on-top of the King’s back and Bright Jewel could clearly see that his face was flushed with terror, although she found herself unable to move toward him, the sight of the King causing her to tremble in terror. To the side of the doorway, standing a little way over from the King was the Mare that had knocked on her door, the mare currently staring at Bright Jewel in shock.

“Great, it looks like a second pony has turned up to Day Court; I hope it’s as fun as the first!”

Bright jewel turned towards the voice, spying a biped seated in the Throne, a large tooth filled grin filling his features. She noticed that the biped appeared to be covered in dried blood, brown patches splattered all over its body.

“Stay away from my son you monster!” She half yelled, half sobbed, the stress of the situation finally overwhelming her. She sank down onto the floor, sobs wracking her body as she mourned the fate of Shining Bauble. If Sombra did not kill him, the surly the horror seated in his throne will. As Bright Jewel continued to sob she felt a small face nuzzle her, and she lifted her head up. Shining Bauble was standing in front of her, the colt having rushed over towards his crying mother to comfort her. She looked away from her son towards the King, his body having returned to a lifeless state, Bright Jewel now realising that the King was no longer a threat to anyone.

“Please don’t cry Mommy!” spoke Shining Bauble as he nuzzled her. “Emperor Chalmers is really nice and he really did beat Sombra!” The colt spoke the last part with glee.

Bright Jewel looked at the Emperor, his form, now that she had calmed down a little did not seem too monstrous, after all, she did vaguely recall seeing a dragon up close once, but she couldn’t lock down the specific memory. The biped seated on the throne did not look threatening, at least compared to a dragon, and his face did appear to be displaying some concern for Bright Jewel’s current state. Still sniffling a little she picked herself up and slowly moved over towards the body of Sombra, before bowing before the Emperor and asking “are you sure he’s dead, he’s never going to hurt us again?

“I’m quite sure he’s dead,” the Emperor answered, his face turning back into a smile again.

“Just like Justin Beiber’s career.”

Change of Scenery

Nigel looked down upon the mare bowing in-front of him.

“Rise my subject,” Nigel commanded, the Mare raising herself up to look at him, “I wish to ask you a question.”

‘That is never going to get old, I love this job,’ thought Nigel with glee.

“Yes my Lord?” The mare asked.

“First off, what is your name?”

“Bright Jewel, Lord.”

“Alright Bright Jewel,” responded Nigel, an idea forming in his head “What is your quest?”

“Quest, my Lord? I guess it would be to rescue my son, but there’s no need for that now,” Bright Jewel and Nigel looked back over towards Shining Bauble, the young colt was back on the Sombra rug resuming his puppet show.

“Good and finally,” Nigel leaned forward, placing his fingers together to form a pyramid of evil contemplation, “What is the average flight speed of an unladen swallow?”

“I… don’t know my Lord,” Bright Jewel replied, bowing her head, Nigel chuckling at her response.

“I didn’t expect you too, I just wanted to abuse my power a little,” At this Bright Jewel lifted her head, relived that there would be no consequences for failing to answer the question. Nigel looked over towards Sparkling; his assistant was still standing over near the doorway “Sparkling, would you be kind enough to escort Ms Bright Jewel and her son home.”

“Yes Sir!” Sparkling responded as the two mares and one colt vacated the area, Shining Bauble giving the Emperor one final wave before leaving, Nigel waving back before slouching back into his chair.

‘Now, let’s see if this little scheme of mine works,’ he thought before reaching over towards the plate at his side and beginning the taxing task of selecting a perfect piece of cheese.

______________________________________________________________________________________

As Sparkling left Bright Jewels house, the mare thanking her for her time, she noticed that a large number of Crystal ponies were peering out of their doors, some even cautiously walking out into their front yards.

“Psssst, hey you, mare,” Sparkling turned to face the voice, a small group of Crystal ponies had slowly began to walk towards her, all of them shooting worried glances at the Palace she was heading to.

“Yes, what is it?” Sparkling questioned.

“Is it true, is the King really gone?” a red-coated gold-maned stallion at the head of the group asked, Sparkling detecting a twinge of hope in his voice, “is he never coming back?”

Sparkling nodded happily. “Yes, it’s true; he was defeated by our new ruler, Emperor Chalmers, I’m sure he would like to meet all of you!”

The stallion looked back towards his fellows, two other stallions and four mares “Is the new Emperor… evil?” The stallion said with apprehension. Sparkling decided that informing the group about the method of Sombra’s demise and following utilisation as a foot-warmer would be counter-productive; instead she began to walk back towards the palace, the group of ponies following her.

“No,” replied Sparkling, “He just gets a little cranky when ponies ruin his cheese.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Night had fallen across the land of the Crystal Empire and word had spread around the city that Sombra truly was defeated. Ponies left the safety of their homes, gathering in the streets to discuss the news. When no sign of the King was reported small parties began to spring up around the city, the King’s death having removed the curse that seemed to cloud the minds of the citizens. Ponies’ memories were still elusive although many reported that small snippets were filtering through slowly, and there was much hope that eventually all of the memories would return in time.

There was also a lot of conversation regarding the new Emperor, not many ponies having seen him. The exceptions were the ponies who were chained up in the throne room when Emperor Chalmers arrived and the small group that had followed Sparkling Scroll back to the Palace earlier that day. The former captives spoke of the casual brutality that the new ruler had displayed, having dispensed with Sombra with an almost cheerful ease. This caused a small amount of panic in the gathered crowd until their fears were put to rest by the ponies that had met the Emperor that morning, assuring them that he wished his citizens no harm.

The smaller parties all combined into one gigantic party that covered the entire city, markets and shops re-opening for the first time in a thousand years. The Emperor’s assistant, Sparkling Scroll, declared that the Emperor would make a public address at ten o’clock the following morning; many of the ponies who heard this were relieved because while many had heard of the Emperor, very few actually had the courage to enter the palace to face him. The party began to simmer down around midnight, many ponies leaving the snow covered streets to return to their beds, eager to witness the first speech of their new ruler. Sparkling herself had been joining in on the festivities, and she returned to palace to inform Nigel of the citizens’ positive reaction to him.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

“Thank you Sparkling, that will be all for today.”

Nigel watched his assistant merrily make her way out of the throne room, heading towards her quarters. The mare had really improved mood wise, no longer depressed or distant and she seemed to be enjoying her new job immensely. This pleased Nigel, after all; a happy assistant is a hard-working assistant. He mulled over what she had told before she left, the fact that the majority of his new citizens seemed to accept his rule. Nigel knew that there was a possibility that the UIP would rescue him, and he had to admit to himself that if they did find them he would leave this planet without hesitation, after all, he was still a member of the ISA and duty always comes first.

This was also why he was so keen to integrate Sparkling into almost everything he did as Emperor, knowing that if he had to leave at least someone would know what to do, Nigel trusting that the mare had a good temperament and ability. After all, he conceded, if it wasn’t for her assistance the citizens would likely be still trembling in their homes.

‘Guess all I have to do now is wait until morning’ thought Nigel as he twiddled his thumbs, having little need for sleep at the moment, ISA operatives being modified and trained to function with only small periods of slumber. Nigel looked down at his clothed body and sniffed.

‘First things first, take a shower and wash these clothes, I smell like the inside of a teenager’s bedroom.’

________________________________________________________________________________________

Sparkling happily bounded into the throne room, today was the big day, the day that Nigel would announce himself to the public. Sparkling had already grabbed herself a quick breakfast from the palace kitchens, Nigel decreeing that she was allowed access to which ever room she pleased. She was currently balancing a tray loaded with toast and tea on her back, advancing towards the figure in the throne who was currently preoccupied with fixing up his cape.

“Morning Nigel,” Sparkling greeted happily, the person in question moving his focus from the cape to her. “I brought you some breakfast!”

‘Did we get married over night?’ thought Nigel as he gave the energetic mare a smile.

“Morning Sparkling, thank you for that, I was just about to grab myself something so you saved me the trouble.”

“It was no problem,” she replied as Nigel lifted the tray off her back and set it down upon the table beside the throne, Sparkling lying down upon a cushion at the foot of the throne, having moved it there last night so she wouldn’t have to stand around all the time.

“So Nigel,” Sparkling began, the Emperor pouring two cups of tea, “I’ve noticed that you seem to have washed up, I thought that you didn’t care much about how you looked.” Nigel nodded as he handed a cup of tea to her, Sparkling grasping it between two forelegs.

“I know I said that Sparkling, but this is different. This first speech dictates exactly how the public view me, and while I’m personally not against being seen as an all-powerful conqueror,” at this Sparkling giggled, Nigel having raised a piece of toast into the air like a sword, “considering the ways of your last ruler I figure that it would be better if they saw me as someone they can confide in, after all, a happy populace is far less likely to attempt assassinations.”

Sparkling glanced towards the rug sitting on the floor next to her “I don’t think anyone will try to assassinate you after seeing what you did to Sombra Nigel.” Nigel shrugged, taking a bite of his buttered toast.

“Eh, I could probably kill anybody that attempts to anyway; after all I am a soldier myself.”

Sparkling looked at him in interest “You’re a soldier?”

“Well, I’m an ISA agent for the United Imperium of Planets, we mainly function as explorers and Black Ops soldiers as well as the occasional Intel officers.”

“So you’re a Secret Agent then, that’s so cool!” Sparkling exclaimed, recalling the books she read as a filly that focused around spies and subterfuge.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty decent job I suppose, after all, if waking up on an unknown planet and then taking over an empire is not the craziest thing you’ve done then you know that you’ve got an interesting career, but most of those stories are classifed,” Nigel said before glancing at the wooded clock on the wall.

“Well, it’s almost nine, we better finish up, only an hour to go until crazed panic,” Nigel joked, eliciting another giggle from his assistant as they continued their meal.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

‘Wow, that’s a lot of ponies,’ thought Sparkling as she looked over the palace balcony, the multitude of crystal ponies filling the streets of the city with bright colours. Sparkling turned towards Nigel, the Emperor was standing hidden by a pair of curtains, his garments, while not exactly fitting for a ruler had been washed by him the night before, no longer covered in blood.

“Are you ready Nigel?” She questioned, Nigel nodding his head in confirmation. Sparkling took a large breath and stepped out onto the balcony

“Attention Citizens of the Crystal Empire!” At Sparkling’s shout a hush descended upon the crowd, her voice echoing around the city thanks to the many crystalline structures “Presenting the Majestic Emperor Chalmers!”

At this Nigel stepped out onto the balcony, the gathered crowd of ponies stared up at him in awe.

“Greetings new subjects,” the Emperor’s voice boomed out from the balcony, his commanding tone honed after years of military command. “I am Emperor Chalmers, your new ruler and I stand here to bring you a great announcement!”

The crowd began to stamp their hooves, the ponies’ equivalent of applause.

“King Sombra lies dead, dealt with like the vile slaver he was, never able to threaten you again!”

The crystal ponies erupted into a great cheer, the sound vibrating around the entire city. As this happened, a glow began to rise from the ground under the Palace, intensifying with the volume of the cheer. The ponies who noticed it stopped, the rest of the crowd still applauding, however it was not long until everyone had noticed the glow, worried whispers circling the crowd.

A hum had begun to sound, the Crystal Palace itself amplifying it, until with a high pitched peal of sound the ground beneath the Palace split apart and a podium raised up out of the ground, a massive gem raising up on top of it. With a sudden flash a massive wave of energy flowed over the city, blinding everyone in it temporarily.

Nigel rubbed his right eye, his inorganic left one having adjusted to deal with the sudden flash, and he looked out upon his subjects, the sight making him question his sanity. The wave of energy appeared to have… crystallised the ponies, their once dull manes and coats shining like gems. The weather also appeared to have been affected, a large dome-shaped area of clear sky forming over the city, enabling the sun to shine its rays upon the city.

Nigel turned towards his assistant, the once dull coloured mare was positively sparkling, her crimson mane the colour of rubies and her coat was shining like a pearl. Sparkling was currently staring at her own glittering hooves in shock.

“Sparkling, what the Smeg happened?”

“It’s the Crystal Heart Sir!” Sparkling replied, her face morphing into an expression of joy, briefly forgetting Nigel’s request to act informal “Sombra had it hidden away, but the joy of the ponies must have caused it to re-emerge! I’m starting to remember things! I live at the castle and my parents…”

Nigel noticed that Sparkling’s face dropped as she mentioned this, tears filling her eyes as she rushed back into the Palace. Nigel turned back towards the crowd of crystal ponies, the ponies all currently overjoyed with their situation, many of them flocking around the heart, the gem continuing to radiate positive emotion. He decided that the ponies would be fine by themselves for the moment and he rushed back into that palace, attempting to track down his upset assistant.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Outskirts of the Empire

Deep within a dark cold cave, a body rose from a mass of shivering forms and made its way to the entrance, a black muzzle poking out of the dark depths. Two large eyes with lime green irises looked upon the dome that had formed in the distance, an aura of happiness and love radiating out from it, causing its belly to rumble. The figure’s ears twitched and it turned to delve back into the cave, preparing to wake it’s fellows for the journey to come.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel followed the trail of tears left by Sparkling, arriving at the door to her chambers, the sound of sobbing faintly flowing through the closed door. He gently pushed open the door, revealing Sparkling lying face down on her bed crying into her pillow. Nigel carefully entered the spacious room, slowly walking over towards the sobbing mare who was crying her eyes out. He sat down on the bed, Sparkling lifting her head from the pillow to look at him, tears still flowing from her eyes, before she once again buried her head into the pillow. Nigel sighed deeply and began to rub her back with a hand, waiting for his assistant to cease her sobbing. He looked over to the window, the sounds of celebration filtering through and the sunlight causing a shimmering effect on the magical dome.

The sobbing from Sparkling had died down, Nigel turning to find that his assistant had once again left the comfort of the pillow and was looking up at him. Nigel chose to not say anything, waiting for the distressed mare to speak.

“Sombra killed my parents,” she stated, a new wave of tears beginning to flow, “they were unicorns, so Sombra executed them so that he would be the only one in the Empire able to shape crystals.”

Nigel was stumped, he had absolutely no idea of what to say, this situation being one of the few that his training had not prepared him for.

“I’m sure that if they were still alive, they would be incredibly proud of what their daughter became, I know I am.”

Sparkling blinked away the tears in her eyes, the Emperor’s words providing her with some comfort.

“Do you really mean that?”

Nigel sighed once again. “Of course I do, you’ve become a fine young mare and if I was your father I would be immensely pleased with you.”

The mare suddenly flung herself around Nigel, embracing him and shoving her head into his chest, Nigel continuing to stroke her back, his singlet quickly becoming soaked in her tears. They remained like that for hours, until a knock was heard at the door, Nigel turning his head to see who it was.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Sapphire Strategy was quite surprised when he entered the throne room and it was completely empty, not a soul in sight. He was the former Captain of the Crystal Guard, Sombra having dissolved it when he seized power. Sapphire had kept his equipment however, hiding it under his house in the cellar, hoping that one day he would be able to wear it again. His armour was crafted from a strong alloy of crystals, greaves covering his legs, shoes both serving as hoof protection and a weapon, a Helmet with a face plate with slots for his eyes and mouth, a breastplate with a coloured gem set into the middle and segmented crystal plates shielding his back, sides and underbelly. The design of the armour provided maximum protection while the bearer still possessed great movability with the gem set in the breastplate containing healing and strength enchantments, increasing the wearer’s ability and survivability in combat. The golden chevrons on the plates covering his withers denoted his rank of Captain, the gold standing out amongst the diamond-like armour.

He walked over towards the throne, his sheathed sword hanging off the side of his armour, the gem studded pommel jutting out near his right foreleg. The gems set in the grip enchanted to allow him to use his armoured hooves to hold it, as was the same with all weapons used by the Crystal guard. He paused in his investigation as he stumbled upon the flayed skin of Sombra

“By the Heart, he really did kill and skin the King; will he even need a Guard at all?” Sapphire asked himself whilst staring at the flat body of the former King. Tearing his eyes away from the morbid sight he continued his search for the Emperor.

Sapphire’s search led him upstairs to the diplomatic quarters, his hooves guided by the sound of a crying mare as he walked over towards a room with the door ajar. He nudged open the door with his muzzle, spotting the source of the sobs.

The Emperor was currently sitting on the large bed dominating the room, hugging his distraught assistant to his chest; all that was visible of the mare’s head was her glittering ruby mane. Sapphire watched the scene, able to guess how the mare became so distraught. Many of the ponies in the Empire had lost loved ones to Sombra, the King in particular exterminating any unicorns he could find, fearing their ability to shape and enchant crystals.

There were rumours currently floating around the city that a few had survived the purge, having hidden in abandoned buildings or with sympathisers, although Sapphire had yet to see any solid proof. He lightly rapped his hoof against the door, catching the attention of the Emperor within the room.

Nigel looked at the pony at the door, armoured in what appeared to be crystal. The pony, a stallion judging from its slightly bigger size and bulkier muzzle had a copper-coloured coat and a vibrant deep blue mane covered by a helmet, evidently a soldier or guard. Nigel held up a finger and mouthed ‘Give me one minute’, the Stallion understanding the meaning behind the gesture and backing out of the room.

Nigel re-focused his attention from the Stallion back to Sparkling, the mare having cried herself to sleep. He gently lifted her head from his chest and laid her down back on the bed as he got up; making sure a pillow was under her head. He then exited the room shutting the door behind him, the armoured Stallion waiting for him in the hallway

“Walk with me,” commanded Nigel as he headed for the throne room, the stallion following behind him.

Nigel reached his throne, sitting down in the chair and resting his feet on the rug he had made, the stallion stopping and saluting with a foreleg before him.

“At ease,” ordered Nigel, feeling some humour despite the situation, now when he got back to UIP space he could brag about commanding an army of killer horses.

“As you command sir,” the stallion replied, returning his raised hoof to the ground

“What is it, soldier?” Nigel questioned

“I am Captain Sapphire Strategy my Lord, former Commander of the Crystal Guard before Sombra got rid of it,” Sapphire glanced down towards the rug currently warming the Emperor’s feet, “with you having disposed of him I was wondering if, forgive me for asking your Highness, if I could possibly have my command re-instated so I may re-form the Guard?”

“Of course you can Captain,” Nigel replied, empathising the word ‘Captain’, “how many troops were previously under your command and how quickly do you think you could re-assemble a fair amount?”

“Thank you sir,” the Captain replied, “our guard consisted of around five-hundred ponies, however I believe that at best we could have one-hundred fully armed and re-trained within a week sir, due to the actions of Sombra. I currently have twelve of my best troops ready to go, we have been waiting for a chance to reform the army for a while.”

Nigel was impressed with the dedication of the Captain, the pony obviously possessing a generous amount of positive command traits.

“Very Good, Captain, I expect you’ll be very suitable for the job, your first assignment is to assign a detachment to guard the Crystal Heart, such an important artefact should be watched at all times.”

“Yes my Lord,” the Captain saluted once again before leaving via the main doors to organise his troops.

After the Captain left the room was once again bathed in silence, a silence that was soon interrupted by sniffles coming from the side of the throne. Nigel looked over the side where Sparkling was standing, the mare still upset. Nigel gestured towards the cushion at the front of the throne and Sparkling threw herself down upon it, thankfully having stopped crying. Nigel decided that she just needed some time to get over her issues, he could understand that she was upset but sometimes the best way to help someone is to just give them some space. The mare already seemed to be crying less often, so he counted that as a plus.

Soon after Sparkling’s entrance ponies started to enter the throne room, eager to offer their services to their new ruler, Nigel settling in for a long day.

_____________________________________________________________________________-

The day had passed surprisingly well, Nigel had acquired a treasurer, a minister for education, a small staff of palace servants including a chef, a further twenty Guards and the Captain from earlier. Sparkling also seemed to be doing a bit better, becoming fast friends with another mare whose family Sombra also killed. Nigel had given Sparkling the rest of the day off and the two mares had spent the afternoon in the town, leaving Nigel alone with the multitude of nobles that assailed the court.

Speaking of nobles, Nigel was pleasantly surprised when the snobs he expected turned out to actually care deeply about their fellow citizens, the reign of King Sombra having seemingly equalized the Crystal ponies. Only one noble had made the mistake of mentioning that the Emperor looked like a monkey, much to the shock of the rest of the nobility, but a quick comment from Nigel regarding him needing a new ‘winter coat’ while also saying how soft his new foot rug was quickly encouraged the noble to correct the mistake.

The court was just about to finish, the sun beginning to set when a frantic guard burst into the room, heavily armoured and armed with both a spear and a short sword.

“My Lord, the sentries around the Crystal Heart have captured and detained a number of unknown creatures attempting to enter the protective perimeter.”

“Really now,” the Emperor mused as the nobles chatted amongst themselves in disbelief, “what are these creatures and how many are there?”

“We don’t know what they are sir, they look like ponies but all are black, are insect-like and have both horns and wings.” The guard, a sergeant judging from his armour markings, took a deep calming breath before continuing. “There appear to be thirty-five so far Sir, what looks like twenty five adults and ten children.”

Nigel was quite intrigued at this development, what possible purpose would these creature’s want the Heart for?

“Interesting…” Nigel stroked his chin, “you say you have then detained?”

“Yes my lord, the dungeons are still being repaired but we are holding them in an old abandoned house.”

“Very well Sergeant, I command you to fetch these creatures and bring them before me, I wish to see them for myself,” Nigel ordered

“Yes sir, as you command,” the sergeant gave a quick salute that was returned by the Emperor before rushing back out the door to fetch the prisoners. Emperor Chalmers turned to the gathered nobles, all of whom were still worried about the attempted theft, looking towards him for guidance.

“Well,” Emperor Chalmers began, “whoever said that politics was boring just got proved wrong”

Punishing a Princess

Cadence found herself being hauled into the Crystal Palace by a mass of guards, the Crystal ponies lining the streets booing her as she passed. According to the guard Captain, ‘Captain Strategy’ the Emperor had requested that she be taken directly to the Throne room instead of the damp cell the Captain was so eager to throw her in. Cadence was worried, this ‘Emperor Chalmers’ must have somehow cast a spell over the Crystal ponies as there was no possible way that anything would want to live willingly with changelings, disgusting little parasites that they were. Maybe that was how the Emperor had these ponies fooled, Queen Chrysalis had already proven herself capable of mind control, who was to say that she wasn’t here now, manipulating everything with the aid of this ‘Emperor’

The main throne room doors were thrown open, and Cadence looked towards the throne before the four guards escorting her stopped, one of them tugging on the shackle fastened around her neck to halt her. On the throne sat a biped clothed in what appeared to be simple garments, a red cape attached to its back with a silver crown sitting on his head. To the left of the throne was a crystal pony mare, her purple eyes watching Cadence with worry. The look she got from the opposite side of the throne however was not so sympathetic with the changeling, a female belonging to the upper-class of hive society, judging from its eyes and flowing mane, shooting Cadence a hate filled glare, likely because of how Cadence tried to defeat its evil plot to take over the Empire. Lastly, lying in front of the crystal throne was the long-dead flayed skin of Sombra, sending a chill up her spine.

“So,” the Emperor began, his voice cold “this is the trollop who decided that assault and battery was legal, what a pathetic sight.”

Cadence was outraged, how dare this creature insult her so after unjustly detaining her

“I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, also known as Princess Cadence, niece to Princess Celestia and rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire and its subjects and I demand that you release me at once!”

“I can’t do that ‘Cadence’” replied the Emperor, deliberately leaving out her title “You have been charged with assault against one of my subjects and I intend to treat you like the criminal scum you are”

“Criminal!?” Cadence yelled “I was attempting to save MY Subjects” Cadence empathised ‘My’, earning her a glare from the Captain standing next to her “from having their love sucked out by one of those abominations!” She nodded her head towards the Changeling sitting near the Throne

“YOU PONY BITCH!” Reflection lunged for the Princess only to be held back by two guards, one of which was the Sergeant from when the Changelings first arrived, his previous dislike for Reflection being overridden by his sense of duty. While the Sergeant, Rough Stone, did not care much for the Changeling due to her earlier disrespect he still thought referring to the Changelings as ‘Abominations’ was harsh, the others seemingly a fair bit more… docile than their leader. Reflection continued to attempt to reach the Princess

“What gives you the right to come here and start causing problems?!” Reflection’s mad thrashing began to subside

“we were getting along fine; both us Changelings and the Crystal ponies were happy until you came along and ruined it!” Reflection slowly began to slump in the guard’s hold “We finally belonged…”

Nigel had watched Reflection’s initial outburst with much humour, although he made sure to keep a cold glare focused on Cadence. He was half-tempted to order the guards to let Reflection go so he could watch her beat the crap out of the Princess, but then Reflection’s anger had given way to sorrow, spoiling the moment

‘Why is it that when these ponies and changelings start to cry I almost feel… sorry for them, this planet must be making me soft’ Nigel thought before breaking his glare at the Princess, it morphing into a smile of reassurance as he looked upon Reflection, the Changeling beginning to sob

“Reflection,” the changeling turned around towards him, tears in her eyes “this incident has not changed how you are going to be treated, look around the room, who do you think is the unpopular one here?”

Reflection stopped her crying and looked around her as the Emperor suggested. The nobles in the room, the Emperor’s assistant Sparkling, the guards and even the Sergeant beside her, the one who she had taunted when they first met were all directing looks of anger and rage at… the Pony Princess, not her

“See Reflection?” the Emperor continued “No-one’s going to throw you out anytime soon, I made a deal with you and I intend to keep my word.”

As Nigel finished he noticed that the Changeling seemed incredibly touched by his words, and with a few final sniffles a small smile replaced the frown on her face. Nigel felt himself swell up with pride, a feeling that was soon extinguished as Reflection propelled herself into his lap, grasping him around the midsection with her forelegs and pushing her head into his chest. This also had the unfortunate effect of one of her rear hooves colliding solidly with his ‘royal jewels’ as she landed, sending a jolt of pain through Nigel’s body, his flimsy boxers providing no protection.

Reflection noticed that the Emperor had suddenly froze up, and after she remembered he was male she put two-and-two together, a slight green blush appearing on her face as she scrambled off of him back onto the cushion on the floor, giving him an apologetic look. She had to admit however that the Emperor’s ability to maintain his facial expression despite being clocked in what Reflection knew was a ‘sensitive’ spot was amazing.

Nigel decided to forgive the Changeling for her blunder considering the circumstances, pushing the pain to the back of his mind before turning back to Cadence, the shackled Princess not picking up on what had just happened.

“You’re not helping yourself any further Cadence” Nigel said, not a trace of pain in his voice “back where I’m from your actions so far would have netted you a hefty thirty years imprisonment with hard labour, although as a SPECTOR officer with the UIP Department of Security and Intelligence I have the authority to summarily execute those who break the law” at this statement Cadence’s face paled “However…” Cadence looked at him with hope

‘Oh, I’m going to so enjoy this’ Nigel thought before continuing

“I was reading quite an interesting book the other day” Nigel held up a hefty tome called ‘Laws of the Crystal Empire, Complete Edition’, the crystalline cover glittering in the light “and I’ve found a most fitting and… entertaining punishment that I think you’ll just love…”

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Shining and the four Pegasi guards arrived at the city, cautiously stepping through the barrier surrounding the city, the guards holding their spears at the ready as they approached the city. The fields on the outskirts of the city were covered with a light layer of snow, seemingly immune to the bright rays of sunlight shining down from above. As they moved into the city, all five stallions searching for any clue of the missing Princess, Shining Armour noted that the streets were deserted, not a pony in sight.

A loud cheer rose up in the distance, Shining and the guards looking towards the source, the large Crystal Palace dominating the centre of the city. They galloped over as quickly as they could and as they drew closer to the source of the cheers, now becoming more frequent, they began to encounter the local citizens, the Crystal ponies that noticed them watching them with worry. Shining ran ahead of his guards, pushing through the growing throng as he neared his objective. With a final shove he burst out into a courtyard in front of the Palace, the sight on the stage in the middle causing his jaw to drop.

Locked in a pillory (Wooden stock, where the hands and head are locked in place) on the stage was his wife, Cadence. The Princess and the wooden device she was trapped in was covered in a layer of rotten produce, painting her with a smattering of foul smelling, multi-coloured gunk. Crystal ponies and also what appeared to be a few changelings were taking turns throwing rotten fruit and veg at the Alicorn, the crowd letting out a large cheer whenever a direct hit landed. Shining Armour watched as one changeling, a slightly taller one with a green mane and tail threw a rotten tomato with a foreleg at his wife, the projectile landing on Cadence’s horn before sliding down it before touching her forehead, red juice erupting all over Cadence’s face in the process

“FIFTY POINTS TO REFLECTION!”

Shining dragged his sight away from his wife towards the cheerful voice, spotting a tall creature sitting on a plain wooden stool wearing a crown, the creature waving a piece of asparagus around in the air as the crowd once again released a hearty cheer. Next to the creature stood a crimson maned mare, writing down scores on a board next to the improvised throne.

Shining deduced that this creature was the one in charge, seeming as there was no trace of Sombra to be found and the crystal ponies all seemed to be in high spirits. His four guards had caught up with him and were staring at the sceptical on stage in shock, a large amount of crystal ponies having made way for the armed group of ponies. Shining began to advance on the creature, intending to stop this treatment of his wife with the four guards following behind him.

He had barely started to move from his spot before ten armoured ponies wielding spears and swords raced in to stand in front of Shining, halting his advance

“Stop right there Equestrian!” a pony with slightly more ornate armour yelled “any further movement will be met with force!”

The crowds’ attention was focused on Shining and his guards, all other activity in the courtyard ceased, the four Pegasi nervously having extended their spears, forming a wall in front of them.

“Drop your weapons at once!” Commanded the Crystal pony officer, a further fifteen guards surrounding the five Equestrians, cutting off any escape via the ground.

Shining examined his chances, his four guards switching their gazes from one Crystal pony guard to the next, un-nerved by the superior numbers surrounding them. The Crystal ponies were wearing heavy armour, made out of crystals, their strength unknown. Every one of them was armed with a spear and sword, every single weapon pointing at the five Equestrians. While Shining wanted to save his wife, who was currently watching the encounter from her position on the stage, forgotten by the crowd, he was still a member of the Equestrian Military and if he attacked it could prompt a war between the two nations.

“Do as he says” Shining said reluctantly, the four guards disengaging the spears from their armour, the Crystal ponies rushing in to retrieve the dropped weapons, leaving the Equestrians defenceless.

“Captain, bring them over here”

Shining looked towards the creature, catching a glimpse of a smile on its face before he and the four guards were corralled towards the throne.

“The Equestrians have given up their weapons Sir, and are here as you ordered” the officer saluted as the group reached the creature

“Thank you Captain” the creature acknowledged, standing up off of its seat “Now, onwards to you, Equestrian” the creature turned to Shining, his face retaining a neutral look “I am Emperor Chalmers and I suspect that the Princess we are… ‘entertaining’ is the reason for your interuption, is that not correct?”

Shining faced the biped stoically “The Princess of Equestria that you are holding prisoner is also my wife, and so as Captain Shining Armour of the Solar Guard representing the country of Equestria I humbly request that she be released with my apologises for any insult she imparted on you”

Shining had dealt with many troublesome foreign dignitaries in the past during his time as Captain of the Guard, and he also knew that threats and demands did not often work in these situations. Shining had noticed that the Emperor appeared to be fairly fit, his muscles while not overly bulging hinted at a possible Military background, a theory that was supported by Shining’s observations about the way he spoke to the Crystal pony Captain, the Emperors tone suggesting command experience. With his prior experiance with dealing with Commanding officers he knew that his best possible chance of success was to conduct himself with caution, this being made easy considering they had been disarmed and surrounded.

“She did not merely insult me, Captain Armour” the Emperor replied “she assaulted one of my citizens in the middle of a market place with no provocation”

Shining winced at this; no doubt Cadence had tried to fight one of the Changelings, her hatred for them surpassing his own after the wedding disaster. Cadence was a Princess but Shining had come to learn that she could be a little… impulsive.

“I would be happy to release her back to you after her punishment is complete; after all, Crystal Empire law dictates that she has to remain in the stocks for a further three hours” spoke The Emperor

Shining looked over towards his wife, Cadence was covered in a layer of gunk and looking down right miserable. Shining was torn, on one hoof she was his wife and love but on the other she had entered a different country and then proceeded to attack one of its citizens for no reason. Three hours did not seem like that much longer to Shining, and this Emperor Chalmers was obviously willing to forgive her once her punishment was over.

Shining looked around him, the four Pegasi were each guarded by three Crystal ponies and the Emperor had seemingly won over the citizens of the Crystal Empire. Another question that was unanswered was what had become of King Sombra? If Cadence and Celestia were correct then he was one of the most powerful and feared unicorns in recorded history, this Emperor must be quite a capable fighter to overcome such a tough adversary.

“I suppose three hours is a small price to pay for the hope of good relations between our two countries… Emperor Chalmers”

The Emperor looked quite content with Shining’s response “Great, Guards” The twenty-five Crystal guards saluted the Emperor “escort the Four Equestrian guard to the barracks and provide them with some quarters, Sergeant Stone I’m going to leave you in charge of them” the Sergeant Saluted his Emperor before he and a squad of guards escorted the Pegasi away “Captain Strategy I would like you to follow me and Captain Shining here to the throne room, I’ve got a friend that I want him to meet”

The Emperor shot his Guard Captain a grin, the Captain sending one back in response. As he followed the Emperor to the throne room, accompanied by the Emperor’s assistant, Captain Strategy and a few Crystal guard Shining couldn’t help but notice that a large amount of apprehension had begun to form in his stomach regarding the conspiratory look the Emperor had shared with Strategy. He had no time to reflect on this as the group entered the palace, heading to the throne room and the surprise that lay within.

Ineffective Teaching

Shining Armour followed Emperor Chalmers and the Captain into the palace, the unicorn gazing around in awe at the beauty of the surrounding crystals that made up the walls. As the group ascended a magnific staircase Shining admired the Gems studded along it, the jewels bathing the room in a soft, warm light. At the top of the stairs the group was greeted by two more Crystal Guards who proceeded to open the large wooden doors, revealing a spacious throne room, much larger than the one in Canterlot.

The group proceeded into the room, Emperor Chalmers leading the way out in front. Shining’s view in front of him was obscured by the Guards in front of him, only being able to see the Emperor because of the biped’s height. The ponies in front of Shining halted, the Emperor sitting down on the throne

“Thank you Guards that will be all” The guards parted at the Emperor’s command, splitting off to stand at either side of the room, leaving Shining with a perfect view of what lay at the Emperor’s feet.

It was Sombra, or at least what used to be Sombra. The former King had been gutted and skinned; the once fearsome unicorn turned into nothing more than a morbid decoration. Shining gulped as he examined the corpse, the top of Sombra’s head had been cracked by some kind of blunt force trauma and later stitched back up, only adding to his fearsome appearance. His mouth was agape revealing un-pony like teeth and fangs, his face locked in an eternal roar.

“I see you’ve met Sombra, he’s not as talkative as he used to be I’m afraid, table legs applied repeatedly to the head aren’t a great vocal aid”

‘A table leg?’

Shining had not expected Sombra to be dead, the evil tyrant from what he had been told was a terrifyingly strong magic user, his favoured attacks being Dark-magic based. This Emperor must either have been incredibly lucky or incredibly skilled to have been able to defeat such an opponent. Shining decided that he would have to find out more information about the mysterious biped; the safety of Equestria may be threatened by his presence. Shining willed himself to swallow his nervousness as he looked at the Emperor

“I have to say, finding out that Sombra is dead is a surprise”

“Why is that?” The Emperor Answered “He seemed like a complete Toss, I’m sure that if I hadn’t killed him someone else would’ve”

Shining was a little taken aback at how dismissive the Emperor was regarding Sombra’s death, had the Crystal ponies traded for something much worse? Looking back on what he had seen so-far however Shining doubted this, at least for the Crystal ponies’ sake. The Emperor seemed to be adored by the populace, and the guards seemed fiercely loyal to him. The fact that he had defeated Sombra was most likely the cause for this, reasoned Shining, as from what he had heard of the Tyrant life under his rule was not great.

Another matter of concern was the Changelings, the one from the courtyard, ‘Reflection’ if he had heard correctly having just walked in the room, shooting Shining a warning glare before she sat on a pillow by the Emperor’s side. While the Changelings living with Crystal ponies worried Shining, his experiences with the black-shape shifters incredibly un-pleasant he could see an upside. If Emperor Chalmers and the Crystal ponies were willing to live alongside the Changelings then it could mean the end of the Changeling threat to Equestria for good. Celestia had decreed that any Changeling found in the country was to be evicted into the Badlands, the in-hospitable area essentially a death-sentence, causing many to just repeatedly try to re-enter the country.

The Royal guard still kept on finding Changelings in cities and towns, the remnants of Chrysalis’s Hive splitting up all over the country. Nopony knew the fate of the Queen, the many Changelings that had been interrogated not knowing, merely saying that she had not made any attempts to re-connect the shattered remains of the Hive. Maybe this Emperor Chalmers was willing to work out a deal with Equestria, helping to repair the troubled start the two countries had gotten off to. Shining thought about Cadence, guilt threatening to over-come him at the fact that he did not try harder to help her. He could only console himself that while the punishment was embarrassing she was un-likely to suffer any physical harm, and maybe it would teach her to not to rashly attack the citizens of other empires.

“Are you okay there Captain Armour, you appear a little dazed” Shining was pulled from his musings by the sound of the Emperor’s voice

“Yes Emperor Chalmers, I was just considering a possible agreement that we could make between our two countries, a mutual beneficial one of course”

The Emperor leaned forward in his throne intrigued “Really Captain Armour, and If I may ask do you have the authority to make such agreements?”

“I would have to okay it with Princess Celestia first, but I believe that she would agree to it”

The Emperor stared at Shining for what seemed like eternity, the unicorn stallion beginning to sweat underneath his cloak before the Emperor broke the stare with a smile growing on his face

“Very well Captain Armour, despite the circumstances you have remained very civil, and I admire that. I will hear you out on your idea but first can I offer you some refreshment, the Crystal ponies have some absolutely wonderful recipes involving Crystal berries and a well-reviewed chef recently came into my employment. I have always found that good food always lightens up tedious discussions regarding politics”

Shining’s stomach grumbled loudly at the mention of food, Cadence having driven him and his troops forward with gusto, seemingly forgetting that not all ponies had the endurance of Alicorns. The Emperor let out a small chuckle at the sound

“I’ll take that as a yes then” He rose from his throne “Come along then Captain Armour, I’m sure we have much to discuss. Would you like to join us Sparkling?” Shining looked over towards the Emperor’s assistant, the mare nodding

“I will, thank you Sir, I haven’t eaten since breakfast with all of the drama”

“Great” replied the Emperor, turning his attention to the Changeling “How about you Reflection? I know that you do not need to consume food but I would appreciate it if you would come along, you do have the most knowledge about Equestria after all”

The Changeling shot another glare at Shining, before turning towards Emperor Chalmers

“I suppose that you make a good point, however I won’t enjoy being in the presence of anybody who can stand that Pink Piece of-“

“Reflection” The Emperor cut the Changeling off, his voice forceful “Co-operation requires tolerance on both sides, I’m sure Captain Armour here will refrain from making any… un-needed comments”

‘Wow’ thought Shining as he moved to follow the Emperor ‘I wonder what Cadence said that caused the Changeling to react like that, I wonder why the Emperor didn’t mention it before’

Shining continued to dwell on this as they left the throne room, a messenger already on the way to alert the chef.

__________________________________________________________________________

“So I find that classical is probably my favourite type, although I do enjoy the majority of musical styles”

Shining nodded as he levitated another spoonful of meringue into his mouth, the Crystal berries adorning it showering his mouth with flavour while the Emperor continued taking. The food was great, the chef obviously talented and Shining had to admit that the conversation was quite good as well. He had been surprised at the Emperor’s attitude, Chalmers’s stony demeanour dropping as the meal had progressed and he had talked vividly about his musical and culinary tastes, some goals that he had set regarding his citizens as well as the beauty of the design of the Palace. He had seemed especially proud when he had mentioned the fast rate at which his subjects had welcomed the Changelings, the human admitting that his own Empire would not have been as fast to incorporate new creatures.

Shining had been unable to get any information regarding the Emperor’s past, Chalmers keeping almost all of the facts to himself. Still, even though no additional information regarding what threat the biped posed had surfaced, Shining quickly found himself discussing his own taste in art and recreational activities as well as laughing along with the Emperor’s jokes.

“So Emperor” began Shining “I do have to admit that you have quite a talented chef, this meringue is amazing”

“Drop the title Shining, just call me Nigel, you’ve proved to be a worthy conversationalist and I enjoy informality most of the time, after all having everyone constantly calling you ‘Emperor’ ‘Your Majesty’ and ‘Commander’ all the time gets stale”

“I second that Nigel” Shining agreed as his spoon once again delved into the meringue before raising itself up again, a large load of dessert lifting with it “I can’t stand having to interact with the nobility all day, they're all a bunch of useless snobs in my opinion”

Nigel began to laugh at Shining’s statement, his own spoonful of meringue prepped and ready. Sparkling Scroll, Nigel’s assistant had declined dessert, settling for a simple sandwich while the Changeling had merely sat at the table, and Shining had noticed that she kept on stealing glances at Nigel when he wasn’t looking. Shining was about to ask her about what exactly it was that Cadence had said, his spoonful of dessert moving towards his mouth before the doors opened and the pink alicorn in question burst into the room, four Crystal guards around her.

Cadence was still covered in a layer of slime, the large tomato still stuck on her horn. She caught sight of Shining sitting at the table about to stuff his mouth full of food. The Stallion yelped in surprise, the spoonful of meringue dropping onto his lap as she fixed him with a glare.

“Shining!” she yelled “You were in here stuffing your face while I was outside in the stocks, what in Tartarus do you think you’re doing!?”

Shining was lost for words, staring at his wife in shock, had it really been three hours? He must have lost track of time during the conversation and it was now coming back to bite him in the flank.

“Actually Cadence, I was just in the middle of discussing an important political matter with Shining here” the Emperor turned to Shining, giving him a wink “so Shining, if you’d please continue where we left off, I was really interested in your proposal”

Shining had never been so thankful to anypony in his life, Nigel no doubt having just saved his hide.

Shining shuddered internally, what Nigel did to Sombra could not possible compare to what Cadence would have done if the Emperor had not intervened. He quickly recalled the idea that he had, glancing over at Cadence who was clearing her face with a towel provided by a Palace servant, the Crystal mare also having removed the tomato from Cadence’s horn

“Well, as I was saying Emperor” Shining decided that calling the Emperor by his first name in front of his irate wife was not a bright idea “As you know, the Crystal ponies have become used to living with Changelings” At this Reflection, who had been grinning smugly at Cadence as she cleaned up, turned to face him, a scowl once again crossing her features, no doubt preparing for criticism from Shining “and Equestria is currently going through a crisis involving them” Shining once again glanced at the Changeling, her scowl having deepened . Shining cleared his throat nervously

“After the failed invasion on Canterlot” he continued “the Princesses decreed that all Changelings were to be banished to the Equestrian Badlands, a true wasteland, in the hopes that none would remain in the country. However, they keep on coming back and more are found everyday hiding amongst the populace. There are rumours abounding that the nobility, especially Prince Blueblood have been pushing Princess Celestia to simply execute any Changeling caught”

Nigel’s faced soured at the mention of Blueblood, Shining not having been too flattering regarding the Prince’s character. The Changeling had a look of concern on her face and while Shining still did not care much for the insects he could understand how such news could be a shock to her.

“What I’m preposing is that since your Subjects seem quite Changeling-friendly a possible exchange could be worked out, for instance if you take any Changelings found on Equestrian soil and ensure that they do not return I’m sure Princess Celestia would be most grateful and would no-doubt offer compensation of some form.”

Nigel seemed to be pondering Shining’s idea with a slight smile on his face, the Changeling beside him looking at him pleadingly

“It’s quite a good idea Shining, I have to admit that it is quite temping, I’m sure that we can figure something ou-“

“SHINING, ARE YOU BUCKING INSANE!”

Cadence’s outburst cut off Nigel, the Princess glaring at Shining with fire in her eyes

“THOSE CREATURES RUINED OUR WEDDING AND YOU WANT TO SAVE THEM!?”

Cadence began to move closer to him, pointing a hoof towards the Changeling seated at the table, Reflection’s ears having risen and the Changeling seemingly fuming with rage

“LOOK AT THE WAY THAT ONE THERE ACTS TOWARDS US, HOW CAN WE TRUST THOSE DISGUSTING MONSTERS!?”

“THAT’S IT!” Reflection yelled, pouncing on the surprised Princess, the Changeling using her wings to propel herself from her seat before the guards could intervene. She landed on top of Cadence, throwing the Alicorn to the ground before beginning to pummel the Princess’s face with her hooves. She landed some telling blows, drawing blood from the surprised Princess as the guards tried to restrain her, the frantic Changeling refusing to halt her attack. Suddenly she was lifted off of the bleeding alicorn by the Emperor himself, Nigel hugging her back to his chest, Reflection’s hooves unable to reach him.

“GUARDS!” Nigel yelled over Reflection, the Changeling letting out a torrent of curse words directed at Cadence “ESCORT THE EQUESTRIANS TO THE EDGE OF THE CITY, GRAB THEIR GUARDS ALONG THE WAY, I WILL MEET YOU THERE SHORTLY!”

The Crystal guards obeyed without hesitation, shoving Shining out of the room with two picking up Cadence before leaving as well. Nigel waited until they had gone and the doors had closed before he attempted to calm down the still-thrashing Changeling

“Reflection” he stated, the Changeling paying no heed “Reflection!” he said more forcefully, once again having no effect. Nigel Quickly disengaged on hand and grabbed Shining’s half eaten bowl of dessert before shoving it into Reflection’s face. This had the desired effect, the Changeling ceasing her struggling as she sought to figure out what had happened. Nigel dropped her to the floor, Reflection coughing up some of the meringue-berry mix, her face covered in white goo. Nigel crouched down in-front of her, Reflection upon recovering from her coughing fit looking up at him in defiance. Two guards had remained in the room, their faces covered in shock because of the scene they had witnessed, Nigel faced them

“You two, watch her and stop her from leaving the room” the guards broke their trance and hurriedly acknowledged his order while Nigel turned to address Reflection “As for you, when I’m done with the Equestrians we are going to have a talk about you behaviour issues” Nigel turned around and left the room without looking back, leaving behind Reflection and the two guards, the Changeling having sat down, lowering her head in shame.

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The Crystal guards shoved Shining and Cadence through the edge of the barrier, the four Pegasi guards merely being allowed to follow through peacfully, they having not been present at the time of the incident. The Emperor was looking at Cadence, his face flushed with anger

“I expected you to learn your lesson Princess, I guess I was wrong” Cadence looked back at him with hate in her eyes, drops of blood leaking from her muzzle which was stained red with the same fluid “I have no choice but to banish you from the Crystal Empire until you improve your attitude, as of now I don’t believe that you are fit to walk among its citizens” Cadence didn’t reply, merely continuing to glare at him. Nigel turned to Shining Armour

“It was a shame it had to end like this Shining, I would like to let you know that you still are able to visit, and I’m still perceptive towards your offer. Inform you Princess that I am willing to enter negotiations, until then take your wife away from here, she is no-longer welcome”

Shining bowed his head in defeat before trudging off into the snow, the guards following with Cadence shooting one last venomous look at the Emperor before she too turned around and departed. Nigel began to walk back to the Palace with his guards, preparing himself for the confrontation with Reflection.

The Calm Before The Storm

Reflection pulled her face away from the damp cloth, most of the sugary dessert coming away with it. The Crystal pony maid took the used cloth from her, placing it into a bucket on the ground. Reflection remained still as the maid began to clean up the spots Reflection had missed, the changeling staring down at the floor beneath her.

She was sure that she had gone too far; no doubt the Emperor would be incredibly displeased with her behaviour. Reflection had never seen the human so angry and she feared that her punishment would be great. She just hoped that he would understand why she attacked the Princess, that stuck-up cow had to go and ruin everything just as it was all going well. The Emperor would probably banish Reflection as well to try and pander to the Equestrians, or maybe he would just lock her in the stocks for a few hours if she was lucky. Small tears began to fall from her eyes, joining the water from the cloth on the floor.

Sparkling could see that Reflection was very upset, the changeling most likely fearful for the possible punishments that Nigel could inflict. Sparkling had stayed behind in the room, unwilling to follow the Emperor while he was in such a mood. While she disagreed with Reflection’s actions, she could understand why the Changeling attacked Princess Cadence, the Princess in Sparkling’s opinion had provoked Reflection and ever since she had arrived in the Empire the Equestrian had been nothing but trouble. Sparkling got up and moved over towards the sobbing changeling, the two guards doing nothing to halt her.

Reflection was aware of a body sitting beside her before a warm limb placed itself on her withers. The changeling looked towards the owner of the limb, Sparkling Scroll looking at her with a reassuring smile. Reflection sniffled, blinking her eyes in an effort to clear the tears from them

“What do you want?” she asked shakily

“You know he won’t exile you right? I think he’s angrier with the Princess then you”

“And just how do you know that?” Reflection asked, moving a bit closer to the Crystal mare at the mention of exile “I attacked her in front of him; I just lost control when she called me a… monster. It looks like the Emperor wants to get along with Equestria, but after what we did in Canterlot I don’t think that Celestia will ever forgive us” Reflection once again switched her view to the floor “All we’ve done since we arrived at your city is cause problems for the Emperor, but it’s mainly my fault, after all I’m the one who was in charge when we tried to steal the Heart. He forgave me twice already; I’m certain that this time I went too far”

“You had your reasons for why you did those things, and I know that Nigel may seem harsh sometimes but he does care about you and the rest of the Changelings. Do you know what I did when I first met him?” Reflection shook her head “I fainted, twice”

At this the changeling smiled a bit “Twice, why did you faint twice?”

“To be fair” Sparkling began to answer “he had just walked in and killed Sombra, that sort of thing can be a bit terrifying when you’re in the same room”

“I guess so” the Changeling had stopped her crying “and I do feel a little better, thank you, Sparkling”

“It’s okay; when he gets here I’ll help you as well. From the looks of things we’ll be working together for a while, so we might as well get along with each other”

Reflection was just about to reply but the door swung open, the Emperor striding into the room.

____________________________________________________________________________

The walk had improved Nigel’s mood a little bit, his anger receding as he approached the palace. By the time he entered the dining room he was quite calm, although he was still disappointed in Reflection’s actions. He had been enjoying his talk with Captain Armour and the deal he had come up with seemed to be a great idea, however due to the Changeling’s actions the deal was unlikely to go through; Princess Cadence would surely attempt to prevent it from succeeding.

Nigel walked into the room, Reflection and Sparkling sitting on the floor in front of him. His assistant had her foreleg over the back of Reflection, the changeling obviously having been crying. Nigel assumed that she was probably expecting him to exile her for what she had done; he had noticed that she seemed to assume that everyone was out to get her, ignoring the fact that the Crystal ponies had welcomed the changelings enthusiastically. Both of the females were looking up at him, Reflection with fear filled eyes while Sparkling merely looked at him pleadingly.

“I’m not going to banish or punish you Reflection, even though you acted rashly and childishly” the Changeling appeared ashamed “I realise that what the Princess said was incredibly insulting to you, and as a result I have banished her from the Empire. I do however want you to understand that attacking people because they insult you, especially if they’re a ruler of a different country, is not going to continue.”

“I understand Sir, I’m… I’m sorry, I just hate being judged constantly”

“Who cares what some stuck-up ponies think, look beside you” Reflection turned to face Sparkling “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you and every changeling is welcome here, nothing will change that so can you please stop acting so insecure?”

Reflection merely nodded “I’ll try harder Sir”

“Good” Nigel responded “Now I have to visit the Hospital to see that Changeling that was attacked, you can both come if you want to” He then walked out of the door without waiting for an answer, Reflection and Sparkling getting up and following him.

_______________________________________________________________________

Muddle was lying in the hospital bed, a white sheet covering his battered body. The doctors, while no experts on changeling biology said that he suffered no major damage, his wounds seemingly limited to his external body. The news that his injuries weren’t life-threatening was welcomed, but Muddle still received spikes of pain whenever he tried to move, a large amount of green bruises covering the broken body of the changeling.

“Please nurse, I promise I won’t disturb him too much” Muddle raised his head as the sound of a mare’s voice filtered in through the door “I’m just worried about him”

“Okay, but you can only stay for a little while” another voice replied “he needs rest in order to get better, the attack was quite brutal”

The door to the room opened and Muddle was pleasantly surprised who entered. Vibrant Opel rushed over towards him and carefully embraced him in a hug, the mare ensuring that she avoided the bruises on his body. Muddle blushed hard as she looked at him with golden eyes, concern filling them as she gazed at his condition.

“Does it still hurt a lot Muddle? The nurse said that the doctors gave you something for the pain”

“It only hurts when I try to move Vibrant” Muddle answered, the mare letting him go and sitting down on a stool beside the bed “the doctors said that I have to stay here or at least another two days”

“I’ll stay here with you” Vibrant responded “the nurse said that you need rest, but I think you need someone to talk to, you must be so bored lying here all day”

“it is boring, but don’t you have to look after your store?”

Vibrant shook her head, Muddle’s eyes watching her teal mane as it flowed through the air

“I can close for a few days, it won’t matter to much, besides” Vibrant’s cheeks turned red, the mare leaning forwards towards the bed-ridden changeling “you much more important to me right now”

‘Is she really going to kiss me!?’ though Muddle as the mare moved closer. He leaned his head forward towards her approaching muzzle, his blue orbs staring into the golden rings of her eyes. Just as they were about to touch lips Muddle began to close his eyes, waiting to make sweet contact wit-

“Greetings subject! I have arrived to offer my sympathies…” The two occupants of the room broke apart, the changeling and the Crystal mare whirling around to face the door, The Emperor standing in the doorway hunched over due to his height

“Oh, um sorry for the interruption, I’ll just come back another time” the Emperor stated as he realised what he had just walked in on, shooting Muddle an apologetic look
"Carry on, i was never here"
The embarrassed pair watched as the human left the room, closing the door behind him.

___________________________________________________________________________

“What happened in there Nigel?” Sparkling asked as the group of three walked out of the hospital, numerous Crystal ponies waving at them as they past

“Nothing Sparkling, it was just a bad time for me to visit I believe” Nigel stated, walking towards the main market area “Let’s just forget about it and go and do something else, it’s almost evening time and I heard that the market really gets going at this time of day.

Sparkling decided to drop the issues, Nigel obviously not wanting to talk about it. She looked to Reflection, the changeling giving her a shrug, evidently just as confused. The two quadrupeds followed the Emperor, the ruler merrily strolling through the crowd of ponies ahead, oblivious to the looks of admiration he was receiving.

____________________________________________________________________________

“This here, this right here is some orgasmic cheesecake” Nigel shovelled another spoonful of the dessert into his mouth, the mare running the cake stall blushing at his wording and praise

“Th-thank you Emperor, it’s a family recipe”

“Oh please, just call me” another spoonful disappeared “Nigel, anyone who makes cheesecake this good deserves it, hell, I’d even marry them”

This only caused the mare to blush more, prompting Sparkling to sigh at the back and forward. She looked over towards Reflection and was surprised when she caught the changeling glaring at the mare, the baker not noticing as she was too caught up in giggling at the Emperor’s comments.

“Perhaps we should move on Sir, it is getting fairly late and you still have evening court to attend” Sparkling attempted to diffuse the potential situation, knowing that Reflection was fairly rash when she got angry. Sparkling just couldn’t work out why she was acting this way, maybe changelings didn’t like cheesecake?

“You’re probably right Sparkling” Nigel said, having finished his cheesecake “Let’s get a move on” He began to walk back towards the palace “Goodbye Bright Frosting, I’ll be sure to visit your bakery in the future” he concluded as he walked away.

“You can sample my goods anytime!” the yellow mare yelled back

“Wow” stated Nigel as he continued walking, Sparkling snickering at the exchange while Reflection was staring at her front hooves with a scowl on her face

“She’s a really enthusiastic baker”

I Fell Down The Stairs

Canterlot Castle

Three days after Equestrian arrival at the Crystal Empire

Celestia rubbed her forehead with a wingtip, a throbbing head ache pulsing through her skull. Another group of changelings, the largest at sixteen had been captured outside of Manehattan in the early hours of the morning, a patrol of guards spotting them before they were able to sneak into the city. The capture of the group had moved the total number of changelings being held prisoner to sixty-six, with more showing up every day.

She looked at the table beside her throne, a roll of parchment seated on it, the proposal of the nobility regarding the problem. Celestia unfurled the roll with her magic, levitating the proposal up towards her face. Her brows dipped as she read the words written upon it, the recommendation to have any changeling captured in Equestria put down was accompanied by the signatures of almost every influential member of the court with the exception of only two.

Celestia actually felt a small pity for the changelings, she knew that they were not inherently evil but never less they were a threat to the safety and happiness of her subjects, something she just could not allow. She sighed, levitating a quill dipped in ink over towards the bottom of the parchment, hovering over the line were she would place her own signature to approve the measure

“Excuse me Princess, Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armour have returned from the Crystal Empire” Celestia looked up from the parchment at the Guard who had just entered the throne room

“Back already, I hope everything went well?” she inquired

“It does not seem so, your Highness” the Guard answered “Princess Cadence appears to have been attacked and Captain Armour seems a bit upset, I assume regarding his wife”

Celestia frowned, who would attack Cadence? The only possibility Celestia could think of would be Sombra, but surly he would have achieved more than just beating her a little. Also un-explained was why the group had returned so quickly.

“Show them in immediately!”

The guard nodded and exited back through the doors, Cadence and Shining Armour entering the room. Cadence was scowling, her nose was bandaged over, a few spots of red showing up on the white fabric. Shining Armour also looked injured, a large purple bruise covering the side of his face almost the size of a hoof. Celestia, upon seeing their injuries rushed off of her throne over towards her niece, Celestia nuzzling the pink alicorn.

“Cadence, what happened, why are you back so early and what attacked you?”

“It was a Changeling Auntie, the Crystal Empire has been taken over by a Monster and he’s letting changelings run amok around the city!”

“What?” Celestia asked, halting the nuzzling as she raised her head, looking at the pair “What about Sombra, did he never return or is the Monster in league with him?”

Shining decided that he better speak up before things got too out of hoof, trying to ignore the large bruise on the side of his face, courtesy of his wife after he told her that it was her own fault that she got attacked. Not the best idea he had ever come up with

“Actually Princess he’s not a Monster, he’s a creature called a ‘Human’ and he saved the Empire by defeating Sombra”

At his words Cadence shot him a glare, but Celestia motioned for the Captain to continue

“His name is Nigel Chalmers and he’s apparently not from this planet. I will admit that at first he seems to be quite intimidating but he’s not really that bad once you get to know him”

Cadence at this point snapped

“Shining!” she yelled, Celestia watching the arguing couple in alarm

‘I’m just going to stand over here’ she thought as she backed away a few steps

“That Thing put me in the stocks and threw vegetables at me! How can you defend him over your own wife, me Shining, how can you defend him and not me!?”

“Because you acted like a Foal, Cadence, and you still are acting like one!”

Celestia and Cadence both looked at Shining in shock, the Captain’s face a bright red shade of anger

“The first thing you did when you arrived in a different Empire was attack somepony, granted it was a changeling but that still doesn’t change the fact that you assaulted a subject of the Emperor! You’re lucky he only put you in the stocks for four hours, he could have imprisoned you or even had you executed! And if it weren’t bad enough already, what do you do when you're released? You go and insult one of his advisors right in front of him, in front of the creature that turned SOMBRA INTO A RUG!”

“What’s this about turning Sombra into a rug?” Celestia asked, her question going unnoticed as Cadence responded

“Well, at least I didn’t sit down and eat dessert with the dictator that stole the Empire from us! You were sitting down shoving food into your face while I was suffering outside! We still don’t know how the Monster is controlling the minds of my subje-“

“He’s not controlling them Cadence!” Shining interrupted “Have you even considered that maybe the fact that he saved them from Sombra might have something to do with why they follow him!? And as for them being your Subjects I highly doubt that after what you did in front of them! The Crystal ponies don’t seem to mind about living with Changelings at all, maybe you would've seen this if you hadn’t just rushed in like an excited child! We could have had war declared between us and the Crystal Empire and nopony wants that!”

Shining stopped, his chest heaving as his lungs re-filled with air as Cadence looked at him with a hurt expression

“I’m going to bed, don’t bother coming up” she stated in a flat voice, turning around and leaving the throne room.

Shining watched her leave, knowing that it was probably for the best. He knew that Cadence sometimes got over-emotional, the problem worsening after the Wedding fiasco but he had found that sometimes she just needed some time alone. Shining looked over towards the Princess, the alicorn’s face locked in an expression of motherly concern

“Don’t worry about it Princess” Shining began “Cadence just needs some time to herself, the journey has caused some tension, that’s all” he sat down on the floor, eyes looking at his front hooves

Celestia walked over towards her guard Captain, putting a white wing across his back as she joined him

“You can talk to me if you want Shining, obviously the situation is bothering both you and Cadence”

“Well, it’s just that I think that we had a chance at dealing with the Changeling problem once and for all, but with Cadence the way she is currently I don’t think it will happen” he responded

Celesta glanced over towards the table at the side of her throne, the parchment she was going to sign forgotten in the commotion

I was actually just about to approve the measures that Blueblood suggested Shining, but if you have another idea then I’d like to hear it”

Celestia noticed that Shining Armour scowled briefly at the mention of the Prince, the two stallions never got along at all

“Emperor Chalmers is willing to make a deal, Princess” he said as he looked up at her “in return for financial and developmental assistance with the Crystal Empire he would be willing to incorporate any Changelings we find into the Empire, the Crystal Heart appears to be able to feed them with no loss in power”

Celestia was intrigued with this “You said that the Crystal ponies do not mind living with Changelings?”

“It’s true Princess” Shining replied “There is currently only a small number in the city but from what I observed they are widely-liked by the ponies. I will admit that their leader, the Changeling that attacked Cadence, is fairly aggressive but if the deal works out it we may never have to deal with Changeling attacks again”

“Why are you pushing this Captain, out of all Equestrians I would have expected you to despise the Changelings after what their Queen did to you and Cadence?”

Shining deflated a little at the mention of Queen Chrysalis

“I do still hate her Princess, I just don’t think that every Changeling should suffer for her mistakes, after all, Sombra was from Equestria and while the Crystal ponies’ opinion of us may be low at the moment I don’t think we’re downright hated”

“Well I for one think it is quite a promising idea Shining” Celestia said as she lifted herself up, levitating the proposal over in her magic, giving it one final read before placing it in a nearby waste basket “I think it would be a good idea to discuss this plan in court tomorrow with the nobles as I think it could prove to be a much better alterative”

Shining watched as the Princess made to leave the room, no doubt in preparation tto lower the Sun. Celestia stopped right as she was about to leave

“One more thing Shining”

“Yes Princess?” Shining replied

“If you weren’t attacked in the Crystal Empire, then how did you get that bruise?”

“Oh,” answered Shining, rubbing the sore spot with a hoof

“I, uh… walked into a door Princess”

_____________________________________________________________________________

It had been a productive few days for Nigel, the rebuilding of the Empire really coming along nicely. Work was being done on upgrading the school, the building having been abandoned during Sombra’s reign. The Hospital was also being upgraded, Nigel writing down all he knew about medicine, a fair amount due to the fact that he had been trained in battlefield surgery as part of his job. While his knowledge was limited to humans and some of the more common humanoid species that existed as the UIP the Crystal ponies had been learning rather fast, a few doctors already making leaps in the field of medicine.

Nigel was currently standing in a field outside of the city observing one-hundred Crystal guards practicing, the soldiers being instructed by Captain Strategy. Of particular note was the three changelings accompanying the ponies, the three having requested to join the guard saying that they had some prior training. While the Changelings were currently un-armoured, due to the fact that the suits of Crystal armour did not fit their frames they did have the advantage of being able to perform basic magic, with the strongest one capable of firing green bolts of energy from its horn.

Nigel was not surprised by the existence of magic as he had fought alongside a number of battle psionics back in the UIP. Firing green blasts of energy is nothing compared to ripping an entire enemy squad to chunks purely with the power of your mind.

The number of Crystal Guards now numbered at one-hundred and forty one, one-hundred and two stallions and thirty-nine mares. The changelings had been included in this as when Nigel had gathered all of the Changelings together and asked what they would prefer to be addressed as they had all answered saying that Stallions and mares would work fine, as it helped with integration.

Regarding integration it had continued smoothly despite the incident involving the Equestrians, the Crystal ponies actually drawing the Changelings closer instead of pushing them away, much to Nigel’s relief. The fact that both species were getting along well eliminated many problems he had anticipated when he gave the Changelings citizenships.

Nigel observed as the Captain lectured two rookies regarding weapon technique, demonstrating with his sword how to target the weak points of an opponent’s body. Nigel was satisfied about how the training was proceeding, the Crystal guards who were already trained before the arrival of Sombra proving to be decent with their weapons. He was a little concerned about the technical level of the Empire’s military but he had managed to find out from his conversation with Shining Armour that the surrounding Civilizations had around the same level of advancement.

Nigel was a bit puzzled about how an empire that had been gone for one-thousand years could still possess a decent level of Military progress but at the same time he was pleased. He had already begun to draw up some plans, nothing fancy or anything that would upset the balance of power so much that it would draw attention. Replacing spears with pole-arms, constructing Ballista and Trebuchets, instructions for the fabrication of steel (the Empire had generous mineral deposits) for weapons as well as armour for the changelings and last but not least a plan to surround the city with walls interspersed with mini-fortresses.

Nigel however knew that the first priority would be the re-formation of the military, after all walls are useless without a force of trained soldiers. He was not preparing for conquest at this point, he just knew from experience that the empire with the best army tends to get what it wants.

Over on the far side of the field the three changelings were practicing their magic abilities, the most experienced teaching the other two about how to fire energy bursts, their target being a snow stuffed sack hanging from the rope. Nigel watched as one of the trainees managed to release a shot, the green energy missing the sack and hitting a snow bank behind it. Despite the poor accuracy the lead changeling praised the novice, the other trainee upon seeing his fellow achieve the goal soon followed up with his own shot, all three changelings cheering as the shot hit the sack and punched a hole in it.

The training continued for a few more hours, only stopping when the sun started to dip in the sky. The guards and the Emperor all walked back to the city, soldier and ruler alike sharing jokes and stories as they departed, the field already pre-pared for the next session and the many more which would no-doubt follow.

Ladies Go Crazy For A Sharp Dressed Man

“And that is why I believe that this new proposal benefits all concerned.”

Princess Celestia stepped down from the podium in the courtroom, the nobility around her discussing the proposal amongst themselves. Celestia sat down on her seat, awaiting the torrent of questions that would no doubt follow such a controversial plan and she was not disappointed.

“I have a question Princess” a blond stallion said as he stood up, Prince Blueblood looking towards the Princess “why do we not just simply go ahead with our previous plan regarding the changelings, it would both get rid of them and intimidate the rest. The idea of trusting an unknown creature to ensure that these monsters do not return does not sit right with me.”

The majority of the nobility nodded their heads in agreement, sharing the same concerns as the Prince. Celestia was hardly surprised with the question, she had to admit that trusting the new Emperor was potentially unwise but she could see no other choice. She was just about to reply when another voice beat her to it.

“Maybe if the council met this ‘Emperor Chalmers’ it would be more receptive to the idea, Princess.”

Celestia looked at the speaker, a noble called Fancy Pants standing up. If she recalled correctly he was one of the two court-members who had gone against the original proposal, the other was his fiancé if Celestia remembered correctly. The other nobles nodded in agreement causing Celestia to smile warmly at Fancy Pants.

“That’s a wonderful idea; I will invite the Emperor to come to Canterlot as soon as possible. Once he gets here I’m sure that he will be able to reassure you all, plus I’m quite eager to meet him myself.”

The council members once again murmured in agreement with the exception of one notable Stallion.
“I OBJECT!” Blueblood yelled out, silencing the courtroom.

‘Of course you do’ thought Celestia as she sighed inside, ensuring that her motherly mask was still in place as she addressed the Prince.

“What are your reasons for objecting to the visit of a foreign ruler Blueblood?”

“How can we allow a dangerous creature to roam our city Princess?” the prince questioned “how can we let it prowl about un-checked, plotting and scheming the down-fall of all pony-kind!”

“Prince Blueblood,” Celestia began “You said exactly the same thing about the Griffon, Minotaur and Zebra ambassadors and look at what happened, nothing” She looked around the courtroom, the nobles gazing expectantly at her “I trust that the Emperor would conduct himself excellently and I doubt he will ‘Prowl’ the streets at night. Guards will of course be assigned to watch him and any advisers he brings but I am certain that they will not be needed.”

Blueblood looked like he was about to form a rebuttal but after a pause he sat back down, the Princess’s answer leaving no room for argument. Celestia’s smile widened when it became evedent that there would be no more objections.

“It’s settled then, I’ll dispatch a messenger to the Crystal Empire as soon as we conclude this session. Now with that out of the way, let’s move on to the next topic, raising the tax on textiles…”

______________________________________________________________________________

Nigel had just finished morning court, a line of nobles and normal citizens alike filing out through the throne room doors. Nigel had actually enjoyed the morning, quite content with the reasonable requests that the petitioners had made. A noble had requested for work to be done on a park located in the city, the recreational spot having deteriorated because of neglect. Nigel had approved of this measure in the hopes that it would raise happiness in the city, useable entertainment venues a rare sight.

Another petitioner of interest introduced herself as a tailor specialising in formal ware, the mare inquiring as to whether the Emperor would require any new clothes. Nigel said that it would probably be a good idea, considering he was still wearing his underpants. His only condition was that the mare would not try to convince him that he was wearing fabulous cloth when in fact he was wearing none. Nigel was disappointed when the reference flew over her head but he let it go and asked for one design in particular which he sketched, allowing the mare to make any other outfit she desired.

He also requested that some formal ware be made for his two advisors Sparkling Scroll and Reflection, Sparkling prancing about happily at the news while Reflection merely begun to sulk. The tailor had been ecstatic at the chance to design a dress for a changeling, the mare babbling on excitedly while Reflection had nodded sullenly. Both Sparkling and Reflection had left about an hour ago with the designer, the tailor having taken Nigel’s measurements in the throne room, much to the amusement of the gathered ponies. Nigel didn’t mind, he’d rather have his subjects comfortable and relaxed around him than fearing for their lives, that was a privilege saved for his enemies.

With the court over Nigel remained in his throne passing the time by drafting up some plans for a new supply warehouse to replace the old one. He was interrupted by the arrival of a guardmare, the pony soldier saluting before him after rushing in through a side door.

“Sir!” the Soldier began “we were exploring the lower sections of the Palace as you ordered and we’ve found something big, really big!”

“What was it…” Nigel questioned as he glanced at the soldier’s armour to determine her rank “Lieutenant?”

“I’m sorry Sir, but Captain Strategy ordered that I bring you to it,” the Lieutenant replied “he said that it was something that you needed to see for yourself.”

“Well if that’s what he said it must be important” Nigel responded as he stood up from his throne “lead the way Lieutenant.”

_______________________________________________________________________________

Nigel followed the Lieutenant down to the lower levels of the palace, the numbers of guards increasing the closer to the objective they got. Lieutenant Clear Cut had apologized to the Emperor regarding her refusal to tell him any details about the discovery but Nigel had reassured her that she did the right thing by following the Captain’s orders.

The pair halted at a set of Iron doors, Captain Strategy and a changeling Sergeant standing outside the massive barriers, all the other guards outside of the room.

“I’m glad that you came as soon as you could Sir” the Captain said as he saluted Nigel “I assure you that the trip will prove to be worth it.”

“I have the upmost faith in you Captain, what do you have to report?” Nigel replied.

“Sergeant Mirage here,” the Captain answered, gesturing towards the changeling as the Sergeant saluted Nigel “was examining this section of the under-structure when he found this room, Sergeant would you please explain to his Highness the circumstances of the discovery?”

“Yes Sir!” the Sergeant replied as he once again saluted Nigel “I was searching my prescribed area as ordered and I found these doors hidden behind an old bookshelf Emperor” he changeling pointed toward a fully stocked bookshelf with a hoof, “I moved it aside using magic and opened the doors, revealing…” the changeling paused, the Captain and Lieutenant pushing open the heavy doors. Nigel stepped towards the entrance way to examine the contents of the vault.

Inside the chamber were massive piles of gold and precious jewels, chests and storage desks over-flowing with the valuables. Nigel motioned for the three soldiers to step inside with him, the two ponies and changeling staring at awe at the gigantic hoard of wealth.

“Must be Sombra’s personal over-compensation fund” Nigel remarked as he picked up a large ruby, the gem shining a blood-red as he held it in his palm. He placed it back on the pile of gold coins where he had found it, a plain wooden door at the back of the room catching his attention. The soldiers followed the Emperor as he advanced towards the door, its normalcy causing it to stand out amongst the glittering piles of loot. Nigel pushed open the door, crystal lights flickering on as the oaken barrier swung inwards. Inside the small room, situated on multiple racks made of metal lay rows upon rows of glowing crystals. The gems consisted of multiple colours and sizes from tiny blue sapphires to huge emeralds, easily the size of Nigel’s head.

“Enchanted gems!” Captain Sapphire exclaimed as he entered the room behind Nigel, the pony gazing at the shelves in awe “There must be hundreds of them!”

Nigel started to walk down the rows of shelving, listing off all of the labels he saw.

“Healing, Light, Shielding, Fertility, Magic Battery, Detection,” the list went on and on. Nigel reached the end of the room, his mind wrapping around the possibilities that this find created.

“What do we do now Sir?” Captain Strategy inquired, the guard still staring at the rows of gems.

“Post at least ten guards outside the main doors at all times, no-one is to enter this gem room without prior permission from myself and myself alone, is that clear?”

“Yes Sir” the Captain replied.

“Good” replied Nigel as he left the small room, Sergeant Mirage closing the door behind them “Organize for a team to transport one of these chests to the Empire’s treasury and have Minister Bean Counter add it to the list of available finances.”

“Yes Sir!” The soldiers all acknowledged at once, the Sergeant and Lieutenant staying in the vault as the Captain and Nigel exited. After the Captain had organized for some guards to watch the vault Nigel pulled him aside.

“Captain, I assume you know of the immense advantage those enchanted gems could provide our Empire with?” the Captain nodded his head “good, then I hope that you will make every effort to avoid their existence becoming public knowledge?”

“Yes Emperor, you can count on it” Sapphire replied resolutely.

“Excellent, I also want you to increase our efforts to un-cover the existence of any crystal unicorns remaining in the Empire, has your search uncovered any leads?”

The Captain leaned closer to the Emperor, keeping his voice low.

“Yes we have Sir, there are reports that a small number of unicorns managed to escape Sombra by residing in one of the larger caves surrounding the city, I’ve already begun arrangements to dispatch search parties in an attempt to locate any survivors.”

“Great work Captain” Nigel complemented, the Captain swelling with pride “I’ll leave you to your duties, please notify me immediately if you find anything unusual.”

“As you command Lord” the Captain replied, Nigel giving him a salute before turning around to head back towards the throne room.

‘Guess I better go and check up on Reflection and Sparkling’ he thought to himself as he began to ascend the staircase leading to ground level ‘better make sure Reflection hasn’t killed the Tailor yet.’

_________________________________________________________________________________

“Is a dress really needed? Why can’t I just wear nothing like everyone else does?”

Sparkling snickered into her hoof as she listened to Reflection complain, the changeling struggling as the Tailor, Shimmering Sequins tugged on a strap to fasten the outfit to the Reflection’s body.

“It is needed Miss Reflection” Shimmering answered as she touched up a stitch above the changeling’s hind leg “as you are a member of the Emperor’s court and one of his top advisors. A mare in a position like that needs to look her best and besides, maybe the Emperor would take notice of you in the way that you want him too hmmm?”

‘Hang on, what was that?’ thought Sparkling as she jolted upright, staring at Reflection, the changeling’s blush matching the colour of her dress.

“I don’t know what you mean” Reflection said shakily, dropping her head to look at the floor in embarrassment.

“Well if it’s untrue, then why is your infatuation with his Lordship the most talked about topic in the Empire?”

“Wha-what?” the changeling stammered, looking back up towards Shimmering, the Tailor’s yellow eyes scrutinizing a multitude of mini-diamonds set into the front of the moss-green dress.

“Every one of the Nobility has noticed the way you look at him during Court; it really is pretty clear that you have feelings for him.”

“It’s that obviou- I mean what feelings?” Sparkling noticed that Reflection tried to cover up her slip, badly. Shimmering homed in for the kill.

“I can understand why of course, he has power, wealth, seems incredibly caring and to top it off he’s quite good-looking for an alien, bit too tall for my tastes though.”

“Oh… fine then, I guess I like him a little bit okay” Reflection admitted before she looked over towards Sparkling, the mare sitting on a stool, her red dress already finished.

“Don’t you dare tell him that Sparkling or I will end you!”

Sparkling could barely control her laughter as she responded.

“Oh don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of telling of him and ruin the moment of watching you tell him instead, he’d probably tell another one of his cheesy jokes in response!”

Sparkling let out a fit of giggles, unable to contain the mirth that was bubbling up inside of her. A sniffle caused her to pause though and when she looked back at Reflection she noticed a few tears building up in the changeling’s eyes.

“Oh I’m so sorry Reflection” Sparkling squeaked as she got up and moved towards the changeling, Shimmering too caught up in her work to notice the change of mood “I didn’t mean to upset you, I’m sure that Nigel won’t make fun of you.”

“You mean that? You think I have a chance?” Reflection replied as she looked back up at Sparkling.

“I think you’ve got more than a chance, he really seems to enjoy your company when you’re not attacking Princesses of course” at this a blush re-appeared on Reflection’s face “and I’m sure he likes you more than anything, even cheese.”

Reflection giggled, her sour mood having disappeared “I don’t think he likes me that much, he does love his cheese.”

“Someone said something about cheese?”

All three mares looked towards the entrance of the shop, the Emperor walking in with a hop in his step. Nigel paused as he saw Sparkling and Reflection’s clothes, even as a manly man he had to admit that they looked incredibly good.

“Miss Sequins, I never would have thought that you possessed such talent, if my suit is even half as good…”

“You flatter me Emperor, really their not that special and I did have help from my sisters to create them so quickly-“

“Nonsense!” Nigel continued “I think they’re great and please, call me Nigel, being called Emperor gets tiring all of the time.”

“Thank you Nigel,” replied Shimmering “your suit is out the back and ready to go, I made it exactly as you requested. If you would follow me you can try it on right now and I can make any final adjustments.”

“Are you sure about that? I must warn you that I wear pants all the time for a reason” Nigel said, earning a blush from both Sparkling and Reflection while Shimmering did not react in the slightest.

“I’m not a young filly Sir, I assure you that it will be nothing I haven’t seen before, although you are an Emperor so it will make a fine story for my children.”

“Your married?” inquired Nigel.

“Oh no, but I’m currently seeing a nice guard officer and it looks rather promising” the Tailor replied as she entered the back room.

“Good to hear” replied Nigel as he followed the mare shutting the door behind him, leaving Reflection and Sparkling in the lobby awaiting his return.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Half-an-hour later Shimmering Sequins emerged from the back room with a grin on her face, both Sparkling and Reflection paying full attention to her.

“Ladies,” Shimmering began, lifting a light blue hoof to brush a strand of yellow mane out of her eye “Presenting the glorious Emperor Chalmers!”

At her words Nigel stepped out of the room, Sparkling looking upon him with awe while Reflection merely swooned.
Nigel was dressed in a dark blue suit with a black sash, golden buttons holding it together. A black stripe ran down the side of each pant leg and a white emblem of a human skull was sewn on at each shoulder.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t get any silver for your emblems Sir, we had trouble finding a jeweler who would craft something so… morbid.” Shimmer apologized as Nigel examined said skulls, white silk having been used instead.

“Don’t worry about it, you and your sisters must be incredibly skilled to be able to make a replica ISA dress uniform in just an afternoon on top of two dresses. I must say I’m very pleased with your work.”

Nigel glanced outside a window, the moon full in the night sky.

“It is rather late, I suppose we better be off” Nigel turned back around and looked at Shimmering “You should come around to the Palace tomorrow for Lunch so I can thank you properly for your hard work; your sisters are welcome to of course.”

“I would love to Sir” Shimmering replied “but I have arrangements with a certain guard, your appreciation is thanks enough.”

“I’m sure the publicity will more than make up for it, thanks again Miss Seqins, you can be sure of my repeat business. Let’s go Reflection, Sparkling, if we’re lucky there will still be some pie left over from lunch.”

With these words Nigel left the shop followed by Sparkling, Reflection being stopped by a light-blue hoof before she could leave.

“Just one thing Reflection,” Shimmering said as the changeling looked at her in confusion. The Tailor moved her mouth right next to Reflection’s ear.

“Tell him how you feel, I guarantee that you won’t regret it” she finished with a wink as she ushered Reflection outside before shutting the door, the Changeling’s face once again perfectly matching her dress.

Masks Behind Masks

“This is excellent pie, remind me to give the cook a raise Sparkling” Nigel said as he lifted another forkful up to his mouth.

“Give cook a raise” murmured Sparkling to herself as she wrote the Emperor’s decision down on some parchment. Sparkling had already eaten, Nigel having gone back for seconds while Reflection sat to the side of Nigel, the changeling declining any solid sustenance. Reflection had spent the entire dinner fidgeting with her front hooves as she stared at the table, Nigel too caught up in his food to notice that anything was amiss.

Both of the mares had removed their clothes; however Nigel still wore his uniform claiming that the familiarity really was improving his mood. The Tailor had offered to make all three extra clothing, an offer that Nigel graciously accepted.

Nigel finished his pie, pushing his plate away from him as he rubbed his stomach and leaned back in his chair, a content smile on his face. Reflection noticed this and decided that know would be an idea time to talk with Nigel about her feelings.

“Um, Nigel, could I talk to you about something?”

The human opened his eyes, a warm smile on his face as he pivoted to face the changeling.

“Go right ahead Reflection, you’ve been quiet all night so I’m glad that you wish to talk,” Nigel leaned forward as he placed his arms on the table.

“Well, you see Nigel,” Reflection started, the changeling shooting a glance at Sparkling, the white mare giving her a smile of encouragement. Reflection turned back towards Nigel “You’ve been really good to me and all of us changelings despite how I first treated you and I would like to thank you for that.”

“No thanks are needed” Nigel replied. “Every single changeling has proved with their actions that I made the right decision and I know I speak for the Crystal ponies as well when I say that we’re all overjoyed to have you living amongst us.”

Reflection smiled at his words, before she left her chair and walked over to where Nigel was sitting. The changeling embraced the surprised Emperor before she continued.

“Thanks,” she mumbled before looking up at him, a blush on her face “but I wanted to also say something else.”
Nigel smiled down at her, his grin hiding the dread that was building in his mind.

“What is it?” he asked through the forced smile.

“Nigel,” Reflection said as she grasped him with her hooves, “I just wanted to say to say that I think that I… that I lov-“

“Emperor Chalmers, there is an Equestrian messenger requesting an audience immediately!”

Everyone in the room turned to look at the interrupter, the guardmare saluting as she spoke.

“Thank you soldier, please inform them that I’ll be with them momentarily” Nigel replied.

“As you command Lord!” the mare turning and heading back towards the throne room. Nigel gave Reflection an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry Reflection but could we possibly continue this conversation later? I have to attend to this messenger right away but if you want we can talk in the morning, it is rather late and a good night’s rest will probably do us all some good.”

Reflection looked dejected at Nigel’s suggestion but she nodded her head, the changeling proceeding towards the stairs leading up to the top levels of the Palace. Nigel noticed the changeling’s hurt demeanor and he winced inside, part of him scolding himself for acting so heartless with his dismissal of her. Never-less he had duties to preform, the human leaving his seat with the intent of travelling to the throne room. He stopped at the door however, Sparkling not having followed him, the mare staring at the flight of stairs that Reflection had ascended.

“Sparkling, I won’t be needing you for the rest of the night” Nigel said from the doorway as he turned his head to look at his assistant. “The same goes for Reflection, could you please go after her and maybe try to calm her down?”

Sparkling got off her seat and trotted towards the stairs, pausing to look back at the Emperor when she spotted a trail of tears leading up the stairs.

“As you wish, Emperor” she responded sharply, Nigel flinching as she used his title and not his first name. As the mare left Nigel shook himself, a welcoming mask on his face as he continued towards the throne room, his mind churning with thoughts.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Swift Current was shuffling nervously on the spot, his golden armor clinking as he moved from hoof to hoof. He had been warned by Captain Armor that the Crystal Empire was… thorough when it came to matters of security but he had not expected this.

The Pegasus messenger had been stripped of his only weapons, a pair of blades designed to fit on wings as soon as he had entered the Empire, the Crystal guards taking no chances. There were currently no-less than fifteen guards surrounding him, a circle of diamond tipped spears pointing at him. He gulped as he tried to keep his nerves under control, small beads of sweat starting to form on his brow. Swift tried to focus on the apparel of the surrounding guards in an effort to keep his attention away from the sharp spear-points.

The armour that the Crystal guards were wearing covered almost their entire bodies, unlike Equestrian armour which was focused primarily around freedom of movement. Instead of metal the protection that the Crystal ponies sported seemed to be made from a hard crystal, the covering somehow dull unlike normal gems. Each pony had a faceplate that appeared to hinged at the top, resulting in only the guard’s eyes, nostrils and mouth being visible.

Set in the breastplate of each guard was a gem; different colours although blue seemed to be the most prevalent. Further down the guards’ legs were protected by crystal greaves, the material matching the rest of their armour. As he went over his observations Swift came to the conclusion that the Crystal Guard was well-equipped and trained, making them a dangerous threat if Equestria did end up in hostilities against the returned nation. He doubted that they had a larger number of soldiers; Equestria fielding a regular force of one-thousand Royal Guard at all times not counting the Lunar guard or reserves.

“Ah! So this is the messenger from Equestria then?”

Swift broke out of his musings and looked towards the voice, the human Emperor stopping just outside his circle of guards.

“Stand down all of you, let the poor Equestrian have some breathing space.”

The surrounding guards all lowered their weapons and back up a few paces, all of the ponies watching Swift diligently from their new positions. Swift was impressed with the Crystal guards’ reaction times and the lack of protest they gave, Captain Armor had been accurate with his description of the Crystal Ponies’ loyalty to the bipedal Emperor. He hoped that the Captain’s opinion of the Emperor’s temperament was just as correct, Swift bowing before the tall creature.

“Greetings Emperor Chalmers, I am Corporal Swift Current and I have been sent here to deliver an invitation from Her Royal Highness Princess Celestia formally inviting you to the glorious Capitol of Equestria, Canterlot. The Princess wishes for you and any advisors you see fit to bring to conduct discussions with her and her court regarding the solution to the changeling problem facing Equestria” Swift Current took a breath, the Emperor looking down at the guard with a bemused expression.

“The Princess will provide you and your entourage with accommodation and meals in the hopes that stable diplomatic ties can be forged between your great nation and ours. The proposed solution regarding the changelings will be first-and-foremost on the agenda, followed by talks of possible trade agreements. The Princess extends her gratitude and hopes that you will accept this most generous invitation that will surely benefit both nations.”

Swift finished the pre-planned speech with a flourish of his snow-white wing before looking up expectantly at the Emperor.

“No.”

Swift stumbled at the unexpected reply, the stallion giving the Emperor a confused look.

“May I ask why Emperor, it is a sincere offer-“

“My decision does not reflect any notions of suspicion or maliciousness towards your nation Corporal Current,” Swift noticed that the Emperor’s left eye twitched when the human addressed him. “My refusal is based upon multiple factors” Emperor Chalmers sat down on his throne, picking up a plate from a side table and selecting a slice of cheese from it. The Emperor nibbled on the slice before holding the platter out to Swift.

“Cheese? There’s Stilton, Cheddar and this one local one with berries in it.”

“Crystal Cheese Sir” a guard spoke up.

“Of course it bloody is” Swift heard Nigel mutter under his breath, the Emperor’s smile dropping for a moment before he looked back up at Swift with the smile back and in full force.

“Uh, no thank you you’re Majesty” Swift answered, afraid of insulting the biped.

“More for me” the human said with a shrug, popping another piece of dairy product into his mouth. “Back on topic” continued the Emperor “I declined your Princess’s invitation because I have an Empire to rule, plain and simple. I can’t go gallivanting off to play diplomat in another country while my own is in dire need of stability. The former ruler, a complete dick I might add,” Chalmers said as he kicked the skinned King in the head with a boot “decided that civil development was completely un-needed and as such I’ve got far too much to do.”

“I see Sir, I’m sorry for wasting your time” Swift began, the Pegasus turning towards the exit.

“Hold on a second” the Emperor’s voice called out, Swift stopping to face Chalmers. “While I am unable to visit your capitol, maybe your Princess and her advisors would be willing to visit here instead. She can judge my character and the happiness of my subjects with her own eyes at the same time, does that sound reasonable?”

“It is not my place to make such decisions Sir, I will however endeavor to inform the Princess of your counter-offer.”

“Great, let her know that she can drop by anytime” the Emperor replied before turning to a guard standing beside the throne. “Sergeant, if you and a squad would please escort the good Corporal here to the exit after returning anything that was confiscated, thank you.”

The guard nodded, several more joining him as the Equestrian was escorted outside of the palace. Nigel leaned back in the throne, the room empty save for two guards and himself. He hummed while he tapped his fingers together, trying to decide on a course of action regarding Reflection’s obvious infatuation with him. He could try and just ignore it but that would no doubt make it worse especially considering that he needed to work with her every day. Indulging it would lead to a wealth of problems, both in the present and the future.

The fact that they were different species didn’t bother him that much, after all the UIP had regular contact with other sapient races and inter-species relationships were common. The main issue he had was regarding his profession, ISA agents having very un-reliable time-tables and deployment options. He could spend months on an assignment only to return home for a few days before leaving again, making long-term commitments un-feasible. This experience was a great example of an unexpected occurrence. Nigel still firmly believed that the UIP would find him in time, the Empire never one to leave a soldier behind.

As he reflected on the possibility of returning home another problem reared its head, an inner-voice maliciously suggesting to him that all of his other reasons were nothing but excuses. Nigel let out a sigh, some truth to be found in that thought. True, he was not the most subtle ISA agent but he did always get the job done. Every action, no matter how insignificant always joined with its fellows to meet the mission objective, his rejection of Reflection one of those actions.

It made him feel a little guilty knowing that the main reason for his refusal to Reflection’s advances was the fact that a relationship with a changeling could seriously damage his reputation in the eyes of the rulers of the other empires that shared this world. Changelings were not liked at all, the actions of the Equestrians driving the fact home. If he were to openly respond to the changeling’s affection then diplomatic relations would suffer, thusly hurting the Crystal Empire.

On the other hand Reflection was a friend of his as well as an advisor and giving her the cold shoulder would be a poor move. He had to admit that the changeling had been trying her hardest to improve his opinion of her and she did have a lot in common with him. She was impulsive, some-what vain, short-tempered and at times disrespectful, Nigel however could not fault her on these as he also shared this traits.

He placed his head in his hands as he tried to think of his next move. He sat in the same position for ten minutes, the guards on either side of the throne shooting him worried glances but other than that they took no action. Word had spread around the Guard of the dinner-time conversation between the Emperor and the Changeling, the guards inside at the time of the incident instantly informing their fellows of the development as soon as the Emperor had left to attend to the messenger. It was an unspoken rule that no guard was to discuss the problem with the Emperor at all as it would surely not end well.

“DAMN IT!”

The guards jolted back at the sudden shout from the Emperor, the human standing up from the throne. The two stallions watched as Chalmers clenched his fists together and breathed in and out repetitively.

“Whoosa” he muttered, a smile returning to his features as he said this. Emperor Chalmers began to walk away, a staircase leading to the upper levels his destination.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

“Reflection, please stop crying.”

‘Wow Sparkling! That’s really going to work, you should quit your current job and become a therapist!’

Sparkling grimaced as the sarcastic thought entered her mind, mainly because it was correct. Reflection was sitting in the corner sobbing her eyes out, Sparkling having no clue about how she could possible comfort the crying changeling.

Sparkling had sat herself down opposite Reflection, the Crystal mare staring at the back of the changeling as Reflection was facing the wall while she cried. Sparkling had followed the changeling to the room and had been stuck here for a while, at least half-an-hour. Nothing she had said had elicited any response and she was running out of ideas fast.

“Reflection, I’m sure that Nigel didn’t mean to act like he did, he was probably just surprised and so he acted rashly, please calm down!”
This had no effect at all, Sparkling letting out a sigh before she got to her hooves, stopping to look back at the distraught changeling sitting in the corner. While she felt bad about leaving her friend alone in a time like this Sparkling knew that she had already tried everything she could have, Reflection too far gone into depression at the current time. As Sparkling left the room, closing the door behind her she huffed, beginning to make her way towards her own quarters.

She halted as she passed a staircase, the mare shooting the bipedal figure that emerged a glare. Without saying a word she turned her head away and left, leaving Nigel standing at the top of the stairs with a gloomy look on his face.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

“Reflection, can I come in?”

Nigel stood at the door, having followed the sobs that echoed through the upper-floor to the changeling. Granted he already knew where her room was but he rarely had reason to visit it so the upper floors remained a maze.

He remained where he was, watching as Reflection seemed to take no notice of him at all, the changeling not replying. Nigel took one last calming breath before he walked in the door, sitting down on the large four-poster bed, choosing the corner closest to Reflection.

“Reflection” he once again stated, the changeling’s lack of response really getting to him. Nigel knew that she cared for him; he’d have to be blind not to notice it. The way she had been looking at him when she thought he wasn’t watching really had thrown him but it was those fateful words she had uttered after dinner that had really shocked him. Judging from her response to his dismissal and her character this wasn’t just a passing crush but full-blown love. This was something that Nigel was not used to, not because he was physically unattractive but mainly because he did most of his romancing in bars after drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. He had to approach this carefully, one wrong word and he could lose a great friend permanently.

He got off the bed, walking over and sitting next to the changeling on her right side, still not provoking a response. Nigel reached over with a hand and touched her on the shoulder, the changeling’s sobs slowing a little. This boosted Nigel’s confidence, at least she was now acknowledging that he was there.

“Reflection,” Nigel started, looking at the changeling with his hand beginning to rub her shoulder, “I’m sorry for treating you the way I did, I’ve thought about what you said and I finally decided to man up.”

The changeling’s sobs subsided, Reflection sniffling as she rubbed her eyes with her hooves. Nigel waited as she did so, the changeling turning her head to look at him after a few moments. Nigel took this as a cue to go on.

“I really do care for you, it’s just that, and pardon me for sounding cliché but it’s not you, it’s me.”

‘Dear sweet Lord, I never thought that I would actually speak those words. I must sound like a complete arse’ Nigel thought, continuing on before Reflection could voice an objection.

“Before you say anything I want to explain to you why I think this is the case. For starters I’m an Emperor and with that title comes a lot of responsibilities. I will be spending most of my days supervising project planning, improving multiple designs and talking with a large amount of petitioners. A relationship needs plenty of free time otherwise it devolves into a massive train-wreck, ending badly for both parties. Added to that is the fact that I will most likely have to leave one day and I’m not sure whether you will be able to come with me when that day arrives. My people will look for me and that’s primarily why I’ve been trying to involve you, Sparkling and Captain Strategy in everything that I do so that when I do go, and trust me, I will as soon as the opportunity arises you three will be able to manage the Empire in my absence.

I care deeply for all three of you, Hell I care for all of the ponies and changelings in the Empire but you three are almost like family to me. I know this isn’t what you want to hear from me, I can see it in your eyes. What I’m trying to say is that normally I would see no problem with sharing my life with you but with my current position I think it will cause more harm than good. You’re a great changeling and a fine mare, all of your negatives far out-weighed by your positives. You’re smart, fun to talk to, interesting and I respect the lengths you go to in protecting those you care about. I just want you to know that no-matter what happens or how badly you screw up I will always care for you, I just hope that after what’s happened you can say the same to me.”

Reflection had remained silent during Nigel’s entire speech, the changeling staring at him with teary eyes. Nigel hoped that she would do what he hoped she would do and give in to his logic, the two being able to remain close friends. Reflection’s response however dashed his hopes.

“I’m sorry Nigel,” Reflection said softly as she looked into the Emperor’s eyes, “no matter what you say or do I can’t help it, I’m in love with you. You always seek to help me better myself and always treat me like an equal, even though you rule an entire Empire. Sparkling told me what you did before you arrived here and I can’t believe it. Sure you killed Sombra but from what the Crystal ponies told me you had no choice. I can’t believe that you kill as part as your job because you’re much too nice to everyone around you.

You never pushed me away and you always made time for me, not just me either. Whenever you walk in the city you always talk to everyone like they’re friends and not like they’re your subjects. You make it seem like I can talk to you about any problems I have, no matter how small and I care immensely about you, more than anyone else I’ve ever met. When we first came to the city you took us in, gave us food and shelter while striving to help us fit in with your subjects, all you asked for in return was for us to treat you like they did.”

Reflection paused as she looked at her hole-riddled legs, the ebony limbs wet with tears.

“Look at me, I’m a creature that survives by hiding what I look like, my normal form hideous to most of those in this world. You look past that; you look past my furless shell and my jagged horn. You look over what I did in the past, how I treated you when we first met and you look past my stupid actions.”

She tore her vision away from her fore-legs, looking back up at Nigel.

“You treat me like family but I want to be more then family. I don’t mind if you can’t go on dates, if you can’t take me to fancy clubs or if you can’t shower me with attention. I know that you will love me even if you can’t show it in those ways and if you do have to leave and I cannot go with you than at least I will have the memories of you for the rest of my life. I just want things to work between us so badly that I’ll put up with anything to try to make it happen. Please, all I ask is that you give me a chance, one chance to prove that I’m not just a parasite incapable of love. Please.”

Reflection finished her plea by lunging forward and hugging Nigel, the changeling burying her face into his chest. Nigel didn’t know what to say, his mind having blanked. He had faced many problems in his violent life time, Nigel usually dealing with them with a combination of violence and comedic wit but none of those would help him in this situation at all. He had immensely under-estimated the extent of Reflection’s devotion and he was now paying the price. As heartless and cruel as he could often be the changeling’s passionate plea really did a number on his opinions regarding his feelings for her.

He began to stroke her back with a free hand, the changeling staring up at him with large hope-filled eyes, Reflection’s lime irises like duel green rings. He thought about the consequences if he gave in to her desires, all of the political ramifications that would result from such an affair. After a few minutes of thought, Reflection maintaining her stare all the while as she patiently awaited his answer Nigel took a breath.

“Screw it, we might as well give it a shot, after all you only live once.”

Reflection let out a high-pitched squeal as she hugged Nigel tighter, no-doubt heard by the entire palace, possibly even the whole city.

“Thank you, I promise that it will work out!”

She leaned up and gave Nigel a peck on the cheek.

“This is the happiest day of my life, I love you and nothing will ever change that!”

Reflection snuggled deep into Nigel, holding onto him like a filly would hold onto a stuffed animal. She closed her eyes, losing herself to the warm body that she rested against, the joy-filled changeling missing the solemn expression that Nigel was wearing.

When I Wake Up In the Morning Light

Nigel awoke to the sound of heavy breathing, a large object resting upon the side of his crumpled uniform. He wiped his face with a white-gloved hand, the beads of sweat that had gathered during the night clearing away. Nigel sighed, once again he was dreaming, most likely caused by all of the emotional stress from the night before. Hopefully this would fade away in the next few days, Nigel doubted this planet had drugs strong enough to block out the memories.

He looked at the source of the deep breathing, Reflection deep asleep. The changeling had her top half splayed over Nigel’s chest, her front hooves digging into the blue fabric of his suit. Her back end was lying on the bed side-ways, a hind leg twitching occasionally like a dog as she dreamed. Nigel smiled at the blissful look on Reflection’s face, the Emperor glad that her dreams appeared to be far more enjoyable then his.

The memories of the events after their conversation returned, Nigel recalling that Reflection had fallen asleep while in his arms, himself slumbering soon after. He attempted to move from under the changeling without waking her, morning court would begin in about two hours and he hoped to have a chance to patch things up with Sparkling over breakfast. His efforts to escape proved to be futile however, Reflection tightening her grip as she felt him move away. While Nigel did not wish to wake her he had no choice.

“Reflection” he whispered softly, the changeling murmuring as she slowly awoke. She shifted on his chest, rubbing her head against his shirt before opening her eyes and letting out a yawn. Reflection still seemed a little drowsy as she looked at him with a smile spreading across her face.

“Time to get up already, you sure you don’t want to just stay here a little longer?” she asked as she stretched her back legs eliciting a popping noise.

“I’m afraid that I can’t, I was hoping to try to fix things with Sparkling at breakfast. Then morning court is on after that, I have to observe the creation of some new armour, solve a noble family dispute, open the new park and get everything organized for the Equestrian’s visit as the Princess will most likely be here within the week.”

“You work too much; don’t you have advisors to do all of that stuff for you?” Reflection asked as she gave her wings a few flaps. Nigel gave let out a sigh at her question as he got off the bed, make to Reflection’s displeasure.

“No one in the Empire has any experience with dealing with these sorts of problems making me the most qualified. Granted, I’m much more used to blowing up parks than opening them but by appearing in public like that it will hopefully get the citizens to stop being so up-tight around me.”

“I guess that’s a good point,” the Changeling conceded as she also left the bed, moving towards the bathroom. “I’m going to take a quick shower; I’ll see you down at breakfast” she said as she stood up on her hind legs and gave the standing human a hug, her wings fluttering to improve her balance.

“Sure, see you there” Nigel replied as he left her embrace and walked out the door, trying not to focus on the uncomfortable conversation he was planning to have.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Sparkling munched on her slice of toast as she sat at the dining room table, a frown on her face. She was still bothered by last night, the tense atmosphere and Nigel’s actions doing a number on her stress levels. The berry jam coating her breakfast did nothing to sweeten the bitter feelings she had for the Emperor. Sparkling had trusted him to do the right thing, couldn’t he see that Reflection was crazy about him and to just brush her off like that was cold.

She paused her eating to take a sip of tea, the cup designed so that a pony could hold it with one hoof via the use of an enlarged handle. Nigel had always seemed so caring and nice but after witnessing him emotional wreck Reflection like that caused Sparkling to re-think her opinion of him.

Sparkling would call Reflection a close friend, the two mares having bonded during their time spent as advisors. She briefly considered heading up to the changeling’s room to attempt to comfort her again, Sparkling dismissing the thought after a few seconds of thinking. Reflection would likely want to be left alone for a while to come to her senses. While she felt concerned about her friend, Sparkling reasoned that at this time there was little she could do, the mare leaning down to take another bite of toast.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel walked into the dining room, grilled cheese-on-toast in hand. He stopped as he spotted Sparkling, the mare seeing him at the same time. His assistant raised her head from her plate and glared at him, clearly not pleased with his presence.

“Good Morning Emperor,” Sparkling greeted him tersely. Nigel sighed and sat down with his plate, Sparkling beginning to get up from the table as he sat down. For some reason this pissed Nigel off immensely, his temper flaring as he snapped.

“Very mature Sparkling, bravo.”

The mare froze as if he had physically struck her, Sparkling sitting back down at the table as she fixed him with a venomous look.
“Like you can talk about mature!” she yelled at him, “All Reflection did was pour her heart out to you and you went and crushed it! For an Emperor that claims that he cares about his subjects you sure seem able to just treat them like they’re nothing!”

Nigel clenched his fists under the table in an attempt to dissipate his anger, now was not the right time for his temper to boil over. He took a deep breath as he countered Sparkling’s glare with an un-yielding gaze, his face giving away no emotion.

“A relationship with one of my advisors would cause a fair amount of controversy and could potentially harm the Crystal Empire’s reputation. There are also many other different factors involved which you aren’t aware of. Add to the fact that as Emperor I have many vital duties I have to preform which would greatly affect the amount of free time I have to devote to her.” Nigel leaned in further towards Sparkling, the mare’s mean look having lessened as Nigel had explained his reasons.

“I’d explained this and much more to Reflection herself last night,” Nigel continued, “we had a long conversation and we came to an agreement after looking at all of the information. We would both like to put this ugly occurrence behind us and move on, I would like it if you could do the same.” Nigel finished his explanation and sat back on his seat, taking a bite of his toast while Sparkling tried to process what he had just told her.

“What do you mean ‘we came to an agreement’?” she questioned with a confused look on her face, her foul mood receding. The answer came in the form of a joyful changeling bouncing into the room, Reflection spotting Nigel sitting down opposite Sparkling. Nigel barely had time to put down his toast before she closed the distance and jumped up onto his lap, throwing her fore-legs around the surprised human’s neck as Sparkling watched on in shock.

Reflection nuzzled the side of Nigel’s face, her damp-moss mane covering the human’s head with moisture.

“Wha-what?” Sparkling questioned, utterly lost regarding Reflection’s 180 mood swing. Sparkling looked at the Emperor and changeling taking note of Nigel’s ruffled cloths, Reflection’s blissful attitude and the fact how the changeling was suddenly displaying affection openly in public. An idea pushed its way to the front of her mind, a fairly uncomfortable image of how Nigel had cheered the changeling up.

“You didn’t,” she asked, “surely you didn’t do that?”

“What do you me…” Nigel’s eyes widened as he figured out what Sparkling was alluding to, the human waving his hands in front of him while Reflection stared at Sparkling with a puzzled expression.

“No, nothing like that at all,” Nigel quickly answered, “we talked, Reflection hugged me and then we fell asleep. That’s all that happened, end of discussion!” Nigel picked up Reflection with his hands, the biped somehow holding up the blushing changeling in the air as he stood up.

“I’ve got no more time for feelings; I’ve got an empire to run!” he declared as he place Reflection down on the seat he had just left before grabbing the remains of his grilled cheese, stuffing it into his mouth as he ran out of the door towards the throne room, leaving two very surprised mares behind.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Emperor Chalmers sat in his throne, awaiting the arrival of a specific group of nobles. The group, a family that was currently fighting with each other had requested that the Emperor hear their issue in private, not wanting the other nobility to find out. The courtroom had been emptied, only Nigel, Reflection, Sparkling and two guards remaining. Reflection had moved from her usual spot at the side of the throne to the front of it, lying down near Nigel’s feet like a cat. The nobles that had attended morning court had all wished the pair well, Nigel completely taken by surprise that the news had already gotten out. It had only been an hour after breakfast and already most of the city knew about the state of affairs, much to Nigel’s displeasure.

The doors to the throne room opened, the group of nobles walking in accompanied by a changeling, the mare looking very upset. A silver-coated colt was walking close to the changeling, the pony appearing to Nigel as being sixteen to nineteen years of age. The three ponies and changeling bowed before the Emperor, Nigel waving a dismissive hand at them.

“Please, don’t worry about the formalities,” Nigel said, the ponies and changeling relaxing their posture and looking up at the seated Emperor, Reflection looking curiously at the other changeling mare. “Now please, tell me what the problem is” requested Nigel. One of the two Stallions stepped towards the throne, the middle-aged golden-hued pony clearing his throat.

“Of course Emperor, my name is Rich Heart and the problem we have is that my son, Quicksilver is dating a changeling, Miss Falsity”. The silver pony lifted his head, the young stallion having been whispering to the dejected changeling mare. “Now, I’ve got nothing against changelings or the young mare herself it’s just that we one day hope for our son to provide us with grandchildren, continuing our family’s linage. My wife, Gentle Heart,” the pearl-white mare nodded her head towards Nigel “and I came here to seek your assistance on this matter. We want to have our family line continue but we also want our grandson to be with the one he loves, what do we do?”
Nigel was honestly stumped, he had no clue how the situation could end happily for all involved. He looked down towards Reflection, the advisor watching the young couple in pity.

“Reflection?” he asked, the mare turning her attention to him. “Do you know whether a pony and changeling are able to conceive? It‘s not a subject I’m familiar with.”

The advisor scrunched up her face in thought as she rubbed her chin with a hoof.

“I have heard stories that changelings and ponies are able to produce children; however I believe that it’s always a pony foal that is produced. Changelings would normally lay eggs but are able to birth live in such circumstances. The same goes for a pony mare, the off-spring is always pony and no-one knows why that is. The foal can be a Pegasi. Unicorn or Earth pony with all traits coming from the pony parent.”

“So,” Quicksilver said, a hint of excitement in his voice, “you think that Fal and I can have foals?”

The changeling known as Falsity blushed at the nickname, Nigel chuckling at her reaction.

“That’s what it sounds like to me,” Nigel concurred, looking at Reflection and shooting her a congratulatory smile. “I suggest that you let things continue as they are, hopefully it will all work out well and if you need more advice about it then I’m sure Reflection would be happy to help.”

“I would be happy to!” Reflection cheerily included the ponies and changeling all appearing to be ecstatic with the answer.
“Thank you, both of you” Rich Heart said to Nigel and Reflection, the group of four exiting from the room talking lively amongst each other.

“Well, that went better than I expected” Nigel commented, Reflection nodding in agreement. He stood up from the throne, giving his arms a stretch. “I better head to the park, I promised the recreational committee that I would be down there by lunch. Sparkling and Reflection you can take a break, I’ll send for you if I need you.”

“I’ll come with you Nigel,” Reflection stated as she got up from her spot. Both Nigel and Reflection looked at Sparkling, the mare rolling her eyes as she too got off her cushion.

“Fine, I guess I’ll tag along with two,” she sighed as the three left the palace, heading towards the north-side of the city.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Crystal Empire Outskirts – Southern Crystal Caves

Captain Strategy traced his hoof along the map set up in his tent, spots of red ink marking the caves which had already been searched. The Emperor had ordered for the Guard to investigate rumors that some Crystal Unicorns survived Sombra’s purge by hiding in the many caves that surrounded the city. So far they had searched over sixty-percent of the caves, having yielded no result-

“Captain, we’ve found something!”

Strategy whirled around to face the shout, Lieutenant Clear Cut panting from exhaustion as she saluted him.

“What did you find Lieutenant, is it the unicorns?” the Captain questioned.

“We don’t know Sir, but something attacked Corporal Haze at point seven-three!”

Strategy placed his helmet on his head before walking out of the tent, the Lieutenant following behind. They emerged into a make-shift camp, multiple guards moving about the search party headquarters.

“Lieutenant, take me to the point and have someone dispatch a messenger to the Emperor, notify him immediately!”

Thar Be Trouble In Them Thar Caves

The air was filled with the sounds of celebration, the opening of the new park going off without a hitch. The huge field of green was decorated with numerous plants and flowers, benches and family areas overflowing with Crystal ponies. Hundreds had flocked to the park for the official opening and were now enjoying it to its full extent.

Nigel was very pleased with the committee he had put in charge of re-furbishing the park, the assorted nobles having put in a lot of effort to really improve the once barren area. They had even managed to accomplish all that they had with some money to spare, Nigel joking to the committee that if there was money left over than they obviously weren’t cut out for government. Stalls had been set up serving food and drink, Nigel using the leftover funds for the project to pay for it all so that everything the stalls served was free.

It had been a huge success for his public image as well, Nigel making an effort to greet every pony that turned up at the event. The Crystal ponies had been over-joyed to see their Emperor sharing the park with them as opposed to sitting in his palace all day. There were some who were still nervous around the Emperor, mainly due to a combination of his office and his unseen species but the majority of them relished the opportunity to meet their ruler.

A few changelings had even turned up to the festivities, around eight adults and five children. The changeling ‘foals’ as they were now known immediately made a bee-line for the mass of pony children frolicking around the playground while the adults stayed together, still a little apprehensive about being around such a large number of ponies. Seeing this Reflection had gone over to them and was currently introducing the nervous changelings to as many Crystal ponies that she could find in an attempt to ease the changeling’s concerns, an idea which looked like it was working out well.

Nigel had sat down at one of the many benches, the ponies around him asking him many questions regarding where he came from and what he did. Nigel skirted the questions regarding his occupation and instead focused on telling the eager listeners all about the UIP, ensuring to leave out any information which was classified. Sparkling had left earlier, two of her friends inviting her to their bench, leaving Nigel alone to face the barrage of questions.

This state of affairs was not to last however, many citizens ceasing their conversations when a panting guard ran up to the Emperor, the stallion throwing out a sloppy salute as he skidded to a halt in front of Nigel.

“Sir, Captain Strategy requests your presence immediately!”

Nigel knew that it was best to trust his subordinate without question, the Emperor standing up from his seat, taking a second to smooth the creases on his uniform.

“Lead the way soldier” he ordered. The guard stallion galloped off, Nigel jogging right behind him in a way most unbecoming for an Emperor. This did not concern him however, for the Captain to message him in such a way meant that something important had happened.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Captain Strategy alternated his concerned gaze from the cave mouth to the direction of the city, wary of what lurked inside and anxious for the Emperor to arrive. Corporal Haze, one of the few changelings in the guard had been extracted from the cave by three other guards who had all returned covered in scorch marks on their enchanted armour, the changeling possessing no such protection.

The corporal was in a stable condition and the cave had been surrounded by guards, the relatively new soldiers nervously pointing their assorted weapons at the dark mouth. Strategy couldn’t really blame them, after all the majority of them had only been in the guard for a few weeks and seeing a comrade covered in their own blood would be a new experience to them.

“Captain! Captain he’s here!”

The Captain looked at the shout, Private Ferrous galloping towards the defensive line as he called out. What followed the Private however lifted the spirits of all the guards, Emperor Chalmers running after the Private dressed in his blue uniform with a look of determination on his face. The Emperor looked far from majestic, the sight of the ruler of the Empire running like a normal citizen so out of place. Strategy couldn’t help but admire the way the bipedal ruler was able to maintain his balance on his hind legs at such speed. The Private halted as soon as he reached the Captain, both guards saluting as the Emperor halted in front of them, not a trace of fatigue visible on his features.

“Captain Strategy, report” Emperor Chalmers stated, his prior command experience showing in his no-nonsense tone.

“Yes Sir,” the Captain replied, “a squad of guards was searching their designated area in these caves behind us.” The Emperor glanced at the guarded cave mouth as the Captain continued.

“Corporal Haze, one of the changelings was investigating this particular cave entrance when he was attacked by an unknown force. Three other guards were alerted by the sounds of blasts and they moved to provide support. Upon discovering the Corporal who had been gravely injured they braved ranged attacks from the unknown assailants, seemingly capable of firing energy bolts. Luckily their armour was capable of warding off the attacks, although they are still shaken from the experience.”

“Understandable,” Emperor Chalmers responded, his voice carrying some concern, “how is the Corporal’s condition?”

“He’s stable Sir, luckily while his wounds are many none seem to have hit any vital areas” Strategy answered as he turned to face the cave, the Emperor moving towards the front of the guard perimeter. “Commander Sir, you shouldn’t go any closer!” the Captain yelled out as the Emperor strode into the cave entrance, much to the shock of the assorted guards. The Emperor didn’t reply, his form disappearing into the dark depths. Without thinking Strategy dashed after him, many of the guards breaking out of their stupor and following their ruler underground.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The Captain as well as five guards had caught up with their rouge ruler, the Emperor adamant on investigating the matter himself much to the displeasure of Strategy.

“Commander please stop,” he hissed, the guards around them looking around the darkness nervously. One of the guards, a mare was holding a lantern containing a light-emitting gem in her mouth providing the group with illumination.

“No Captain, I intend to find out just who attacked one of my soldiers” the Emperor replied as he continued walking. “Besides, I’ve handled situations far worse than this before, I’ll be fine. As long as you trust me with this everything will work out.” Strategy gave up on trying convincing his Commander to cease this folly, the Emperor pausing briefly to examine a scorch mark on a nearby stalactite. Chalmers rubbed his chin in thought, the Emperor continuing onwards further into the cave.

They had barely made it another few meters when the Emperor stopped, looking down towards the ground. The Captain watched as the human lifted his black boot, green blood shining in the light of the groups’ lantern. All of the guards looked down at the puddle of gore that was the source of the blood, small spots of green fluid smattered around the immediate area. Chalmers bent down over the puddle, beckoning the Captain over.

Strategy lowered his head so that it was level with the Emperor’s, Chalmers looking like he was studying the green blood on the floor.
“Don’t act alarmed Captain,” Chalmers whispered as soon as Strategy was near, “but there appears to be two pony-sized figures watching us from behind the large boulder a little further in.” The Captain angled his head so he could he could watch the mentioned boulder while appearing to be occupied with the puddle of blood. It wasn’t long before two shadows popped out; only to disappear again as a guard private scanned the area.

“I see them,” Strategy whispered back, “What are we going to do?” The Emperor appeared thoughtful for a moment, before a slight smile came to his face.

“Captain, whatever happens don’t attack them.”

“What do you mean by th-“

Strategy was interrupted as the Emperor stood up, turning to face the hidden figures.

“Hello, we know you’re there!” he called out with cheer in his voice, waving a white gloved hand at the boulder. A flash of light emitted from the darkness crated by the rock, a bolt of blue energy passing a mere inch from the side of the Emperor’s head. All of the guards’ nervousness vanished at the attack on their ruler, every one of the six jumping in front of Nigel with spears raised.

Nigel appeared un-fazed by the bolt as he held up a hand to halt his soldiers, the guards remaining still despite their urges to attack those who dared fire at the Emperor. Nigel took one step forward, the Emperor twisting his upper body to avoid another bolt that was fired at him.

“Now why do you have to act like that?” he questioned, the assailants not firing off anymore bolts. Nigel held his hands out in front of him to show he was un-armed. “All we want to do is just have a little chat, that’s all.”

The only response that got him was another bolt, this one red, flying out to pass his right shoulder. The attack grazed his blue sleeve, scorching it and creating a black gouge in the fabric before the bolt impacted against the ceiling behind the group. Nigel looked down towards the mark on his uniform, the smile still firm on his face.

“Bad choice, my friends” he remarked, all of the guards watching in awe as the human darted towards the rock with a burst of speed. Bolts shot out at the rapidly approaching human, Strategy watching in amazement as the Emperor avoided every bolt. The Emperor side-stepped while still maintaining a constant forward motion, Captain Strategy surprised that a being that size could move with such agility and balance. All of the guards hadn’t even had time to move forward to support the Emperor by the time he reached the rock, the human sliding in the dirt on his side as he disappeared behind it.

A mare’s scream echoed around the cave before two shapes were violently flung over the rock towards the guards. Two ponies, a bronze-coloured stallion and an emerald-green mare landed heavily in the middle of the circle of guards with loud thumps. The Captain trained his sword on the pair, both ponies appearing to be quite stunned from the impact. He took note of the horns that both possessed as well as the fearful expressions that they had, the pair almost on the verge of tears.

Strategy’s concentration was broken as the Emperor approached the group, dust and dirt covering his uniform.

“Shimmering’s going to throw a fit when she sees these clothes” Strategy heard Chalmers mutter, the Emperor stopping before the two captive unicorns as the two stared up at the human with terror-filled eyes.

Nigel smiled warmly down at the ponies on the ground, both of the unicorns terrified of him. He was confident that they weren’t going to go anywhere, guards cutting off every escape.

“We could have avoided all of this if you haven’t acted so un-neighborly. I expected some hospitality instead receiving energy bolts, just like home” Nigel crouched down in front of the two unicorns, the mare beginning to sob while the stallion fixed Nigel with a glare.

“Do what you will to us Beast! We will never give in to your foul Master’s plans!” The Stallion shouted defiantly, his rust-red mane covered in dirt.

Nigel let out a chuckle at the stallion’s words. “You think I work for Sombra, don’t you little unicorn?” This seemed to faze the stallion for a second.

“Of course you would, a creature as foul as you could only exist because of him” the stallion replied, his prior confidence extinguished at the suggestion that this biped did not work for Sombra. Captain Strategy glared down at the unicorn as he moved his sword a little closer.

“I suggest you refrain from speaking to the Commander like that!” he threatened, the unicorn gulping at the sight of the blade mere inches from his soft neck. The mare saw this, her sobs increasing as she looked up at Nigel with pleading eyes.

“Please don’t kill us, we didn’t want to hurt you,” she cried “we just wanted you to leave us alone.”

“I don’t intend to kill you if you answer my questions and behave” Nigel told the upset mare, “even though you did seriously wound one of my subjects.”

Captain Strategy noticed that the Emperor’s voice hardened as he said the last part; no doubt the Chalmers was still angry regarding the wounding of Corporal Haze. Strategy was impressed that the Emperor seemed incredibly careless with his own safety while showing great concern for his troops.

“We didn’t know it wasn’t a servant of Sombra,” the stallion spoke up, the fire in his voice having vanished, “just like we don’t know what you are. What do you mean by ‘subjects’ anyway? You don’t look like an insect.”

“Emperor Chalmers is the ruler of the Crystal Empire,” Captain Strategy answered, the Stallion looking like he was about to argue. “Before you say anything I’ve seen King Sombra’s body myself, he makes a great floor rug.” At this the stallion paled.

“Th-that can’t be true, no-one could defeat Sombra!”

“Oh, I did,” Nigel imputed, “you put up more of a fight than he did, which just goes to show how pathetic he really was. Just look at you, your coats and manes have the crystal sheen created by the Crystal Heart. Sombra locked it away according to what I was told. As to the topic of subjects the creature that you attacked is called a changeling, a citizen of the Crystal Empire.” At this revelation both unicorns’ eyes widened, panic over taking them.

“We’re sorry, we didn’t know!” the mare yelled, rolling over as she threw herself to the ground in a bow as she begged. “Don’t hurt me or Copper, please Sir!”

“Calm down,” Nigel responded as he attempted to re-assure the mare, “as long as you co-operate I will refrain from punishing you.” The mare stopped crying while the stallion known as ‘Copper’ gave the Emperor a resigned look.

“What do you want from us?”

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Bronze Shield peeked around the rock at the entrance to the carven, hoping that Uncle Copper and Aunt Tin were all right. Golden Ring, the leader of the small group of ten unicorns had told Shield that his aunt and uncle had gone to make sure the evil King Sombra had not come to get them. Bronze Shield shivered when he thought about the King, his Aunt had told him the King had taken Mommy and Daddy. Aunt Tin had told him not to worry, she said that all of the adults would not let the King find them and that one day they would all go back to live in the city. Aunt Tin never told Bronze when Mommy and Daddy where going to escape from Sombra, whenever he asked she always said that he should go and play with his friends.

He looked around the camp, his two friends Silver Jewel and Piercing Gleam were both hiding behind the legs of their mother and father, the filly and colt shaking as they hid. Bronze wasn’t afraid though because his Aunt and Uncle were Gemsmiths, meaning that they were really powerful unicorns, or at least that’s what Golden Ring had said.

“Someone’s coming” whispered Ruby Heart, Silver and Piercing’s Mother. The white, pink-maned mare was looking towards the tunnel that went up towards the surface, two ponies emerging out of the gloom.

“Uncle and Aunty!” Bronze Shield exclaimed as he ran to greet them, the orange colt bounding up to them happily. He reached them quickly, but he soon noticed the gloomy looks on their faces. “What’s wrong? Is the mean King going find us?”

“Oh no, the King didn’t find you, I did.”

Bronze jolted as a male voice spoke up, a huge monster stepping up behind his Aunt and Uncle. From behind the Monster emerged ponies in armour with spears, all of them looking at the shocked unicorns in the camp. The monster coughed into a claw before he stood up straight, a grin on his face.

“Afternoon, I was just in the neighborhood and I decided to tell you that I killed your King so you’re now my subjects, any questions?”

Be Careful What You Wish For

“You killed the king?”

Nigel looked towards the golden unicorn stallion that had spoken; the way that the other unicorns were looking at it leading Nigel to believe that it was the leader. The Emperor stepped towards the stallion, the two unicorns and the foal that were in front of him moving towards the side to let him through. To his credit the stallion stood his ground, scrutinizing the human as Nigel stopped a few meters away.

Chalmers took the time to observe the unicorn, taking note that it appeared to be of middle-age if the few grey hairs in its mustard coloured mane where any indication. The unicorn was roughly the same height of his current subjects and his coat also possessed the sheen created by the Crystal Heart. The stallion finished his examination of the human, the pony approaching Nigel to stop right in front of him.

“Just how did you defeat Sombra, if you even did?” the unicorn questioned as he looked up at Nigel, the pony’s horn coming up to the tall human’s chest, “I don’t see a horn on you so you can’t do magic and even if you’re fairly fit Sombra would have just blasted you with his magic first.” Nigel peered down at the unicorn, a smile that radiated warmth relaxing the golden unicorn.

“Oh, he did blast me with his magic,” Nigel replied as the unicorn looked at him in confusion, “It bounced off me without a scratch and then in the confusion I brained him with a table leg.” This elicited a wince from the Stallion, the fact that the bipedal creature’s smile stayed firm only unsettled the unicorn further.

“You… ‘brained’ him?”

“Cracked his skull open and then skinned him to make a rug,” Nigel responded to the unnerved stallion, “he completely deserved it from what I hear so really I did the world a favor and gained a fine piece of décor in one swoop.” The unicorn gulped at this, the creature’s voice contained no deceit and his grisly tale seemed genuine. Golden Ring looked over towards Tin and Copper, the two unicorns looking nervously back at the armed guards that were watching the proceedings.

“Nigel M Chalmers, or simply Emperor Chalmers as of a few weeks ago,” the creature introduced as it held out a dirty white-gloved hand towards Golden Ring. The unicorn glanced at the offered hand and figured out the meaning of the gesture, hesitantly extending a hoof towards the limb.

“Golden Ring,” The Emperor clasped his fingers around the hoof and shook it, Golden Ring relieved that the ruler appeared to harbor no ill-will towards the unicorns. Speaking of ill-will however, Golden thought that it would be best if he brought up the most pressing issue sooner than later.

“Um, about the attack on you and your guards,” the unicorn started, regretting his choice to advise his fellows to attack anything that entered the caves.

“It’s fine, a complete misunderstanding. However there is the problem that one of my guards was seriously injured when your two comrades,” the Emperor looked towards the two unicorns responsible, the pair shrinking under his gaze, “attacked him earlier today. Now while I forgive them whether or not he does is debatable.” Golden Ring looked down at his hooves dejected, before an idea popped into his head. He glanced over at Ruby Heart, the crimson mare shielding her daughter with her body.

“Ruby Heart over there used to be a nurse; maybe she could help your guard?” Golden Ring asked hopefully, this could be a chance to salvage the unicorns’ reputation. He was overjoyed when the Emperor glanced at the mare before turning back to him and nodding.

“Sounds like a good idea, as long as he forgives you I don’t see a problem with you rejoining the Empire” the Emperor said as he turned on his heels and walked back towards the exit with his guards scrambling to follow him. “Just head on up and talk to Captain Strategy,” The Emperor suggested.

“Wait, aren’t you going to come with us!?” Golden Ring called out after the Emperor.

“I’m afraid I can’t,” the human called back, “I’ve got a two o’clock I’m already late for so I’ve got to go!”

With these words the Emperor disappeared from view into the darkness, his guards following behind him. Golden Ring looked back towards the rest of the unicorns, each as confused as he was. Hesitantly he walked back towards the makeshift camp and began to pack his things, pausing only to glance around the curious faces of his fellow unicorns.

“What?” he asked as he continued to pack his things. “I’ve had enough of these stupid caves, living under the rule of a bi-polar alien Emperor would beat this any day.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________

“Emperor, I really must stress just how much this new metal could do for us!” Nigel watched with great mirth as the head blacksmith, Iron Greaves moved from weapon rack to armour stand. The gleam of polished steel glinted in the light of crystal lighting, the surprisingly upbeat brown-coated pony bouncing around the room. Nigel hadn’t met any blacksmiths before but he imagined them to be dour, heavyset individuals. The chirpy pony ended his bouncing, hefting a halberd out of a rack with the crook of his fore-leg.

“Look at this weapon,” the stallion gushed, holding out the head of the weapon towards the Emperor to show off the sharp edge. “The thought of combining a sharp axe-head and a spear is ingenious, how did your people think of such a brilliant weapon?”

“Oh, just a little bit of constant war for thousands of years” Nigel commented with a shrug, the blacksmith staring at him in concern for a few seconds before he too shrugged and placed the halberd back, moving towards a stand which contained a full suit of armour designed to fit an equine creature.

“This new armour for changeling troops is also a masterpiece, even if I do say so myself.” Iron shined the armour with a rag, the steel suit designed to fully protect every inch of the wearer’s body. “The only downside to this model however is that they will be unable to fly, normally,” Iron grinned and pointed towards a set of gems set into the underside of the suit, Nigel peering at the cluster of three gems.

“Let me guess,” Nigel began, “Gems that manipulate gravity and or lighten the weight of the object their set into?” Iron stared at the Emperor in surprise.

“You are… absolutely right.”

“Not that hard to figure out really,” Nigel replied, “great work on the armour though, how many sets have you and your workers finished?”

“Only about twenty I’m afraid Sir,” Iron answered, his voice losing its cheer, “I know you wanted at least thirty but I was distracted by a special project I was working on.”

“Don’t worry about it Iron,” the Emperor responded as he patted the young stallion on the shoulder, “the Empire only has five changeling guards so it’s no big deal.” The Emperor’s words succeeded in cheering up the blacksmith, Iron’s cheery mood returning.

“Now what this about a special project?” Chalmers asked, the blacksmith bounding towards a side room, the Emperor following close behind.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

“Now all I need is a sword in a rock or something!”

Iron watched as the Emperor tested his new suit of plate armour, the human flexing all of the joints as he moved around the room completly covered in shiny steel.

“So I’m assuming that the suit feels so light because of the gems inlaid here?” the Emperor asked as he pointed with a metal gauntlet to the set of gems set into his left chest area. “Why did you put them where my heart is again? Kind of seems like the place where people are going to be stabbing me the most often.”

“Don’t worry Sir,” Iron answered, “using a small shielding gem I found in that set you gave to us I managed to shield that place from anything physical, the only thing you have to worry about is magical based attacks.”

“So,” Emperor Chalmers responded, “you pretty much built the medieval armour equivalent of the Deathstar and left the exhaust port open to any unicorn that I piss off?”

“Death…Star?” Iron inquired, the reference lost on him.

“Term used to describe something that has a blatantly obvious weak point, to be fair though the creator of this one isn’t a retarded ego-maniac who feels the need to make up for his withered scrotum-like face.” The Emperor rubbed his gauntlets together as he strolled past the bewildered blacksmith and over towards a weapon rack at the end of the room. Deciding that the Emperor did not just vaguely insult his work Iron followed the human. Chalmers stopped at the rack and retrieved a sword that was the length of a pony, multiple gems set in the grip.

“Sir,” Iron softly asked as the Emperor tested the weight of the sword, “have you even been trained to use th-“

Iron stopped speaking as the Emperor completed a series of thrusts, parries and slices, all expertly preformed.

“To answer your concerns, I’ve been practicing the use of bladed weaponry for years. After all,” the Emperor chuckled as he ran an armored finger over the sword edge, “sometimes using a knife is just so much more fun.” Iron shifted nervously as the human swung his sword a couple times more before another weapon caught the Emperor's eye.

“Ah, I see you found the mace sir,” Iron observed as the Emperor picked up the flanged device, the weapon designed to crush armour and shatter bones. The top possessed a pointed spike that could be thrust between the joints of an opponent’s armour and the weapon also had its own set of gems set into the handle.

“Let me guess,” Nigel said as he poked the gems, “plus seven to arse-kicking?”

“No sir, I’m afraid that no such gems were found in the p-“

“It was a joke Iron,” Chalmers sighed, “as long as the gems help me crack skulls I’m happy.” Hefting his new mace over his shoulder with his sword firmly in its sheath at his side the Emperor walked towards the rooms exit. “Great work Iron, keep it up.”

“Yes Emperor!” Iron saluted, the blacksmith already moving to the workshop to supervise the creation of the giant ballistas.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

“Emperor Sir, what took you so long…”

The guard private who had been assigned to the Emperor while he visited the military area of the city stared in awe at the sight of his Emperor dressed in full plate armour constructed of a strange metal. The human had a huge battle mace resting on his shoulder and a sword attached to his belt. Chalmers struck a pose, mace pointed outwards to the palace.

“Onwards, Guard Private…”

“Sharp Point, Emperor” the guard answered when Chalmers glanced at him.

“Yes, onwards towards our bastion of Vigilance!” the Emperor decreed as he marched off, Sergeant Sharp Point following behind questioning what just happened.

Little did the Emperor know that no amount of armour or weaponry would protect him from the danger that lurked back within his palace.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

“So the gems are-“

“Protected by a force field gem, I know I said exactly the same thing to the guy but honestly the mace makes up for it al-“

Nigel trailed off as the pair entered the Palace Throne Room, the vast space seemingly empty as the Emperor and guard cautiously walked towards the throne.

“Isn’t there supposed to be servants and advisors Sir?” Sharp Point asked, the empty room really creeping him out.

“Normally yes,” Chalmers replied as he scanned the room, “keep on your guard, something catastrophic must have occur-“ Sharp Point had no time to react before a black blur flew out from behind the throne and tackled the surprised Emperor chest on, toppling the human over as it collided with his armored chest.

“Ow,” a female voice sounded from the black figure sprawled on top of the Emperor, Sharp Point now able to see that the attacker was a changeling.

“Emperor Chalmers?” Sharp Point stepped a little closer, an irritated groan confirming that the ruler was conscious. Now that he was closer Sharp Point identified the changeling as the Emperor’s advisor, Reflection. The guard didn’t know what to do, both the changeling and human recovering from the impact at the same time.

Nigel shook his head to clear away the aftereffects of the hit his head received. He was already regretting leaving the armory without the helmet that had been designed for him. Nigel looked up from his spot on the floor, a pair of angry green eyes glaring down at him.
“Nigel M Chalmers,” Reflection was not pleased; Nigel’s developed sense of the female psyche keyed him in to this fact. The way that her hoof was rapidly approaching his face was also a dead giveaway.

“What the Buck were you thinking!?” the hoof connected with Nigel’s shoulder, the changeling diverting the blow at the last second. “You charged into a cave filled with dangerous creatures by yourself!”

“Actually it was only a few unicorns and I did have a few guards who ran in after me.”

“I don’t care!” the irate changeling answered as she put both front hooves beside Nigel’s head, “what if you had gotten hurt or worse! You can’t just constantly run head-first into problems like that! We haven’t even gone on a date yet and you go off to fight unicorns in a cave!” Sharp Point decided that it would be incredibly wise to keep his mouth shut and move over to guard the door, well out of range of potential changeling hoof attacks.

“So, if you’re done yelling,” Nigel asked slowly, “do you notice anything different about me?”

“Anything different?” the changeling began, her voice raised and her head lowering towards Nigel’s. “You’re still the same vain, rash, immature, confident…” Reflection paused as she looked into the Emperor’s blue eyes, the human squirming under the changeling.

“Reflection? I think you missed a couple of negative tr-“

The Emperor was unable to finish his query as the changeling darted forward and pushed her mouth onto his. Sharp Point stood at his spot and stared at the pair, the sudden act so unexpected that the private could do nothing but watch as the changeling increased her assault on the Emperor’s mouth fortress. Strangely the Emperor ceased his struggling after just a few seconds, the human wrapping his metal plated arms around the changeling as he pulled her in closer. Both of the beings were so caught up in their activity that they didn’t even notice the throne room doors open and a large white pony accompanied by a group of bodyguards and dignitaries all surrounded by Crystal guards enter.

“Announcing the arrival of Her Royal Highness Princ- Oh!”

The changeling and human broke apart in alarm, pulling their heads apart to stare at the speaker in shock, the Royal Guard who was in charge of introducing his Princess speechless.

Emperor Chalmers looked at the group of ponies from his position on the floor, all of them with varying expressions of shock and disbelief on their faces. The only exception was the tall white mare wearing a Tiara and Necklace, no doubt this ‘Princess Celestia’ that he had been expecting. Of course the Equestrians would arrive at exactly this point in time. Princess Celestia gigged, the white mare unable to control her mirth at the situation.

“Is this a bad time, Emperor Chalmers? We can come back tomorrow if you prefer.”

“No, no! This is not what it looks like!” Nigel replied as he used a hand to wipe away the string of saliva that ran from Reflection’s mouth to his. “We were just… discussing the newest upgrades to the civic infrastructure in districts three-seven B to four-nine F, yeah, sanitization and all of that” he finished, Reflection climbing off him as stood up. The changeling sheepishly turned her head away from the Princess’s interested gaze, a green blush on her cheeks and human saliva on her chin.

The Emperor cleared his throat, the Princess looking towards the strange creature which when it was standing was much more intimidating.

“Shall we adjourn to my meeting chamber your Highness?” the Emperor offered extending a metal hand towards a door on the other side of the room. Celestia was quite impressed with how the Emperor quickly pulled of a flawless recovery, no trace in his voice of the fact that he had just been caught tongue-wrestling with a member of the most-vilified species in Celestia’s country.

“I think that would be for the best,” Celestia agreed, following the Emperor as he moved towards the doorway. The changeling female who had recently been on top of the human moved beside him, the creature ducking her head in embarrassment. The group of nobles following Celestia looking at one another before the stern gazes of the Crystal pony guards drove them forwards towards behind their ruler.

The doors shut behind the group, leaving the lone Private Sharp Point frozen on his spot traumatized by the sight that he had bared witness too.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

To say the atmosphere at the table was tense was an understatement. Emperor Charmers nibbled on a cheese slice while Celestia sipped daintily from a tea cup suspended in her magic field opposite him. On Nigel’s side of the rectangular table sat Reflection, Sparkling and various nobles and guards. Celestia was seated amongst her own Royal guard and her entourage of nobility with a particularly snobby looking blond unicorn whose face was still scrunched up in disgust from the sight he had been present at before.

“So Emperor Chalmers,” Celestia began as she put down her teacup, “I would enjoy exchanging stories but being a ruler leaves one with little time to spare, something I’m sure you can relate to.”

“I sure can, today alone has been quite a… interesting one.” Nigel replied as put another piece of cheese into his mouth. He missed the smile that Celestia hid behind her cup as she moved to take another sip.

“As I saw, at least I know for sure now that you yourself are quite receptive to changelings” she teased as she took a victory sip of tea.

“I know it must be hard to hold yourself back Princess, I can tell by the way you stared at my crotch as I got up.” Celestia spat out the tea she had in her mouth at the Emperor’s reply. She coughed and spluttered as Emperor Chalmers calmly cleaned the front of his metal armour with a napkin to get rid of the tea. Nigel didn’t mind however, it was worth it to beat the Princess at her own game.

“I should have warned you Princess,” Nigel gloated as Celestia looked back up at him in embarrassment, “I am incredibly experienced in the art of diplomatic banter, you have much to learn.”

“So, it seems,” Celestia conceded, “shall we begin discussing the terms of agreement?”

“Against my better judgment Princess, let’s get down to business.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________

“… and so it is with these terms that we both agree to close this agreement. As soon as we both sign I will arrange for the transport of the sixty-one changelings currently held in Equestrian prisons to the Crystal Empire as well as multiple loads of supplies to assist in the re-building of the Empire.”

Nigel awoke just in time to hear the end of the agreement thanks to a fairly forceful under-the-table reminder kick courtesy of Reflection. He nodded as Celestia levitated her glasses off of her muzzle as she put the parchment on the table. Using a feather and quill provided by a nearby assistant the princess signed her name at the bottom of the sheet, moving it over to Nigel after she was done. Chalmers quickly read over the parchment one last time before signing his name at the bottom, sealing the deal much to the satisfaction to the Princess.

“It’s a real blessing that we were able to agree on something so important for all of our peoples Emperor,” the Princess happily stated, “now with all of that out of the way why don’t we share some of our past experiences. Now, as you’ve no doubt heard my little ponies are some of the most peaceful…”

‘Oh God, please, anything. Don’t let me suffer through all of this’ Nigel thought as he nodded his head as the Princess continued on with her re-telling of her country’s history. The nobility from both sides also looked completely bored and Reflection was staring at the table daydreaming. Existence for once actually took pity upon Nigel and just as the Princess was about to explain how some elements defeated an evil snake the doors burst open, a frantic guard bursting through them with a halberd in his hoof.

“Commander Chalmers, a large group of bipedal dog monsters are attacking the city pillaging and looting! The guard is fighting back but they need assistance!”

“Diamond Dogs,” Celestia stated with concern, “they are known for isolated foalnappings but I’ve never heard of them attacking an entire city before.”

The Crystal guards surrounding the table moved to leave however Nigel halted them with a hand. The Emperor stood up and grabbed his mace which had been retrieved earlier.

“No, you stay here and guard our guests,” Nigel ordered, the soldiers returning to their positions hesitantly.

“Nigel,” Reflection asked with dread, “please tell me you’re not going out to fight again.” Nigel patted the head of his mace with a hand as he walked towards the door. He stopped and turned to face Reflection and Celestia as he addressed them.

“I go forth to defend my subjects and kingdom,” he proclaimed, “Reflection you’re in charge so please play nice with the Princess. No hitting young lady.” Without waiting for a reply Nigel left, passing Private Sharp Point in the throne room. The Private had snapped out of his trance when the messanger had gone past, Sharp Point shaking his head before he galloped after the human, the pony only stopping to retrieve his spear.

“Sir, where are you going? It’s incredibly dangerous outside with all of the monsters running around!” Sharp Point shouted as he caught up the Emperor who was in the process of shining his mace with a white cloth.

“I know Private,” Chalmers responded gleefully, “the question you should be asking is who exactly is going to be in danger.”

“Sir?” the private questioned, slightly confused at what the Emperor was alluding to.

“It’s like this Sharp Point,” Emperor Chalmers replied as he swung his heavy steel mace in a wide arc. “I’m going to put the ‘Die’ in ‘Diamond Dog’, and I am going to enjoy doing it.”

Get Off My Lawn!

“Ha! So much shiny stuff in here!”

Ruffles the Diamond Dog excitedly scooped pawfuls of jewelry into the sack he was carrying; these glowing ponies sure had a lot of shiny things. There were gems of all shapes, sizes and colours and all of them would be delicious for sure. He was lucky that the first building he went into was a jewelry store, the rest of his pack splitting up to scour the defenseless city for anything valuable. The Alpha had been surprised when he had heard of a crystal city that had just appeared out of nowhere but it had proved to be true, it was only a short distance from the den as well. Ruffles was not worried about such details however, he was enjoying looting the store. He would enjoy it a lot more if it wasn’t for the pony whimpering in the corner.

“Shut up pony!” Ruffles yelled at the light-blue mare, the pony huddling itself into the corner. Ruffles paused his looting as a thought occurred to him. If these ponies looked like gems, did that mean that they tasted like gems as well? Ruffles decided that it would be worth the five minutes to find out. The mare only increased its whining as he walked over towards it, the diamond dog crouching down in front of the pony.

“You look like gem pony,” Ruffles observed, “do you taste like gem too? Because stealing make me hungry,” the Mare’s eyes widened as she looked at the Diamond Dog in fear.

“Please, please don’t hurt me you can take any jewels that you want!” the pony pleaded as Ruffles sniffed the air.

“Step away from the pony you filthy canine!”

Ruffles bolted upright as the voice sounded behind him. The dog grabbed his spear as he whirled around, expecting to find a guard pony behind him. Instead the startled dog found an armour-clad, mostly hairless two-legged creature holding a large mace that looked incredibly displeased.

“What do you want hairless monster?” Ruffles asked as he pointed his spear at the creature. The creature smiled at the question and pointed towards its mace.

“Oh, I just came down because I wanted to make sure you were having a smashingly good time.” Ruffle’s tiny brain was so caught up trying to figure out what the creature was talking about that he didn’t notice the rapidly oncoming mace.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel smiled as his weapon connected with the dog’s armoured torso propelling the hapless raider through the shop’s window. The sound of pained yelps accompanied by the smashing of glass filled the air as the dog and numerous glass shards fell onto the street outside.

Private Sharp Point emerged from behind the Emperor trying to figure out whether the human needed any help. Judging from the joyful smile that the ruler was sporting as he watched the injured dog attempt to crawl away from the shop he doubted it.

“Stay here and help the lady Private,” the Emperor ordered as Sharp Point glanced at the mare, “I’ve got to attend to our esteemed guest.”

With these words the Emperor stepped through the broken window, glass crunching beneath his boots as he began to move towards the Diamond dog, the canine trying to crawl away using his front paws. Sharp Point moved over towards the shopkeeper cautiously, the mare sobbing in the corner of her wrecked store.

“It’s okay miss, the dog is gone now and I’ll stop anymore from getting in” the Private reassured as he patted the civilian on the back.

“What is the Emperor going to do?” the mare asked, halting her sobbing as she went to glance out of the window. She was stopped when Sharp Point blocked her view, the guard guessing what was about to happen.

“I don’t really know miss,” Private Sharp Point answered, “but I don’t really want to find out.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel smirked as the injured dog attempted to escape, the mace hit to the torso of the animal really doing a fair amount of damage. A trail of blood lead from the dog’s original landing point to its current position in the middle of the street. While Nigel did want to draw this out for as long as possible he knew that he would be more useful elsewhere so he had to make this quick. Striding over towards the wounded canine he stopped it by placing an armoured foot in the dog’s matted tail, the creature rotating its head to look up at the Emperor in terror.

“Play dead” Nigel ordered merrily as he brought his mace down upon the dog’s head, the steel weapon easily cracking the skull of the raider releasing a foul mix of blood and brain matter onto the street. Taking a moment to clean his weapon on the corpse’s filthy brown vest Nigel wondered how Reflection was fairing with the Equestrians up in the palace.

‘Eh,’ he shrugged as he walked down the street in search of new prey, ‘I’m sure she’ll be doing fine."

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Reflection was not happy, not one bit.

After Nigel had once again left to fight things she was left in a room surrounded by nobles, guards and to top it all of the Princess of the country that the changelings tried to invade. Celestia was still sipping her tea, the cup long since empty and the nobility from both cities were shifting uncomfortably.

“Are you sure these Crystal ponies are able to protect us adequately Auntie?” Reflection looked towards the blond unicorn stallion that radiated arrogance as his pompous voice broke the silence. “They certainly don’t seem to able to protect their own city!”

“Unlike the impenetrable fortress that is Canterlot?” Reflection snapped, all eyes in the room focusing on the changeling after her outburst. Realizing what she had just said in the presence of a Princess of Equestria Reflection paled, sinking down into her chair. Celestia gazed at her with an even look, the changeling unable to tell what the Princess was thinking. Clearing her throat Celestia placed her long-empty tea cup on the table as she turned towards the unicorn who had spoken.

“Prince Blueblood,” Celestia addressed, “I have the upmost fate in the Crystal Empire guards to ensure our safety.” The Princess smiled at the Crystal ponies surrounding the room, the multiple guards all armed to the teeth with their combination axe-spears. “I’m sure that the Emperor has everything under control and the situation will be resolved peacefully.”

Reflection shifted uncomfortably in her seat. ‘Peaceful’ would not be the word she would use, Nigel seemed like a compassionate Emperor but if something threatened his subjects Reflection doubted he would talk it out. Prince Blueblood however seemed to have the same concerns, except the Prince decided to voice his.

“I for one think the Emperor is a complete psychopath, all creatures that look like that can only have a mind focused on violence” the prince stated with his nose in the air. He was oblivious to the glares of the Crystal guards surrounding the table; all of the soldiers shifting their magical assisted grips on their weapons. Celestia and her four guards however were not.

“Blueblood, the Emperor seems to be a perfectly balanced and fair ruler,” Celestia replied in an attempt to defuse the situation. The Princess looked towards Reflection, “I’m sure that Miss Reflection here wouldn’t mind if we observed from a balcony how Emperor Chalmers deals with such issues. A ruler such of himself should have all of the trouble sorted by know and I’m sure the Diamond Dogs will have given in to his stern demeanor.”

Reflection spluttered as the Princess left her seat, the large pony moving towards the stairs leading upstairs. The changeling was completely lost, her mind blanking as the Princess looked to her. Without noticing it Reflection found herself nodding her head, Celestia giving her a warm smile as the Princess and nobility headed upstairs escorted by the Crystal Guards. Reflection started to panic as she comprehended what had just happened, the changeling bolting out of her seat after them.

“No no no no no no no no!” she repeated to herself as she raced up the stairs fearful of what the Equestrians would witness. She was far too late however, bursting out of the first balcony doors she ran out into the midst of the horrified group of ponies as crazed laughter echoed up from the center square. Walking forward slowly until she was next to the shell-shocked Princess Reflection swallowed the lump in her throat and looked over the edge of the balcony just in time to witness the Bloodstained Emperor collapse the skull of a Diamond Dog with his new mace, causing red gore to spray into the air like a morbid water-fountain.

“Oh yes!” Nigel’s voice rang out from the courtyard, “that right there was A-MACE-ING!”

________________________________________________________________________________________

“Ah, this is how rulers should solve all of their problems,” Nigel commented happily as he stepped over the Dog’s twitching body. So far his mace, which he had dubbed ‘Macey’, had tasted the blood of twenty-seven dogs so far. All of them had been in some state of pillaging and looting, the animals so stupid that they hadn’t even checked to see if the local guard was incapacitated. So when a steel-clad human showed up wielding a mace they were easy pickings, not that they had a chance to begin with.

The Crystal guards had been holding their own as well, Nigel having passed multiple groups of dead raiders lying in pools of blood. The Dogs had obviously been expecting a defenseless city full of innocent ponies, instead receiving a city filled with a small but competent force of soldiers not afraid to kill for their Emperor. Nigel felt a twinge of pride as he spotted a dog rooted to the spot staring at the cooling corpse Chalmers had just finished with. Nigel looked towards his mace as he patted it with a glove.

“Well Macey, it’s been a fun time but I think I should see other weapons,” Nigel placed the mace in the holder on his back before drawing his sword from its scabbard. “Well, I hope Macey won’t be sword about this but I think you deserve a slice of the action ‘Stabslana’,” the Emperor cooed as he advanced towards the paralyzed dog. He stopped in front of the canine, the terrified mutt having pissed itself. Nigel smiled at the being which came up to his chest, lifting the brown dog’s chin up with the point of his sword.

“Now tell me Rover, why did you decide to attack my city?” the dog whimpered as it tore it’s gaze from the body of its friend towards the hairless creature asking the question.

“Name’s not Rover-“

“I don’t give a Fuck if your name is Sparkles or Tintin or Fluffy!” Nigel yelled as he booted the dog in the knee with his foot, the dog screaming In pain as the steel boot shattered his knee. The canine dropped to the ground as he cradled his ruined limb in his large paws. Nigel crouched down, tapping his sword against his thigh.

“You attacked my city so the only thing that you are now is my Bitch,” Nigel stated in a business-like tone. “Now let me give you a little backstory here,” Chalmers continued as the dog looked up at the human in fear, “as part of military intelligence I became privy to some very interesting ways of ‘information gathering’ and let me tell you, Bitch,” Nigel placed his sword against the dog’s groin, “I’m not afraid to use them on you.”

“No, I tell you everything!” the dog pleaded, “Alpha told us that pony city full of gems and weak ponies, we go in and steal gems and ponies and bring back to den, that all Alpha tell us!”

“Well, that just ruins all of the fun,” Nigel lamented as he moved the sword away from the dog’s crotch and back up to its throat. “Just one more thing,” the dog looked up at the grinning human with hope, “you got something stuck in your throat.”

With a single thrust Nigel buried his sword into the dog’s throat, the hapless canine thrashing as it gurgled on its own blood. With the same grin he had been sporting for the entire conversation Nigel held the piece of steel in until the corpse stopped twitching. Sighing he pulled the blade from body and stood up, once again using the clothing of his enemy to clean his weapon. Popping his back he turned to hunt for more friends, however a girlish squealing coming from above him caused him to turn around.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Reflection stared mouth agape at the Equestrian Prince who had screamed like a little filly at the sight of the dog’s execution. Granted it had also disturbed Reflection but she hadn’t reacted like a school filly. Celestia had not changed her expression since she had seen the first killing, the Princess looking like she was attempting to capture flies in her mouth. As Reflection was about to defend her Emperor’s actions to the Princess she noticed that Celestia’s eyes widened at a sight down in the courtyard. Reflection hesitantly looked over the balcony to where the Princess was staring.

Nigel was standing over the body of the dog doing what could only be described as a jig. The fact that the Emperor was able to seemingly pull off a perfect dance routine dressed in full-plate armour covered in gore was impressive but somehow Reflection got the idea that Celestia would not exactly see it that way. Reflection took a deep breath; evidently diplomacy was not the human’s strong suit. She tapped Celestia on the shoulder, the Princess looking at the changeling with a terrified expression planted on the Alicorn’s face.
“Uh, you see,” Reflection began as she rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, “Nigel’s really nice once you get to know him…”

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Leaving the courtyard after preforming his victory dance, Nigel followed his pyscho sense towards the next fight. Okay, he followed the sounds of battle but ‘hearing’ and ‘psycho sense’ is pretty much the same thing.

The streets had been emptied, all of the Crystal ponies either barricading themselves in their homes or taking shelter in the palace. While he was enjoying the chance to slaughter hapless imbeciles he still felt concern for the lives of his subjects. The Diamond Dogs seemed to be more interested in stealing anything shiny then attacking his subje-

“Hang on,” Nigel said to himself as he stopped walking, “my subjects are shiny, well, most of them…”

“HEEELLLP!”

The piercing scream of a mare re-jolted Nigel’s train of thought, the Emperor pointing his sword towards the source which was also where the sound of fighting was originating from.

“That’s right, I was going to slaughter some more!” He shouted as he ran towards the brawl, howls of dying dogs guiding his way.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Captain Strategy removed his sword from the dog’s chest, his enchanted sword piercing through the crude iron armour with ease. The dog grunted as it fell, Strategy glancing down at it disdainfully as it died. All around him guards fought with the bipedal savages, the new halberds that the Emperor had designed proving to be horrific weapons. Thanks to their superior armour and training the Crystal guards had only suffered a few casualties, all of them with wounds which were not life-threating. The Captain paused for a moment as he observed the melee; every other area of the city had been swept clean with no mercy shown to the invaders.

The training that the guards had gone through with the supervision of the Emperor proved to be worth it, every guard working in perfect synchronization with their fellows. Strategy watched on as two ponies armed with halberds fended off three dogs as a Changeling soldier stood behind the protective points and shot bolts of magic at the dogs, dropping all three.

“HEEELLLP!”

Strategy whirled around to face the shout, a small group of dogs making off with a flailing mare. The Captain adjusted his helmet and galloped towards the fleeing group. It was time to be a hero and prove himself to the Emperor. The dog holding the mare noticed the stallion chasing him and increased his speed as he bolted towards the end of the street, the edge of the protective dome only a few meters away.

“DEMARCIA!”

Strategy watched in amazement as the Emperor jumped out of a darkened alley and tackled the surprised dog around the mid-section smashing the canine into a wall. With practiced skill the Emperor caught the flailing mare in his arms, smearing Diamond Dog blood on the mare’s lilac coat as Strategy stopped running as he reached his ruler. The Emperor looked at the pony in his arms, the mare breathing heavily after her experience.

“It’s okay miss, you’re safe now,” Chalmers comforted the mare as she struggled to regain control of her breathing.

“I’m covered in blood though,” answered the pony as she raised a blood stained hoof up to her eyes.

“Don’t worry, it’s not yours,” the Emperor replied, looking towards his Captain of the guard, “the charming Captain Strategy here will ensure you get somewhere safe.” The Emperor flashed Strategy a grin, holding out the mare as he stood up from the ground. The Captain had only enough time to sit back on his rump and extend his fore-legs before the Emperor essentially flung the mare on top on him, Strategy catching the mare perfectly. Unfortunately the weight of the mare caused him to fall back, Captain Strategy ending up sprawled out underneath the mare in the least-heroic position possible.

Captain Strategy had no time to complain however, several Crystal guards galloping towards the Emperor with weary expressions on their faces. Chalmers gave the groaning dog a kick as he turned to face the oncoming soldiers.

“Emperor Chalmers!” one of the guards, a Corporal judging from her armour decals yelled as she halted in front of Nigel panting with exhaustion. “A few of the dogs made off with some citizens, we tried to follow but we lost them in the snow,” the mare sat down on the road, the four privates behind her also bowing their heads in shame. “We failed you Commander, you and those ponies.” The Emperor crouched down and patted the mare on her helmet, the dejected soldier raising her head as the Emperor smiled down at her.

“It’s okay Sergeant, we’ll head out after them and hunt those dogs down,” Nigel said as he helped the guard to her hooves. “Besides,” he continued as he gestured towards the unconscious Diamond Dog, “I’m sure our dear friend here will be happy to assist us with tracking down our citizens.” Strategy, the mare and the guards all watched as the Emperor placed the dog’s arms over his shoulders as he hefted the creature and began to walk back towards the palace.

“Of course he may need some motivation but I seem to remember that the kitchen has a large assortment of potato peelers so I’m sure we’ll get the location of the lair.” Sergeant Opal Blitz glanced at her Captain, the stallion trapped under a lilac mare as he stared after the Emperor. Opal sighed, turning towards the four guards that had accompanied her.

“You heard the Emperor, we have to get that information and he’ll need our help.” All the ponies glanced down the street the Emperor had departed down, merrily humming a jolly tune as the diamond dog bounced along the ground behind him.
“I think…”

______________________________________________________________________________________________

“Princess Celestia, I really must apologize for Nigel’s actions-“

“I understand Reflection,” Celestia replied with an even voice, “I know some ponies-“

“He’s not a ‘pony’ your highness,” Reflection corrected sharply, the Equestrian’s constant ponifying of words really getting on her nerves during the day. Celestia sighed as she stopped at the bottom of the stairs with her accompanying Nobles in tow.

“I know that, Changeling, but as I was saying somethings have different cultures and I can respect that. Even though your Emperor is certainly… unique in his mannerisms I can’t deny that he does seem to have the interest of his subjects so I see no use in focusing on past… issues,” the Princess shuddered as she remembered the sights she had seen before. The Princess was no stranger to bloodshed but that was, that was something else entirely. “The agreement has already been signed, with the news that the crisis in your city has been solved we shall return to Equestria immediately.”

Reflection let out a relieved breath, all of the time spent in the presence of the Equestrians had really been a strain on her nerves. While the Princess was cordial the nobility had been insufferable, especially that stuck up Prince Blueblood. Granted since Nigel has killed those dogs the prince had been rather quiet which Reflection was eternally grateful for. Her sharp correction of Celestia a moment ago really drove home that the changeling was not meant for diplomacy.

“I’m sorry your visit had to end so early,” Reflection forced out as she gave the Princess a fake smile.

“It’s fine, please tell the Emperor that it was a terrible shame that our meeting was interrupted by such an occurrence, please let him know that he is welcome in my kingdom anyti-“

The Princess was interrupted as the main doors were opened, a flock of Crystal guards rushing into the palace with the majority covered in blood, carrying gore-streaked weapons. They rushed past the group of startled Equestrians, the foreign ponies unused to seeing such signs of violence.

“God-damnit! The hell does this fat-arse eat!?”

As he entered the Palace dragging an unconscious Diamond Dog the Emperor waved at Celestia, pausing to wipe some sweat from his brow.

“Going so soon Princess?” The Emperor questioned with a massive grin on his face. Celestia kept up her mask as she observed the armoured human standing tall covered in copious amounts of gore.

“Yes, I do have a country to run after all,” Celestia finished as she forced out a nervous giggle. Nigel laughed along with her, only stopping to pick his prisoner up.

“I know how that is, well I've got a prisoner to interrogate so I’ll see you later,” Nigel replied as he started to drag the dog into the dining room as the Equestrians watched on.

“Cook!” the Emperor yelled out as he entered the room. “Bring me your bluntest potato skinner; we have a Diamond Dog den to find!”

Celestia decided that right now was the perfect time to leave, the nobles all pushing to leave the palace as soon as possible as the sound of demented laughter filled the air.

Secrets Just Below the Skin

Nigel roughly dragged the Diamond dog towards the dining room table as the five guards that had followed him gathered around, the Sergeant standing beside the Emperor as the human hosted the dog up and onto the table. The table’s size was more than able to hold the canine, Nigel able to lay the dog spread-eagled on its back without issue. A kitchen worker walked into the room with a tray laden with peelers and knives of all different shapes and sizes balanced on his teal-coated back. The young stallion cautiously avoided the diamond dog on the table and made a beeline towards the Emperor.

The Stallion halted and removed the tray with a hoof, presenting the assorted utensils to his ruler. The head chef had not told him exactly what the Emperor had planned but judging from the invading creature lying on the table surrounded by bloodstained guards he could take a guess. He decided it would be for the best if he just delivered the tray and left.

“Thank you,” Emperor Chalmers acknowledged calmly as he took the offered tray from the Stallion. He placed the tray on a side table well out of the reach of the prisoner, smiling down at the nervous young pony. “Don’t be so nervous, may I ask your name?”

The kitchen hand was confused by the question, the stallion clearing his throat as he prepared to answer the most powerful being in the entire Empire. A powerful, easy-to-anger being who was currently inspecting a large potato peeler while occasionally shooting the captured creature lying on the table evil grins.

“My name is Swiss Platter, Lord. Forgive me for asking but why did you ask for my name instead of ordering me to tell you?” the pony asked as the human finally put down the bladed instrument. The Emperor chuckled at the pony’s question as he smiled down at the stallion. Swiss attempted to ignore the gore covering the Emperor’s armour, the fact that the human was still smiling despite the circumstances was unsettling.

“I get to do enough ordering around as it is, no need to make you feel uncomfortable,” the Emperor responded as he tilted his head towards the captive dog, the five guards interpreting the gesture as a prompt to hold the prisoner down. Emperor Chalmers started to walk towards the door leading to the kitchen, beckoning for Swiss to follow him. The pony took one last look at the mass of guards surrounding the table before he followed his ruler towards the wooden door. The pair stopped, Chalmers opening the door as he ushered Swiss out.

“I doubt you want to stay and see this, please let the cleaners now that I’m terribly sorry for the mess.” With those words the Emperor closed the door leaving Swiss standing in the corridor pointing to the kitchen, the stallion taking the advice as he made his way to the maids’ area to warn them of the impending carnage that would be waiting for them.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Scuffles groaned as he regained awareness, his head really hurting him bad. He had been running away from that shouting gem pony guard with his pony prisoner when something big had tackled him out of nowhere. The last thing he remembered seeing was a very solid wall. The dog attempted to move, finding that his arms and legs seemed to not want to move even though he was trying his hardest.

“He’s waking up Emperor!” Scuffles opened his eyes as the female voice rang out, the sounds of heavy footfalls echoing around the room gradually getting louder. He was surrounded by pony guards, the ponies all staring hatefully at him as they each held down one of his paws. The mare that had spoken was holding his head between her front hooves, Scuffles unable to turn away.

“Goody,” a voice replied, a large shiny-metal armoured creature that looked like an ugly diamond dog without any hair moved into Scuffle’s restricted field of view. Its hairless face had no snout, just a mushed nose, beady ice-blue eyes and a wicked grin. “Looks like we can begin the questions, make sure to hold him down.”

“What you doing?” questioned Scuffles, his eyes darting around in worry. Something bad was going to happen and the way the hairless creature’s smile grew as it picked up some kind of shiny blade only frightened him more.

“For one, listening to some idiot speak in broken sentences while I prepare to torture him.” Well, Scuffles now knew for sure that bad things were going to happen. The creature ran an armoured finger across the shiny blade, the gesture pointless but it did convey certain maliciousness. Scuffles began to shake as the biped strolled back and forth as the creature waved the blade in the air. “You see you insufferable canine, it’s like this. I’m the current ruler of this fair city and you as well as your buddies have really pissed me off.”

The creature flicked out the strange blade towards Scuffle’s left leg, drawing it down quickly and sharply. The Diamond dog screamed as a strip of skin was removed, a spray of blood arcing into the air. The ponies holding the prisoner down remained stoic in the face of such violence, the Emperor shaking his kitchen peeler to get rid of the blood and strap of skin as Scuffles whimpered. “That there was for attacking my Empire,” the creature continued, “I’m just getting started.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Reflection and Sparkling Scroll shuddered as another yell of pain rang out from the dining room, one of many. It seemed that hours had dragged on; however it had only been five minutes since the screaming had started. The two advisors sat together with their backs pointed towards the dining room door, guards wielding multiple weapons filing into the throne room in ragged groups. All of the guards were displaying signs of battle whether it be in the form of damage to their armour, the blood of their enemies or even minor wounds that some were sporting. The Throne room was unusually silent despite the many ponies all occupying it, all of the soldiers awaiting the order to leave and strike back against the dogs that had invaded their city.

The screaming stopped abruptly, silence descending throughout the entire palace. Reflection and Sparkling turned to stare at the closed doors, all of the soldiers shuffling around as they jostled for a position to view the imminent appearance of their Emperor and Commander. Their weapons still were dirty with blood, the guards not bothering to clean them as they knew that the halberds and swords would soon see more use.

Captain Strategy moved to the front of the pack, his rank allowing him to move through the eager soldiers as his subordinates stared at their Captain or rather at the light-purple mare that was following him. The civilian kept on glancing around at all of the surrounding guards and their weapons, shuddering as she remembered walking back through all of the bodies of the dog monsters as she followed the guard captain back to the palace.

Strategy stopped and turned around, facing the stares of his guards as the mare who had introduced herself as Bright Blossom moved beside him. He shifted uncomfortably on the spot, the mare had interpreted the Emperor’s orders to mean that she should not stray more than a few metres away from the Captain.

The Captain was about to attempt to explain why he had a blood-covered mare essentially attached to him but before he could the door behind him burst open behind him, a satisfied Emperor striding into the room followed by one guard Sergeant. Strategy noted the fresh bloodstains covering the human as well as the tufts of grey hair that covered his steel armour. The soldiers all forgot about the civilian in their midst, awaiting with baited breath the news from the Emperor. Chalmers took a moment to scan the eager faces of his soldiers before removing his mace from its holder.

“Soldiers of the Crystal Empire,” the Emperor started, “we have successfully managed to peel away the cover of doubt and discovered the location of the Diamond dogs’ lair. In a few moments I will lead a group of you to retrieve those that were taken from us and punish their abductors.” A chorus of approvals rang out; the gathered guards all preparing their weapons. “Hold on,” the guards all stopped as the Emperor raised his voice and a hand.

“While your enthusiasm makes me incredibly proud, not everyone can go. At this time the majority of the citizens will be incredibly frightened and worried. While it may not seem glorious going from door to door you will have a great impact on easing their concerns, any volunteers?” A few guards raised their hooves, Chalmers nodding at them while gesturing for them to move to one side of the room.

“Thank you, I’d recommend attempting to clean off any blood before you leave. Next up is those that have been wounded. No matter how minor your injury may be anyone that has been hurt needs to stay behind,” a few ponies and a changeling stepped forward, all of them sporting minor cuts or bruises. The changeling in particular had a bleeding gash across her face, the result of a diamond dog clawing her during the earlier fight.

“Commander, please let us help you!” the changeling pleaded, the other injured guards nodding in agreement. “We are all able to continue to fight and we need to rescue the ones who were taken, this is what we all trained for!” Chalmers smiled at the changeling’s insistence, the fact that his guards all had performed excellently under such great pressure and were willing to push on despite their weariness and wounds filled him with pride.

“I can’t find the words to express how much that means to me, soldier,” the Emperor responded, all of the guards in the room voicing their agreement as they looked towards the group of injured guards. “However I am regretful that I cannot allow you to participate in the assault,” the injured guards deflated at the reply, “while I am proud that you are willing to ignore your wounds I will not risk your lives. You are all still bleeding and while you might be able to walk and fight now the Dogs’ lair is a decent distance away. Infection is one of the biggest threats to wounded soldiers in every battle, as such I order you to seek medical attention no matter how well you believe yourselves to be.”

The injured guards looked like they were about to complain, the changeling in particular opening her mouth and raising a hoof before she thought better and lowered it. The group of soldiers all turned and headed outside towards the hospital solemnly, all of them receiving words and pats of encouragement from their fellows which lifted some of the disappointment.

Nigel felt a little sorry for the rejected guards but he did it for their own good. He counted around thirty guards left, the group assigned to go from door-to-door already having left to fulfill their duties. The remaining guards all had their weapons and equipment ready, the mares and stallions awaiting the order from their Commander to embark.

“The lair of the invaders is a few hours travel from here towards the west. They occupy a system of caves that apparently sit upon a rich deposit of gems. Our helpful source was very willing to explain that there is only one entrance and roughly one-hundred-and-fifty dogs make up the pack. About two-thirds of them have been killed in the attack on the city so any assault we make should result in a clear victory.

We’ll split into three groups, ten of you guard the entrance of the caves to ensure none escape, twenty are tasked with retrieving all of the civilians and I’ll deal with any dogs that attempt to stop the rescue. After all of the civilians have been saved the twenty of you assigned to that task will escort them towards the group waiting topside before assisting me in eliminating any dogs that remain. We cannot allow this pack of savages to harass our Empire again.” The Emperor looked to his Captain, Strategy standing to the side of the room with the purple mare from before.

“Captain,” Chalmers addressed, “I’m leaving you and Sparkling Scroll in charge while I’m gone, I trust you two will make every effort to assist the citizenry with recovering from the attack.”

“Yes Emperor, I’ll get to it right away. However I must ask what you wish for me to do with Miss Bright Blossom here?” Strategy responded, the mentioned mare nervously looking at the Emperor. Chalmers waved a dismissive hand.

“She can stay in the palace until all of the fuss is over,” Chalmers faced the assembled guards, “as for you; assemble at the western road just before the boundary of the protective barrier. I have something I must deal with here and then we can depart.” The soldiers all snapped off quick salutes before they moved out of the room, heading towards the designated muster point. Chalmers looked around the room once the guards had all left, spotting Sparkling and Reflection sitting down towards the side. The human moved towards them, Sparkling Scroll getting up and meeting him halfway.

“You want me to run the Empire with Captain Strategy while you’re gone?” the mare asked, glancing towards the guard captain who was attempting to convince the mare following him to go and do something else.

“You’ll do fine,” Nigel reassured, Sparkling giving him a small smile before she trotted over towards the Captain. Chalmers refocused his attention on the changeling sitting down against the wall, Reflection staring down at the floor. “Reflection?” he inquired as he approached her, the changeling lifting her head to look up at him.

“I’m fine,” she replied heavily, “I just fell a little useless I guess, I don’t really know how to rule and I’m not that experienced with combat so there’s not a lot I can do.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something,” Nigel replied as he crouched down in front of the sitting changeling, an impressive feat considering his armour. “I was too caught up with the Diamond Dog before but I really appreciate you staying with the Equestrians while I rushed off. Thinking back about it I was incredibly foolish leaving you by yourself with them, especially with how they don’t like changelings. The fact that you managed to not only convince them to keep the deal but also refrained from hitting that snobby prince I saw you glaring at before is a great result.”

Reflection smiled at Nigel, the human returning it with one of his own. His words really made her feel better; she really had done a lot for the Empire that day. Chalmers was right, she almost lost control a couple times when the Equestrians had said or done something stupid but she had refrained from violence. While Reflection was still worried about what she had learnt about his taste for bloodshed earlier she got the over-whelming feeling that he really was genuinely nice to her. As the changeling looked at his smiling face she felt a twinge in her heart, Nigel’s chaotic nature was something that she felt drawn to.

“You better get going,” Reflection told him, “the sooner you bring back everyone the sooner we can go on a date. You must owe me several by now.” Nigel chuckled at the changeling’s demand, standing up as he prepared to leave.

“You really know how to guilt trip me, never thought I’d see the day that I’d take an order from a small, cuddly changeling. You’re making me soft.”

“Making you soft is the opposite of what I want to do,” Reflection teased, Sparkling Scroll rolling her eyes as she overheard this from the other side of the room. The changeling got the response she was after, Chalmers winking at her as he started to walk out the door.

“Maybe you’ll get your wish later, right now I’ve got a few Diamond Dogs I’ve got to impale and not in the good way. Would you do me a favor and help out Sparkling with the whole ruling thing? You two seem to make quite the team.” With a final wave the human left the room, Reflection grinning to herself after their exchange. Nigel finally seemed to be warming up to her and the changeling was really enjoying the constant back and forth that they always seemed to have.

Her mood lifted, the changeling decided to be proactive and investigate the new mare that had appeared with Captain Strategy. Reflection prepared a mental list of all of the things she could imply regarding the Captain’s new companion, if she had to stay here and wait in the palace for the Emperor’s return then she may as well have fun in the meantime.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Is everyone ready to move out?”

Nigel questioned the gathered troops standing before the barrier leading out into the snowy wasteland that surrounded the Empire. All of the ponies and one changeling voiced confirmation, packs filled with supplies and equipment loaded upon their backs. The pony guards’ armour regulated their body temperatures while the changeling had to make do with some ordinary winter clothing worn under his new steel armour.

Nigel took a second to admire the changeling’s worn protection, the armour fitting the insectoid equine perfectly covering almost its entire body with strong steel. The Changeling’s solid blue eyes, twisted horn and fang-filled mouth were the only parts of the head not covered by the sturdy helmet that was rather plain except for a small highlight of gold around the base of the black horn. The main piece of armour that shielded the changeling’s body was undecorated, built for effectiveness rather than appearance. The polished steel was only broken up rank markings on the shoulders, this particular changeling holding the rank of private.

“Let’s get going, I’ll take the lead,” Nigel ordered as he walked to the head of the column of guards. His two weapons were stored securely on his armour and he was still helmetless, deciding that his crown would suffice. The group moved out through the barrier, sunny green fields and cobbled paths giving way to a cold snowy landscape. Nigel was thankful that no snow was falling for two reasons, those being that visibility was not an issue and the mass of paw prints in the snow were as clear as day.

The tracks were jumbled, hiding just how many dogs there were but the destination was clear. A medium-sized mountain loomed in the horizon, the tracks heading straight towards it. This confirmed the information Nigel had extracted from the now-dead Diamond dog prisoner, the fleeing Dogs not taking any measures to throw off any pursuers. The Emperor looked over his shoulder as he continued moving, his mass of guards following behind him closely as they too observed the paw prints. Chalmers breathed some air on the tip of his nose, the cold starting to irritate it. While he could live with it he wondered how the subjects they were going to retrieve would cope with the cold, the guards having packed extra winter clothing and blankets for such concerns.

Nigel ceased his thought on whether they had packed enough, a relaxed expression on his face as he continued to march forward.

‘After all, if we need any more I’m sure the Diamond Dogs would be more than happy to donate some fur. The dead have no need for such comforts.’

Mace In The Face

The group of thirty-one halted once they sighted the mouth of the cave, the trail having stopped once snowy ground turned to hard dirt. Flickers of illumination could be seen further in, Nigel guessing that wall-mounted torches or other such means had been installed. Seeing no guards he ushered his soldiers forward, the thirty equines following their Emperor to the entrance. Crouching down, Nigel peaked into the tunnel, no guards present in the underground passage-way.

Chalmers un-sheathed his mace, deciding that it would provide for a more entertaining distraction. He turned and pointed at the group of guards assigned to guard the entrance, each of the ten ponies nodding as they moved to conceal themselves around the mouth to watch for any dogs attempting to enter or leave. The entire group had left their halberds in the city, Chalmers deciding that the pole-arms would be more of a burden in close-quarters fighting so swords and maces had been brought instead. The only exception was the changeling who had introduced himself as Chatter, the private preferring to use his magical abilities in lieu of a sword or mace.

“Sergeant Opal Blitz” Emperor Chalmers whispered, the addressed mare moving towards him on three legs, a sword attached to her right fore-leg thanks to the gems on her armour. All of the Crystal ponies had practiced moving on three legs while wielding a sword, dramatically increasing their combat abilities. Chalmers crouched down as she halted next to him, Nigel pointing to nine of the guards including the changeling as the mare awaited the Emperor’s orders. “I suspect that this tunnel will open up into a central cavern. Take those nine guards and head to the left, position Private Chatter somewhere elevated so he can target any Dogs that move to harm the prisoners. Remember that the civilians are the top priority.”

“Got it sir,” Opal Blitz replied with a hush, “what are you going to do? Will you need support?”

“I’m going to walk right in, monologue and then kill something. In the ensuing chaos you and the second team will come in from the flank and secure the prisoners. Works every time.” The Commander raised his head to glance at the leader of the second flanking team, a Corporal named Star Shard. “Corporal Shard,” the ruby-coloured stallion approached, neglecting a salute due to the circumstances. Nigel didn’t mind, he’d much prefer to have his soldiers focused on the job rather than formality.

“Reporting sir,” the Stallion responded as he joined Sergeant Opal Blitz, the mare giving the Corporal a nod.

“You are to take the opposite side to the Sergeant here, once again wait for the signal then charge your troops into the sides of the dogs. Focus on the prisoners first, I know we all want revenge but that can wait. These dogs don’t seem incredibly bright so if we all focus on our objectives than I’m confident your superior training shall win the day. Anything comes up that’s not in the plan I am faithful that you two will be able to improvise.” Both ponies beamed at the praise, the Corporal raised a hoof in question.

“One thing sir, what is the signal to attack?” Nigel lifted his mace, patting the head of the weapon.

“Simple,” he stated in a soft voice with a grin, “I cave in the skull of a raider, then you attack while they are caught unawares.” Nether squad leader could argue that such a signal would go unnoticed and from what they had gathered the Emperor was no slouch in
combat. “All good to go?” the biped inquired as he turned towards the cave mouth, receiving two soft affirmatives. “Perfect, they say that every dog has its day,” the Emperor stated as he entered the mouth of the cave, his troops following behind him.
“Today is not going to be that day.”

________________________________________________________________________________________

Sphene Sheen glared at his jailors hatefully, the lime colt the only Crystal pony that wasn’t wallowing in pity. Never in his sixteen years had he felt so much anger towards someone, not even when King Sombra had assigned him to the Crystal mines. He stood in front of the rest of the captive Crystal ponies, the dogs having managed to grab seven ponies including him. A brown colt no more than ten years old was trying to hide behind a tan mare, his mother most likely. Two stallions, both hues of silver shielded two young mares, one pink and one orange. All seven ponies had been placed into a small metal cage, the Diamond dogs having roughly throw them in as soon as they had entered the circler cavern.

The pink mare, appearing to Sheen to be around the age of twenty was sobbing quietly on the floor as one of the stallions tried to comfort her. Apparently the Diamond dog who grabbed her made some remarks about how this was only a small den that had only been used for a month. The Dog had informed the mare that there was no female Dogs in the den and had remarked about she didn’t look like she was suited for mine work so she would be used for something else. Sheen shuddered when he thought about what the dog had been insinuating, the young stallion vowing to not let a single dog inside the cage while he still drew breath.

What made the dog’s words even more horrifying were the contents of the neighboring prison, twenty-three Equestrians all appearing to be in states of severe malnutrition and mistreatment. The foreign ponies seemed to act like statues, no sounds or moment apart from the occasional twitch or wheeze. The age of the prisoners varied, ranging from foals to middle-age and Sheen wondered just how Equestrians had been captured out here.

Unless of course the dogs brought them with them when they set up this den, meaning that it was possible that they would take the Crystal ponies away as well. A little bit of Sheen’s courage died at that thought, his mother and father were most likely extremely worried and one colt could not hold off fifty dogs by himself. The thought of what would befall his fellow prisoners however strengthened his resolve, if these dogs wanted to enslave anypony they would have to go through him.

“Looks like he still hasn’t given up yet,” Chortled the Dog that had abducted Sheen, the foul creature ambling over towards the cage. The dog had a large lower jaw and was three times the size of Sheen, the dog wearing a filthy orange vest over his dirt-brown coat with a metal club attached to his belt. The canine stopped at the door of the cage and crouched down so his yellow eyes were level with Sheen’s, the dog’s breathe stinking of decay. Sheen decided that thinking about the dog’s diet was not the best thing to do. The colt glared back at the dog, his deep green eyes matching the dog’s stare.

“Back off you animal, you lay one more filthy paw on us and you’ll regret it!” Sheen shot back, he always had a bit of a stubborn streak. The dog found this threat absolutely hilarious, looking back towards his fellows who were dividing up valuables they had managed to escape with.

“Hey, pony here thinks he’s going to stop us!” The dog yelled, his fellows laughing along with him. Sheen gave every dog a fierce gaze, the monsters all filling the roughly circular cavern with mocking laughter as they turned to face the spectacle. The colt was about to fire back a retort but he stopped, shadowy figures quickly emerging from the tunnel leading to the surface going un-noticed by the dogs that were too caught up in their mirth.

The colt was incredibly surprised to see the Emperor walk out calmly down the middle, even more so when he noticed the human’s mace and impressive armour. Two groups of guards arrived soon after, splitting up as they headed to either side and moving as to not draw attention. At first Sheen was confused, why weren’t the guards charging in to free them? He soon figured out what they were hoping to achieve, the guards all concealing themselves to the sides of the cavern using the multiple rock formations scattering the area as cover. The only guard that acted differently was a changeling in armour much like the Emperor’s, the guard choosing a spot upon a right on the upper left-side where it crouched behind a rock.

The Emperor continued his solitary march, Sheen unable to look away as the human appeared to smile as he approached the dogs. An ear attached to a bluish-gray dog twitched, the canine standing up as he noticed the Emperor.

“Hey, Monster!” the dog yelled as he grabbed his rusty iron sword, “Stop!” All of the dogs in the cave turned towards the shout, grabbing their assorted weapons as they prepared to face the intruding creature. The Emperor didn’t look concerned despite facing a large number of Diamond dogs, the human merely observing the surrounding area as he flipped his mace over in a hand. Sheen noticed that his smile seemed to harden as the Emperor swept his eyes over the two cages and their occupants, an eyebrow raising as a medium-sized dog wearing heavy iron armour strode up to confront the ruler.

“Why are you here, creature?” the tan dog inquired in a much more articulated voice then his fellows, “this cave is ours, leave now or we will attack you.” The Emperor let out a chuckle at this, the seemingly humorous reaction carrying a menacing undertone causing a shiver to run down Sheen’s spine.

“Oh, but you have already attacked me,” the Emperor stated, the lead dog narrowing his eyes. “I happen to be the ruler of that city you just raided and I’ve come to reclaim my subjects,” the dogs glanced back towards the captive crystal ponies. “While I’m at it I think I’ll take those Equestrians as well,” Chalmers stated as he pointed at the cage containing the focused ponies, the prisoners beaten expressions filling with a tiny bit of hope.

“How do you expect to achieve that, creature?” snarled the lead dog, “we outnumber you and I am Beta Rotty, second only to Alpha Pedigree and one of the most fe-“ The dog was cut off as the Emperor released a peal of laughter, the human wiping tears from his eyes as he fought to control his merriment.

“Pe- Pedigree? That’s a brand of dog food! Let me guess, is one of you called Lassie?” None of the dogs answered, in fact three of them were named Lassie but they were so confused by the creature’s behavior that they neglected to mention it. It would probably not go so well anyway. The Beta was slowly getting angrier and angrier; the creature mocking the Alpha was really starting to get on his nerves.

“Silence creature! If you think that our names are so funny I’m sure that your own is much more hilarious. That is even if an ugly monster like yourself has a name.” Emperor Chalmers stopped laughing; calling him ugly was a step too far. He maintained a grin on his face as he idly spun his mace in a slow vertical circle in his right hand, a predatory gaze focused on the Beta. Sheen shivered again, joined by every other being in the cavern. The colt swore that the temperature somehow lowered as the Emperor stopped laughing.

“My name you say?” The Emperor repeated as the Diamond dogs started to move forward a little. Emperor Chalmers took a step forward, all the dogs except for Beta Rotty stepping back away from the human. “My name is Nigel M Chalmers and before you ask the M stands for ‘Murder-machine’.” As soon as he said this the Emperor flung his mace with a flick of his wrist, the blunt weapon soaring through the air towards the Beta.

The dog had no time to evade, the mace impacting against his muzzle with a crunch as it annihilated his facial structure. The gems set into the weapon amplified the force of the blow, the leader’s skull caving in in a spray of gore.

“Boom,” Chalmers stated as the broken body fell to the dusty ground, “Headshot.” The dogs were so fixated on the violent death of their leader that they didn’t notice the flanking forces of Crystal Empire guards until it was too late. The guards rushed towards the two cages, Sergeant Opel Blitz heading towards the Equestrian prisoners while Corporal Star Shard rushed his troops in the direction of the Crystal pony cage. Both groups met in the middle of the area, twelve guards forming a protective circle while the rest set to work
unlocking the prisons.

The Diamond dogs broke out of their shock, half surging forward to engage the Emperor while the rest charged the protective line of guards. Any dog that attempted to breach the perimeter was met by a Crystal pony wielding a weapon with decent skill, what the ponies lacked in size they made up for in skill-at-arms. The number of dogs was great however, a small group of three attempting to skirt around the line almost evaded the protective line.

A burst of green energy popped the head of one of the dogs, showering the remaining two with bone fragments and brains causing them to yelp and halt their charge. One dog was heavily wounded when a piece of his former comrade’s skull gashed his head, the canine collapsing to the ground in agony. The other received minor cuts, the small grey dog searching for the source of the blast and spotting the crouching changeling preparing to fire off another shot. The dog leapt at the changeling, the ensuing melee lost in the chaos of the wider battle.

In the center Nigel had used the time to retrieve his mace and draw his sword, possessing two weapons at the one time. Twenty-three dogs charged him, all armed with crude spears and clubs with the majority dressed in iron armour that covered their chests and nothing else. Chalmers laughed as he darted forward to meet them with a joyful yell, startling the incoming canines with his battle lust. As he closed the Emperor once again let loose with the mace, the weapon speeding towards a hapless dog before impacting against its right arm, a sickening crack sounding as the bone shattered and the dog howled in agony.

The speed at which the human moved was amazing, Chalmers calmly decapitating the howling dog before pivoting to counter a blow from a club wielding dog. After a swift deliverance of steel-clad-foot to Diamond Dog scrotum the offending mutt was taken out of the fight, the rest of the pack hesitating at the display of combat prowess.

“I better change my name to the Veterinarian,’ Nigel stated as he thrust his sword into the un-protected throat of a small brown dog, “because I’m putting everybody down!” An oncoming spearhead bounced off his breastplate, Nigel having no time to pull out his sword so he resorted to punching his assailant instead, the dog collapsing as a steel fist clocked him square in the nose. As the dog dropped Nigel withdrew his sword with a slick, the Diamond he had extracted it from clutching his throat in a futile attempt to keep his vital fluids inside.

Over near the prisoners Opal Blitz pulled her sword from the un-armoured chest of a raider, the dog having landed a hit on the Sergeant’s armoured shoulder with its mace. Her armour had saved her from harm, a slight ache the only reminder of the attack. The dog had not been so lucky, the sergeant quickly sinking her sword into him without remorse. While today was the first day Opal had taken a life, this dog being the third, she felt no sadness at all and that surprised her. Blitz had never seen herself as a cold-blooded killer but maybe she was one, no better than the raiders she was killing. A quick glance back towards the still-locked cages eliminated this line of thinking however, these raiders deserved everything that happened to them for what they had done.

Opal Blitz looked down the line and noticed that the dog’s resolve appeared to be wavering, all of the Crystal guards having reaped a toll of bodies while not sustaining a single casualty. The dog’s weapons were unable to pierce the crystal armour while due to the enchantments on their swords the Crystal guards were able to cut through the raiders’ armour like it was nothing. The tactics of the slavers were also lacking, the dog’s merely charging while the Crystal Guards maintained their tight formation, ensuring that by funneling the dogs into the center the numerical advantage that the dogs held was lost. All the battle needed was something to finally break the spirit of the dogs and drive them away to the surface where the third group was waiting.

This something was provided in the form of a thrashing dog, Commander Chalmers having picked the small slaver up by the throat before slitting it down the middle with his sword. Assisted by his armor’s magically-enhanced strength he managed to fling the dog over the heads of the remaining combatants, showering the surviving dogs with gore and viscera. With howls of fright the rest of the dogs, only twelve in number ran for the tunnel leading outside. The guards and Emperor let them be, allowing the canines to retreat outside. A few moments later the sounds of war cries filtered down, the third squad having engaged the fleeing raiders under the Emperor’s orders that none were to survive.

Sergeant Blitz looked back at the cages, the guards having resorted to smashing the locks with maces in an effort to break them open. They were rewarded with success, the feeble locks shattering before the guards began to extract the prisoners, however the Equestrians seemed hesitant to move. Opal’s heart nearly broke as she witnessed a filly that could be no more than five press her dirty pink coat up against the back of the cage, the foal’s ribs showing clearly through bruised skin. One by one the rest of the Equestrians left their cage, until only the filly remained. The Sergeant found herself moving towards the young pony, a blood-stained Private unsuccessfully trying to coax the child out.

Pushing past him Opal entered the cage, taking care to avoid the holes filled with waste that were sunken into the ground as she approached the child. She was aware of multiple sets of eyes on her as she slowly advanced upon the filly, a blue eye briefly glancing at Opal before disappearing behind a filthy orange mane.

“I won’t hurt you,” Opal softly stated, the filly flinching at her voice, “All of the dogs are gone, we’re going to take you somewhere safe.” The filly slowly looked at Opal as the mare delicately held out an armoured hoof, choosing the one which was not covered in blood. For what seemed like an eternity the filly didn’t react until she reached out a small hoof of her own, Opal grasping the limb with the crook of her hoof. She smiled at the child who didn’t utter a word, Opal Blitz leading the foal out of the cage where the Equestrians and Crystal pony captives were being given various winter clothing for the trek back to the city. Water and food was also being dispensed, the Equestrians acting like fresh water and food was a gift from the heavens themselves.

The third group who had been outside entered the cave, all of the dogs had been dispatched and they were carrying extra supplies. Although the original plan was to meet them outside with the battle finishing before the prisoners could be freed they had to improvise, not a necessarily a bad thing. Opal grabbed a blanket from a Corporal and placed it over the filly while reaching for a container of water before stopping at the sight of the Emperor and a few guards gathered around a rock up on a ridge to the left of the cavern, right where she had stationed Private Chitter the changeling. She quickly passed the filly to the Corporal, the other mare distracting the child with a offered sandwich as Opal rushed towards the gathering of guards.

When she reached the scene her heart sunk, a pool of red and green blood mixing on the rock floor. Opal arrived just in time to witness the Emperor pull the corpse of a Diamond dog off of the body of an armoured changeling. The changeling had deep gouges in his muzzle that looked like tooth marks, oddly enough that seemed to be the only wounds he was sporting. His horn had been lodged firmly in the Diamond dog’s chest, the smell of roasted flesh wafting up from the wound where the changeling had obviously discharged his magic. Opal held onto her breath as the Emperor quickly stripped the changeling’s chest armour, ripping through the winter-clothing underneath. The human placed an ear against the changeling’s chest, Opal guessing that the Emperor was listening for a heartbeat.

“He’s still breathing,” the human stated as he lifted his head and rolled the changeling onto his side, making sure that the Private’s airway was clear. “Looks like he almost suffocated after that dog fell on him, most of the blood is from the bite wounds but they don’t look life-threatening. Never-the-less the sooner we get back to the city the better,” the Emperor stated as he stood up, Opal gasping as she noticed a gash in Chalmers’s left cheek.

“Sir, you’re wounded!” she exclaimed, the Emperor smiling down at her as he traced a finger over the gash without wincing.
“It’s just a flesh wound, I’ll walk it off Sergeant,” Emperor Chalmers replied as he lifted the unconscious changeling onto his shoulders, the changeling’s fore-legs over his right shoulder while the hind legs dangled over the Emperor’s left. A guard grabbed the pieces of steel armour that had been removed and packed them away, Chalmers moving towards the exit with his cargo. The group made to follow him, many of the ponies eager to escape from the corpse-filled cavern.

Opal Blitz was startled when something bumped against her, the pink filly from before walking alongside her. Opal was confused, why wasn’t the foal with its mother or father? A thought struck Opal, the Sergeant halting at her position at the rear of the group. She looked down at the filly that had stopped with her, could it be that the child had been orphaned by the Diamond dogs?

Anger and sadness mixed and muddled within Opal, after seeing her own parents taken by Sombra the thought of normal beings enacting such cruelty filled her with disgust. It seemed that slavery was not just limited to evil unicorn tyrants, everyday creatures practiced it too. Seeing that the group was almost out of sight Opal jolted out of her train of thought as she hurried to catch up, the filly moving along with her.

The foal had yet to utter a single word but Opal figured that it was only because of the shock; surely the child would speak once they were back in the city. Pushing all thoughts of what would happen to the foal out of her mind for the time being Opal reached the end of the convoy, the group almost out of the tunnel and back into sunlight. Once everyone was back in the Empire she would ask the Emperor what to do, despite the displays of extreme violence while fighting the dogs she had heard that he was a kind soul when he was calm. If anyone was able to answer her questions then she was sure that it would be him.

Mind Your Own Business

Author's Note

Welp, I am a little drunk while writting this so expect some crazy stuff.

A big warning, the second half of the chapter will contain some very disturbing scenes for some readers and a whole lot of mind-fuckery. I loaded it with metaphors and I hope it works as well as i think it has.

Also please donate to the Traumatised Alicorn Fund by calling 1800 665 656, thankyou.

Mind Your Own Business

Chatter jolted awake, his chest heaving as he gulped in air desperately to avoid suffocating under the Diamond dog. He could still taste the creature’s filthy fur in his mouth; the last thing the changeling remembered was being crushed underneath the large canine.

“Hey, calm down soldier,” a voice spoke, Chatter feeling a metal object pat him on the back as his right bounced up and down on a hard surface. The changeling calmed down a little when he realized that he was no longer trapped under the dog, instead he observed long tracks of white snow and a darkening sky. He turned his head to look down towards his hooves, Chatter finding out that he was suspended off the snowy ground, much higher up then the height of a pony or changeling.

His breathing returning to normal, Chatter noticed that sections of his armour had been removed leaving just the woolen underclothes he had been issued before departing the city. The bouncing motions were kind of soothing actually; his body still aching from the prior squishing he had been subjected to so not having to walk was a relief. The changeling glanced up with his eyes, his blood stained-horn in easy view. Chatter shivered a little, not because of the cold but at the memory of the feeling of his charged horn sliding into the dog’s chest right before he had been crushed. Chatter kept on telling himself that it was him or the dog, the canine a slaver as well so why did he feel so… guilty?

“You still with us?” the male voice from before sounded again, Chatter’s eyes widening as he recalled who it belonged to. He moved his head to stare at the voice, finding the Emperor’s face smiling back at him. Chatter, thrust back into full alertness at the discovery that the Emperor himself was carrying him was quite pressed to reply.

“Y-Yes sir Commander sir!” Chatter hastily responded, his legs starting to kick as he attempted to move, “you can put me down Emperor, you don’t have to carry me and I’m sorry for the inconvenience sir!” The Commander chuckled as the changeling struggled much to Chatter’s confusion.

“You act like I haven’t carried a wounded comrade before, don’t worry about it. Besides, you must only weigh about sixty kilos with that armour on.” The changeling ceased his thrashing as the Emperor responded light-heartedly. Chatter could see that the Commander seemed genuine, the changeling only now noticing the scar that the Emperor had on the left side of his face. The mesmerized Chatter watched on as the cut seemed to have fresh skin grow over it completely in seconds, the line fading until no trace of the wound remaining.

“Wow,” was all the surprised soldier could say as the Emperor ran a metal finger over the patch of new skin.

“Good as new,” Chalmers stated with satisfaction, once again turning to Chatter as the human continued to trudge along at the head of the column of ponies. “The wonderful advantages of a high rank,” the Emperor explained, not doing a single thing to help the changeling’s befuddlement.

“So you can regenerate?” Chatter questioned, having given up on attempting to convince the Commander to let him down, the Emperor giving a light shrug that Chatter could feel due to being on the human’s shoulders.

“Only small wounds really, nothing like entire limbs or that kind of regeneration.” The Commander explained as the changeling listened with interest, “it’s a basic improvement upon standard modifications that are fielded by UIP troops. Normally it’s just improved blood-clotting and rapid blood production to stop soldiers bleeding out during battles, mine’s usually reserved for officers and is a little more advanced. While I’d like to be an unstoppable super-warrior able to instantly heal anything done to me I’m still a few promotions away from that.”

“Promotions?” Chatter questioned, not many knowing about the Emperor’s prior life or occupation, all Chatter knew was that he was a military officer for some foreign empire and that aside from a close circle of advisors nothing personal was known about the human.

“Yep,” the Emperor continued talking as the column of soldiers and civilians moved ever forward, “the more important you are the more upgrades and privileges you get access to, it serves as quite a motivator to drive success.” Chatter pondered this, the Emperor looking behind him as he saw that they had surged ahead of the main group. “Especially of course,” Chalmers continued on as he slowed down a little and looked forward again, “if immortality’s on the table.”

This caused Chatter to do a double take, the changeling gazing at the Emperor in disbelief at the mention of un-ending life. He was about to call the human out on the outrageous claim but paused when he saw the look in the Emperor’s eye, the glint of someone who had something driving them accompanied by large amounts of desire. Chatter gulped as he watched the human stare longingly into the distance ahead of him, the changeling unable to figure out how such a goal could be achieved.

“Well, no point in hoping for something that’s not going to happen anytime soon,” the Emperor laughed lightly as he snapped out of his trance, Chatter however could tell that the topic meant a lot more to the human then he was letting on. The changeling dropped the subject, the pair continuing to travel in silence for a while as the rest of the group caught up, light conversations mostly consisting of the guards attempting to encourage the rescued ponies able to be heard.

“So…” Chatter started as he hung from the Commander’s shoulders, the changeling finding that conversing with the Emperor dulled the memories of what had happened back in the Diamond dog den. “Do you have any hobbies?” He couldn’t believe that he was asking his Emperor about such trivial matters like they were friends. Chatter did have to admit that the human didn’t really act like a ruler when he spoke to him, the changeling feeling relaxed and at ease.

“Don’t have the time for much really,” Chalmers replied casually as he stepped over a rock in the path, “work and other duties are fairly intensive not to mention the whole ‘wind up on an unknown planet’ thing. That can sure put a dampener on your job-advancement plans. So how about you Chatter, what sort of things do you enjoy in your free time?” Chatter was caught a little off-guard by the question, the changeling having to think for a moment before answering.

“Well… in the hive I never had any time to myself except for sleep, us drones weren’t really expected to do much more than work.” Chatter moved an armour-clad foreleg in front of his face, the guard staring at the shiny metal. “Now look at me, no longer a drone but a soldier,” Chatter scoffed as he moved his leg back, “not much of a soldier am I?”

“Everyone has bad days,” the Emperor comforted, “you, me, every other guard and every single civilian made it out alive. That right there is a great success and I myself am very pleased with how you and the rest of the guards have handled things today.”
“Thanks Commander,” Chatter responded gratefully, “that means a lot.”

“That’s what I’m here for. Now back to extra-curricular activities, surely you have something to occupy your free time?”
“Nothing major, I just read the occasional book from time to time. Not really much else interests me that I’ve seen.” The Emperor glanced side-ways at the changeling with a smile on his features.

“What about ‘other’ distractions?” Chatter was easily able to deduce what the Commander was implying, the changeling’s armour clinking as he shifted uncomfortably.

“Queen Chrysalis didn’t allow anyone lower than the nobility to have any relationships so I guess that I’m just not used to having that freedom, “ Chatter sighed with annoyance before continuing. “Some of us haven’t had any problems however.”

“Problems?” Chalmers questioned, interested at the tone that Chatter had adopted.

“My roommate, Muddle, another drone who now works at an art store in the city got a new marefriend, a crystal pony called Vibrant,” Chalmers took note that the changeling had used the pony term as Chatter continued. “Last week she was at the house constantly whenever I was there, I swear those two don’t actually seem to do any work it’s that bad. She’s always fawning over him and he does the same with her, I just can’t wrap my head around getting into something like that.”

“You’ll get used to it after a while,” Chalmers replied, “and look at it this way, after you come back to the city, wounded in action during a heroic rescue against fiends most foul you’ll have all the ladies mad for you.” Chatter did have to admit that the Emperor had a point; maybe he just needed to socialize a little bit. As one could guess, Chatter was not too well versed in the art of interaction considering he had spent most of his life in the hive.

“I’ll give it a shot I suppose, not like I have much else to do.” Looking behind him, facing the column following them Chatter spent a few minutes glancing over the Equestrians that the group had saved. The twenty-three ponies were all shuffling along in a line covered with assorted coats and blankets that had been provided by the changeling’s fellow guards. From what he could see the ponies all looked extremely starved, far worse than he and the other changelings had been when the Emperor had granted them citizenships.

“Commander,” Chatter began, the biped once again looking at him, “what are we going to do with the Equestrians?”

“First off get them to the hospital, who knows what diseases or infections they have after spending so long in captivity,” the Emperor answered without hesitation, “after that feed them, find temporary shelter and try to help with the more psychologically damaged ones. Then we need to look at returning them to their own country, I’m sure that they have families that miss them and it would earn us brownie points with the Equestrians.”

Chatter merely hummed in agreement, the Emperor seemed to have everything worked out in regards to the Equestrians so he resigned himself to examining the scenery as the group marched onwards.

The Emperor didn’t speak for ages, Chatter also content to just wait in silence as they drew ever-closer to their goal. The entire column had paused for a few moments to light lanterns once night fell, instead of oil the devices all had a small enchanted crystal in the center that emitted a soft, warm glow.

“Finally,” Chatter heard the Emperor mutter, the changeling following the human’s gaze to lay eyes upon the shimmering barrier around the Crystal Empire. Breathing a sigh of relief that he was only a few minutes away from a warm bed Chatter stretched and found that most of the pain plaguing his limbs had disappeared.

“I’m pretty sure I can walk now sir,” Chatter observed, the Emperor lowering the changeling to the ground. Chatter shakily got to his hooves, finding that indeed he was able to walk fine although his wings still hurt to move. Around the two, numerous guards and civilians gathered to share in the sight of sanctuary. Guards and Crystal ponies let out relieved sighs while the Equestrians stood amongst the locals with barely noticeable smiles on their weary faces, the long-time captives recognizing that there long-awaited destination was in reach. Emperor Chalmers turned around to address them all, ice forming on the bloodstains that adorned his armour.

“We’re almost home soldiers, only a small amount of distance left to go until we can finally be out of these wastes. You’ve done incredibly well so far so let’s not stop now.” The guards all let out a cheer at the short speech, all of them ready to be done with the events of the day. “As for you Equestrians,” the human continued, the rescued ponies glancing up at the biped, “I assure you that we will go to all lengths to ensure that you are well looked after. As soon as I am able I will contact your Princesses and hopefully arrange your return to your country.” Less cheers where uttered and those that were lacked energy, the Equestrians were grateful but drained.

Satisfied that he had given everyone a final motivational boost the Emperor resumed his march back to the city, Chatter following behind him as the rest of the crowd also restarted their movement. Everyone moved quickly, all of them able to taste a hot meal and feel a warm bed already as they covered more and more ground at a steady rate.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Ahhhhhhh yeah,” Nigel stretched his back as the armorer removed the last piece of plate, Nigel having to seek assistance due to his inexperience with armour that wasn’t powered by an in-built reactor. The unicorn, one of the stragglers that had been found earlier on who’s name escaped Nigel rushed away to stow the last piece in storage in preparation for cleaning.

The Emperor had come straight to the armory to have his protection removed almost as soon as they had arrived back in the city to the crowd of cheering civilians who had been anxiously awaiting the return of the rescue group and their fellows. After a brief and uncensored explanation of events the Crystal ponies who had been rescued were re-united with their families, everyone thankful that no-one had been hurt badly. Except for the slavers of course, the news that the den would no longer threaten the city was meet with wide-spread approval.

The Equestrians had been welcomed much like the changelings had, Crystal ponies even offering to shelter them in their own homes until new ones could be built, Sergeant Opal Blitz even raising her hoof to look after a lone filly. These offers had been accepted gratefully but the Emperor stressed that all of the participants in the day’s events had to first be checked out first.

After organizing a slightly increased night-watch he had praised every single guard for their duties during the day, not one citizen having lost their life during the attack and while there was wide-spread property damage it would be easily replaced. Chalmers had instructed the guard that the cleanup would commence the next day after a good night’s rest had been had. All immediate concerns dealt with Nigel’s next destination had been the armorer.

Chalmers paused his walking for a second as he emerged from the military district into one of the main city streets, stretching once more as he relished his decision to have that armour removed. It was pretty great and all but he had been wearing it all day, now that it was gone he felt so relaxed. The sun had gone down and street lights were lit providing light along with the windows in many houses as the silhouettes of his subjects could be seen moving back and forward. The Emperor, clad in nothing but his white undershirt and pants took a breath of the cool night air and started to walk along the cobbled road with a calm smile on his face.

If anyone was to look out their window they would no doubt be surprised to see their ruler strolling down the street by himself in such simple garments however no one did. The cobbled road was cool to the touch, Charmers moving along the surface with his bare feet as he headed to the city hospital. The memory of his comfy bed was tantalizing but the Emperor wanted to get a few things out of the way before he granted himself that pleasure.

Not much time had passed when he made it to the gleaming-crystalline structure that was the local medical center, an advantage of such a simple city design with only eight major inter-connecting roads was that it was easy to navigate without much aid. The building appeared to have been untouched during the attack, the majority of the damage having been focused around the market district. Briefly wiping his hands on his pants the Emperor walked into the building, pushing through a clear crystal door to emerge inside the warm reception area.

The inside of the building was smooth and neat, the properties of the crystal building material only adding to the overall clean look of the hospital. Chalmers spotted a lone nurse, identifiable by the red-cross on her white hat dozing on the front desk with her head turned away. Chalmers chuckled as he approached the sleeping pony, evidently it had been an exhausting day for all.

“Excuse me Miss,” Nigel stated after loudly clearing his throat. The nurse groggily awakened from her sleep, the azure mare lifting her head to glare at whoever had disturbed her slumber. Due to the height of the desk she ended up staring at a white cloth-clad chest, the nurse moving her vision upwards to lay her eyes on a hairless face, ice-blue eyes staring back at her as the owner smiled warmly.

“Good Evening, I’m sorry to interrupt your nap but I was just after a report on how everyone’s holding up if you don’t mind.” The nurse blinked her eyes rapidly as her sleep-addled mind put the pieces together and figured out that the plain-garbed creature standing in front of her was in fact the Emperor.

“Right away your Highness!” she blurted out as she scrambled to gather the requested information.

“No hurry,” Emperor Chalmers responded as he watched the mare with amusement. The nurse’s onyx mane became ruffled as the pony dived under her desk rustling around with stacks of parchment flying behind her before she returned with a stack of papers and placed them down on the desk with a thump.

“Here it is Lord,” she stated breathlessly as she flicked through them, “everyone except one changeling in the guard has been released, it says her that most injuries today where mostly minor cuts and scrapes. I believe that most of the guard had their own medics look at them so we only had a few admissions to deal with.

“One changeling you say,” Chalmers asked with a raised eyebrow, “he wouldn’t happen to be admitted because of damage suffered by having something large fall on him, would he?” The nurse flicked through more pages, Nigel waiting patiently as he thought about how computers would make this so much easier. The nurse paused her searching, her other hoof holding the page in place as she scanned the information.

“Yes he was, he came in reporting that his wings were still not working so a doctor had a look. Wings aren’t really a familiar subject but I think the doctor said that they just were a little strained and just needed some rest. The changeling, a Private-“

“Chatter,” Nigel interrupted, the nurse a little surprised that the Emperor knew the name glanced at him before returning to her records.

“Right again sir, anyway it says here that doctor Stoneheart ordered that he stay over-night, much to the displeasure of the patient.” The mare closed her records and replaced them under the desk, returning to look back at the human waiting for her. “Is there anything else Emperor?”

“Yes actually, could you please inform me to the room number?” In response the nurse pointed a hoof down towards a corridor to the left of the desk.

“Number fifteen, forth door on the right.”

“Thanks for the help,” Chalmers acknowledged as he headed in the allocated direction, walking through the plain corridor until he came upon the room he was searching for.

Inside on the bed lay Chatter, the changeling perking up in surprise as he spotted the Emperor at his doorway.
“Commander sir! It’s so great to see you, listen, could you do me a favor and convince the doctor to let me go? I’m bored to death in here.”

“I thought you needed bed rest?” Chalmers answered as he entered the room, looking around at the plain crystal furnishings as the changeling sat up on the bed.

“All I wanted was to make sure that I didn’t break anything,” Chatter grumbled, “but doctor Stoneheart certainly lives up to her name, the pony won’t let me go home until tomorrow.”

Nigel scratched his chin in thought, considering the request. He wasn’t a doctor but he figured that Chatter seemed to be okay and he trusted that the Private was smart enough to not go and try to fly off a building or anything like that. He doubted even he could convince the doctor to let the changeling go early if his prior dealings with medical personal were anything to go by.

Looking for a solution his gaze came to rest on the window set into the wall, just high enough that a non-flight enabled equine would find it difficult to climb out. Chalmers faced Chatter, the changeling staring at the window after having seen the look on the Emperor’s face, already guessing what the plan was.

“Oh hell yes,” Chalmers stated eagerly, “we are so doing this.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Thump*

“Fuck!”

Chatter was startled as the Emperor fell out of the window and landed on the ground heavily, uttering the strong curse as he did so. The human’s pants had caught and caused him to lose his balance, resulting in a very undignified position outside the window as Chatter looked on from inside the room. With a grunt Chalmers righted himself and brushed dust off of his clothing, turning to look at Chatter before reaching his arms in through the window towards the changeling. Chatter stared at the offered limbs, starting to regret his agreement to the plan.

“Hurry up, do you want to leave or are you going to puss out like a bitch?” the Emperor taunted, Chatter finding himself getting incredibly pissed off with his commander. To prove that he was indeed no one’s ‘bitch’ Chatter moved towards the outstretched limbs with a determined look on his face. This grin quickly fell as he felt himself hoisted up as Chalmers placed his hands under Chatter’s fore-legs, picking the changeling up like a puppy. The Emperor pulled the nervous changeling through the window and out into the street, Chatter unable to move as his hind legs dangled a metre off the ground as the Commander looked at his guard with a cruel smirk on his face.

“Awww, he’s so cute, who’s a good changeling? Who’s a good changeling?”

Chatter was not pleased with this humiliation, glaring at the Emperor as the human started to move him up and down in the air like a parent would with a child. The changeling might have attempted to break free with force if it wasn’t for the fact that the human was an Emperor. Well, that and the fact that the Commander was able to lift him up effortlessly without any signs of tiring. As such he had to wait until Chalmers had grown tired of treating him like a child; Chatter just hoped that no one was watching for both of their sakes.
The Emperor finally lowered the changing to the ground, immediately walking off down the street. Chatter, having re-gained the feeling of solid ground beneath his hooves raced to catch up.

“Emperor, my house is in that direction,” Chatter informed and pointed back in the opposite direction to where they were going as Chalmers stopped and started to scan the houses on the right side of the street.

“I know, I ordered it to be built remember?” the Emperor quipped back, his eyes lighting up as he found what he was trying to pinpoint. “You can go if you want; I just have one more visit to pay before I myself can turn in.” Chatter was keen for his own bed as well, however he was enjoying hanging out informally with the Emperor and becoming friends with the being in overall charge of the military couldn’t hurt future promotion prospects.

“I’ll guess I can spare a few minutes,” the changeling replied as the Emperor already had begun to move towards a plain house numbered three-six-one. Sighing as he wondered what he was getting into Chatter followed the enthusiastic ruler against his better judgment.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“See, I told you that it was good.”

Opal Blitz was sitting at the table opposite Flora, the filly that had followed her ever since the incident at the Diamond Dog den as the foal continued to eat her dinner, assorted vegetables that Blitz had arranged in a small salad. After she had volunteered to take the foal in Blitz had made fast progress with gaining the young pony’s trust, the filly finding the courage to speak once Blitz had shown the foal her house.

Flora was five years old, having turned five while a prisoner of the Dogs. The pony said that she had been travelling with her parents in-between towns when a group of dogs had snatched them. Flora had been taken away from her parents after a few days, the dogs from the den that had just been destroyed having taken her along in order to train her to be an obedient worker. Blitz was thankful that they had managed to free the captives in time but felt incredibly sorry for Flora when she heard about her parents.

The filly was under the impression that they were dead, having reportedly seen a few Equestrians die during her captivity. Blitz had been unsure about how to respond to this, her own parents were certainly dead but she didn’t want to raise the filly’s hopes only to have them crushed later on. Opal decided that returning the filly to full health would be the most pressing concern, the foal still looking more like a skeleton than pony.

Both ponies turned to look at the front door, a short burst of knocks sounding on the hardened wood. Blitz was unsure of the precise time but it was incredibly late at night so visitors were a surprise. Sliding off her short wooden chair the guard approached the door as Flora watched on nervously. Taking a breath Opal un-latched the door and slipped her hoof into the large metal ring that served as a handle and opened it, a cool breeze coming in from outside.

She took a few moments to comprehend that yes the visitors were indeed the Emperor himself and a changeling, Opal swearing that the changeling looked a little familiar.

“Emperor, my Lord, if I may ask what it is that you’re doing at my house at this time at night?” Blitz slowly scanned the human, the ruler clothed in simple white cloth that was very informal considering his newly acquired array of military-style suits and clothing. The changeling seemed oddly at ease standing beside the human, his eyes fixed on Blitz with a strange look.

“Well I was just in the neighborhood and I thought I’d pop in to see how you and the child are holding up,” Chalmers turned to the changeling beside him. “Chatter’s here because he needs to hide from a doctor.” Blitz’s memory was refreshed by the name of the changeling, recalling him to be the guard that had been pulled out from the Diamond dog. She also relised that she had neglected to invite her visitors in while cold air swirled around them, the faux par even more serious considering that her Commander was one of them.

“Would you like to come in, sorry for not asking earlier,” the diamond-coated Sergeant offered in the hope that her slip-up would be forgiven.

“That would be lovely, thank you,” Chalmers replied as he entered the house followed by Chatter, both looking around as Blitz shut the door behind them. “You’ve got quite the house,” the Emperor said as he ducked to avoid a low beam, the tall biped able to fit in the building nicely despite his height.

“Thank you sir, it used to belong to my parents.”

Chalmers noticed the way the mare spoke in past tense, neglecting to pursue the topic in fear of opening up old wounds. Chatter was also admiring the inside of the structure, the space not that large but it was incredibly cozy with multiple chairs and decorations filling the area. Opal’s armour was neatly placed in the corner on a stand, the guards preferring to store their armour in their houses as they used to do in the old days. It was about this time that Chalmers noticed the foal sitting at the table staring at him and Chatter with fear.

“Hello there little one,” the Emperor greeted as he waved at the red-maned child, the pony relaxing a little bit at the human’s soft tone. The foal gave him a small smile and waved a hoof back from the table as Blitz and Chatter watched silently. Blitz trotted up to the table where Flora was sitting and beckoned the Emperor closer, Chatter joining the human as they both approached.

“Emperor Chalmers, this is Flora,” Blitz introduced, “Flora this is Emperor Chalmers; he’s the ruler of the Crystal City that I told you about.” Flora glanced down at the changeling beside the Emperor, Blitz noticing the filly’s new focus of attention. “This is Chatter,” Opal informed as the changeling nodded in response. All three of the adults noticed that the foal hadn’t spoken a word since they had arrived, the Emperor gesturing for Blitz to follow him to the front door.

“Well, it seems like everything is going okay and it is rather late so we best be going,” all three moved to the door, Chalmers and Chatter stepping outside. The foal watched them then went back to her meal, Chalmers lowering his voice so she didn’t overhear.

“So she’s spoken to you Sergeant?” he inquired, Blitz glancing back inside before nodding her head.

“It took a while sir but she has started to act more… well normal. I’m sorry that she didn’t say anything while you were there.”

“Completely understandable,” the Emperor responded, “with these things you just have to give it some time. You’ve gained her trust and she obviously feels comfortably around you so I say good job. I’ll even give you the rest of the week off, paid of course,” Chalmers raised a hand as Blitz made to protest, “nope, you’re currently the only one that Flora trusts. I recommend you try to introduce her to some more citizens, maybe try to find some foals her own age.

Once she is confident enough then we can move on to different things. Good work so far Sergeant, good night.” With that the Emperor turned and walked away, Chatter giving Blitz a wave goodbye before following the Commander, Opal watching the two continuing to chat as they walked down the street before shutting the door.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel ascended the stairs leading up to the floor that held his sleeping quarters, probably one of the only times he had actually chosen to sleep in his room rather than on his throne.

After his visit to Sergeant Blitz’s house he and Chatter had parted ways, the changeling wishing him goodnight as he made his own way home. Nigel had enjoyed his time with the private, for a short time he had felt the weight of responsibility off of his shoulders even if it had only been for an hour. The changeling seemed to be more relaxed around him compared to many of the guards, while Chalmers appreciated their professionalism he wasn’t really the type for all of that pomp twenty-four seven.

He reached his door, opening the sturdy oak barrier as he entered the darkened room. Formerly Sombra’s, it was the largest bedroom in the castle, the walls adorned with Crystals and numerous paintings of stairwells. Red rugs adorned the floor and the curtains were also a rich-shade of crimson, bringing some colour into the room. Yawning Nigel removed his shirt and pants, leaving just his plain white under-shorts on as he placed his discarded clothes in a wash basket. His task complete he ambled over towards the bed and prepared to clamber into it, stopping however when he noticed the lump under the covers which already occupied his normal space.

The Emperor was puzzled; it wasn’t like anyone could mistake their room for his with the incredibly large four-poster bed studded with gems dominating the room. He moved in a little closer trying to not disturb the sleeper, a dark green mane all he could see with the sleeper facing away from him. Chalmers could already guess who it was however it couldn’t hurt too much sure. Tapping the slumbering intruder on the shoulder he felt smooth chitin, the bedroom lurker rolling over in response to the tap.

Nigel sighed as Reflection rolled over onto her back, the changeling’s mouth open with her tongue hanging out. Well, it seemed like she had decided that his bed was now hers. Great, what next, his crown?

Throne?

Sense of self-worth?

Nigel shook his head, reminding himself that he had not married the changeling so his self-worth was still safe. He briefly thought about leaving and finding another room to sleep in that night but thought better of it. After all he had been promising Reflection more of a commitment and knowing her she would just continue to sleep in his chambers whether he wanted her to or not so he might as well just roll with it.

Gracefully he lifted up the corner of the red bed sheets and slipped into the bed, his movements not awaking his sleeping partner as he settled in for the night. He adjusted his position, the bed large enough to accommodate him fine but his pillow felt off. He turned and rotated it, laying his head down on the opposite side of the red pillow.

‘Note to self: get some different coloured stuff,” he thought, finally feeling the welcoming embrace of sleep come to take him as the changeling next to him mumbled in her sleep. As he dozed off he thought about the clean-up efforts he would have to co-ordinate tomorrow, a part of him looking forward to another chance to interact with his loyal subjects.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chalmers found himself standing in snow, still in his underwear that he had gone to bed in. He looked around him, crystal structures on fire or reduced to rubble as the sun was concealed by thick black smog. He recognized his position as standing on the edge of one of the main roads leading into the city of his empire; however he couldn’t locate his palace in the center. He began to move towards the inner city, cries and screams resonating from the ruined landscape as he trudged onwards the surrounds lit by the lights of multiple infernos. He failed to notice the shadowy figure that materialized behind him, the vaguely equine-form hesitating before following the Emperor.

The coldness of the snow was soon replaced by soothing warmth, when he looked down Nigel could see that his bare feet were standing in an ever-growing river of blood flowing down the road. Walking forward he entered the market district, the normally bustling and happy area trashed and destroyed, Chalmers able to make out multiple signs of violence such as energy weapon impacts on stone and blood splatters covering almost every surface.

He halted as the sound of crying sounded to his left, coming from an alley blocked off by a market cart tipped on its side. He was just about to move towards the noise, the sobs of what sounded like a young child ringing out around the square when the rhythmic drum of boots on pavement grew audible. From around the corner emerged a ten-soldier squad of UIP troopers, the all-encompassing tan armour covering the ground forces concealing their faces behind dull-silver visors as the troops moved towards the alley.

Chalmers watched as each soldier lined up facing the alley as the sobbing exploded in hysterical cries, the solitary voice joined by a crowd of others. The UIP infantry raised their laser-pulse rifles to their shoulders and took aim down at the unseen voices. At an unspoken command blue light lit up the darkened street as the troops opened fire, glowing blue projectiles cutting off the cries as all sound was replaced by the discharge of the weapons.

Nigel watched for a few minutes, the soldiers only pausing their assault to reload their weapons despite the fact that if anything was in the alley it would have been dead in the first volley. Walking past them he craned his head to look at the contents of the alley way however it was obscured with darkness with the laser projectiles being swallowed up by the black void. Chalmers continued on, none of the troops paying any attention to the wandering Commander.

As he left the area Nigel found himself in the Residential district, an anomaly considering that the two areas were not next to each other normally. He walked down the rows of houses, no signs of life in the burnt and broken structures. Movement caught his eye in a window that belonged to a fairly intact home. Nigel saw a brief image of a large pair of blue eyes peering out the glass before heavy thuds appeared out of no-where from behind him.

The Emperor watched as a UIP shock trooper ambled past him, the large armoured form hefting a large tube attached to a pack on its back. The weapon was coloured the same as the wielder, a burnt-gold with three vertical blue strips on the top. The strips on the eight-foot tall armoured soldier were located on each shoulder instead while the tan armour showed signs of scorch marks.

The curtains of the window formerly occupied shut violently all of the way, followed by shutters as the shock trooper approached a window at the bottom of the house. The tip of the soldier’s weapon was thrust through the glass, the window shattering into multiple pieces as the trooper depressed the trigger.

Bright flames exploded out of every single escape point on the house, every window and door blown out with flame as Nigel’s view of the soldier was obscured by the flames that engulfed it. The scent of burnt meat and fire wafted as the flames kept on coming, the house itself catching alight under the continued application of the incendiary weapon.

Once again ignored, Chalmers continued towards his destination, the palace in the middle of the city. He would appear to be oddly calm to an outside observer, the sights that he had witnessed having no visible effect on the expressionless human. Behind him the shadowy stalker halted at the burning building, acting as though it was terrified of what it was witnessing. As the Emperor left the street of houses joyful electronic laughter could be heard from the window of the burning home that was the prior location of the shock trooper.

Rounding a bend Chalmers found himself staring at a gruesome scene, the Emperor having reached his goal.

Upon and around the shattered ruins of the Crystal Palace lay piles of corpses, thousands of Crystal ponies with a few smatterings of changelings all heaped in piles of gore and viscera in varying states of dismemberment. The pile was largely focused in the middle of the ruins of the palace, a lone black-clad human figure seated atop the mound of broken bodies like a King would sit upon a throne. Chalmers stopped at the base of the mound, by now his feet were covered in a layer of gore that went up to his bare knees. The figure seated on the mound began a slow clap, the human leaping down from his perch to land before Nigel with a thump.

“Well, it’s about time I showed up,” the armoured human spoke as he removed his faceless helmet, revealing a mirror image of Nigel’s face.

“Starwars already did that,” the real Nigel replied, facing Chalmers number two with no surprise.

“Aw, come on buddy,” the doppelganger responded as he picked the body of a young colt out of the bleeding pile, armoured fingers tearing through yellow fur-coated flesh as the still beating heart was extracted. “It’s been like two, three weeks since we last had a good chat?” the copy paused briefly to take a large bite out of the extracted organ, chewing the portion contentedly as he dropped the remainder of the heart to the ground and squished it under a black boot.

“A month actually,” Nigel answered, the clone smiling at the reminder.

“That’s right; we caved that unicorn’s skull right in!” Fake Chalmers burst out into laughter, blood running down his chin from his finished snack, “that look on his face was priceless, Fucker didn’t know what hit him!” Nigel patiently waited for his double to stop laughing; he had grown used to the often tedious interactions. “It was almost as funny as that dog that got maced in the face today, that was a Kodiak picture moment right there.”

“Get to the Bloody point,” Nigel pushed, the copy giving him a mock hurt look.

“Why so serious Hombre? Why does it have to be ‘Tell me this now’, ‘Stop talking you Imbecile’ and ‘I have work in three hours’? Before we even arrived on this planet it was so lively, almost every night I would be treated to that wonderful figure and that oh so delicious verbal barbs.”

“Because you’re annoying and you never seem to bathe,” came the response. Both beings paused as a low drone rang out, the two copies looking up into the sky as the fat rectangular form of a UIP naval Escort Destroyer came into view in the sky. Beams and bolts of blue energy accompanied by swarms of missiles flew out from its underside to impact beyond the horizon, the light of miniature suns being birthed in the distance lighting up the darkened sky. Fake Chalmers breathed in deeply, making a scene of enjoying the smell of the air.

“Oh yesssss,” the clone stated ecstatically as he moved his groin back and forth, “nothing turns us on more than a virgin planet being bathed in the glow of nuclear fire and anti-matter particles,” a particular bright flash grew from the general direction of Canterlot. “Oh yeah! That there had to be at least a few million! You can just feel their souls being torn piece-by-piece from their bodies…”

The copy trailed off as he realized that Nigel wasn’t paying attention, the underwear sporting human inspecting his nails for dirt as his double stopped his grinding.

“Nothing you can say or do will get that reaction you so desperately want from me, just give up and let me be.” Nigel spoke with a condescending tone, the fake scoffing as he reached his black-coated arm into the closest corpse pile and began to rummage.

“Maybe, but this time we’ve got two things that may change that,” as he spoke his other arm also joined its brother in the pile, Fake Chalmers’s enthusiastic movements causing blood to fly everywhere coating him in even more gore, the human double licking up as much as he could off of his face. “Ah ha!” he exclaimed, his arms with drawing two large objects from the death mound. Both were tossed to the floor, Nigel able to see that they were two bound equines somehow un-touched by the red fluid that seemed to coat everything.

The copy picked one up with a hand, Nigel seeing that the pony was in fact Sparkling Scroll. The assistant’s mouth was gagged with what appeared to be a spleen and her hooves were tied with ropes of intestine, her eyes looking at Nigel pleadingly as she screamed trough the improvised gag.

“Personally this one is a favorite,” Fake Chalmers stated as scratched the struggling mare behind her ears, “such sorrow that she hides inside of her, it really is great to see that we can have such a positive effect on those which seem to so perfectly reflect us,” the doppelganger started to pace back and forth, withdrawing a combat knife from his armour as he continued. “Shame that we’ve seen to have been neglecting her lately, one must wonder how she feels to being pretty much demoted to coffee-fetcher.”

The clone is one swift movement sliced the throat of the mare and tossed the body on the ground, Sparkling twitching until she lay still. Instead of blood small paper squares with primitive drawings of her and Nigel sitting together in court or addressing the Crystal ponies spilled out of the gaping wound, the papers catching alight in seconds after exiting. The clone picked up the other equine, Nigel still not reacting as Reflection, identically bound and distressed as Sparkling had been was held up by the neck.

“At last we have reached the main show, isn’t she a beauty?” Fake Chalmers caressed the crying changeling’s fore-head with a gore-splattered hand, none of the blood transferring to the changeling herself. “I can see why we like her, after all even though she is an alien we’ve done worse right? Remember Roxslasta?” Nigel remained silent, the copy rolling his eyes at the refusal of his guest to play along. He’d have to up the ant a little.

“In fact she’s got a great complementing personality and for an alien bug horse not that bad looks wise,” the double moved his hand from the changeling’s head and slid it slowly down the front her body, Nigel not looking away even as the armoured digits reached below the stomach and the Changeling let out a gasp through her morbid gag. Chalmers knew that it wasn’t the real Reflection and to look away would only award victory to his doppelganger. The copy didn’t mind, his hand moving around quickly as the changeling panted and moaned. The shadow figure however raised what appeared to a hoof to its featureless face as it sat in the same spot it had frozen in when it had first seen the nightmare square in which the shocking drama was playing out.

“It’s funny really,” he continued as he violated Reflection in front of Nigel, “we know that she wants us badly, I mean who wouldn’t? We don’t mind the attention and I know that she would do pretty much anything for us and yet we still hold back; guess we still have those wonderful commitment problems just like always. What is it this time? Afraid that upper-management won’t approve of an agent sharing a bed with a potential information leak? Scared that months away on assignment will sink the love boat like so many before it? Or maybe it’s the terror that she’ll be denied that marvelous life-extension that we’ve been blessed with? How long until she withers and dies while we endure do we think? Fifty years? Sixty years? Maybe she’ll even be around when we finally get that Assistant Director job and un-ending life so that the pain of losing her can last forever!”

The copy ceased his lewd actions, withdrawing his hand leaving the blushing changeling hanging both literally and figuratively. He waved his glistening fingers in front of Nigel’s face, provoking no reaction apart from the clenching of fists.

“Huh,” the clone stated as he dropped the changeling roughly to the floor, “normally by this time we would have currently killed us five times already, we’re almost missing the feel of our fists beating us to a pulp.” The copy waved a hand, Nigel beginning to fade out as the clone turned away.

“Isn’t this the part where you impart some nugget of wisdom or self-insight that helps me slay the goblin king and rescue the Princess?” Nigel asked, determined to fire the last shot in the battle of wills. The copy merely rotated his head one-hundred and eighty degrees around before placing his helmet on.

“Sure, we have the most important information in the history of man, wisdom and knowledge so critical that only the sagest of creatures can withstand their minds from imploding at the sheer mention of it." Nigel waited, his fading having stopped for the time being. Fake Chalmers’s head rotated until it was upside down as his arms shot out backwards, two middle fingers raised firmly at Nigel’s face.

“Eat more Fucking Vitamins!”

With a comical poof Nigel disappeared leaving the doppelganger alone with his tarnished world, well, alone except for the shadowy figure that was staring at him in shock.

“I can see you over there,” Fake Chalmers calmly mentioned as his body re-aligned to what it was supposed to be, the biped twisting around the face the stalker. He zoomed towards it seemingly moving on air, the shadow forming into the shape of a tall blue pony with both a horn and wings.

“What manner of demon art thou?” the alicorn shakily questioned as the clone snapped his fingers, the entire square becoming consumed in fire as blood and organs rained from the sky from great vents resembling maws that had opened up on the underside of the hovering ship. “Dreams end when the dreamer has left, how dost it continue!?” the pony asked in a panic as it franticly looked for an exit. The copy chuckled, picking up three rapidly-decaying pony bodies from the pile next to it as it began to juggle.

“Why, those questions can be answered in one go,” the human laughed as he leaned in towards the alicorn, the pony jumping back in fright. “You may think me to be an evil twin, a personal demon made to plague my own mind, a representation or metaphor for inner turmoil and angst that is vile and vulgar in mind and taste. The truth however is far more terrifying, my little pony.” The alicorn shrieked as the biped suddenly tore open his own armoured chest, layers of metal, electrical wires and a strange muscle-like substance giving way to flesh and blood that was also rent apart, exposing a steadily beating heart within a crooked ribcage. The heart alternately pulsed bright crimson to black, laughter and screams that seemed to come from everywhere accompanying every beat.

“We are the same,” the clone stated mirthfully.

“We are the dreamer.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Luna jolted, finding herself sprawled on the ground and not on the throne that she had been sitting in when she had started her attempt to see this new Emperor’s dreams.

Needless to say, it hadn’t turned out to be a very wise move.

‘Princess, you’re awake!” a frantic bat-pony guard called out as Luna rose from the floor, ten of the soldiers crowding around the fallen Princess while another one was at the main doors about to rush out.

“What happened?” questioned Luna as she sat back in her throne, her guards taking a few steps back as the one near the door returned to join the concerned group.

“You were just sitting there like in every night court when you just started to convulse,” the highest ranking guard replied worriedly, “we were about to fetch medical help when you fell off the throne and started to scream. You suddenly stopped and woke up, your Highness, are you okay and is something wrong?”

“I am fine,” Luna reassured even though her words were hollow, “I just encountered a… bad dream that may have affected me more than I expected.” The guards glanced at each other in response to the reply, returning to their positions as they made sure to keep a watchful gaze on the princess. It was probably for the best to not dwell on what kind of nightmare could affect the normally stoic Princess so. Luna didn’t provide any further information on the matter, content to just sit and attempt to forget what she had witnessed.

She didn’t visit anymore dreams that night.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel woke up in a sweat in his bed, the sheets sticking to his soaked body as he breathed in deep while subconsciously reaching out a hand beside him to make contact with a smooth face. He glanced beside him, the sleeping Reflection mumbling in her sleep with a frown on her face, her hole-riddled hooves reaching up to grab Nigel’s arm. She hugged it to her chest, snuggling into the warmth that it provided as the frown disappeared to be replaced with a content smile. Nigel lay back in the bed, allowing the changeling to cuddle his arm as attempted to go back to sleep. As he started to drift off again one thought pushed its way to the front of his mind.

‘Wow, dream-version of me is a total dickhead.’

Why Only Two Tickets?

Why Only Two Tickets?

Reflection awoke with a warm object resting on her, the changeling blinking her eyes open as she shifted under the bed covers. She grinned and sighed happily as she noticed the arm that was on her chest, the advisor tightening her hooves around it. Her plan had worked and waking up next to Chalmers really improved her morning, her dreams last night had been fairly trouble although she could not remember why.

She was pleasantly surprised to notice that the stream of emotion from Nigel seemed to have increased in both quantity and intensity. Reflection had never felt so invigorated before. She remained still for a while, her only movements being to move closer to the still sleeping human as she took care to not wake him.

The changeling was glad that he had come back from his mission alive; the weeks that she had spent in the Crystal Empire had been the happiest of her life even before Chalmers had taken notice of her. The human radiated body heat, Reflection almost pulled back into the appealing lull of sleep as she rested up against him. Nigel didn’t react apart from shifting a little at the contact, the changeling next to him catching a glimpse of colour on the human’s bare chest which was mostly hidden under the red sheets.

Glancing up at him she made sure that he was still fast asleep before she gently pulled the sheets down revealing the Emperor’s chest. The changeling stared at the picture somehow drawn onto the chiseled flesh, what seemed to be a skeleton human in a black cloak riding what looked like a giant pony skeleton. The morbid figure was depicted bursting out of the Emperor’s chest with the edge of the picture made to look like a gaping wound in the human’s chest. Below the picture was four words: ‘Chalmers’, ‘Orthodox’, ‘James’ and ‘Elijah’. Underneath those words was a simple sentence: ‘The Infernal Jesters, Bringing Misery to a Circus Near You!’

The changeling found herself captivated by the grotesque image, the colours vibrant and bold. The four words underneath it were names Reflection assumed, going off the fact that Chalmers was the first one listed. Who or what the other three were she didn’t know but obviously Chalmers has some sort of past with them. She found herself tracing the lines with a hoof, her appendage running across the human’s chest. Reflection was so enraptured that she didn’t notice the owner of the chest wake up and stare at her.

Nigel gazed at the back of Reflection’s head with a mixture of surprise, confusion and relief as the changeling lay beside him with her focus firmly fixed on his chest. Well, more specifically his old unit tattoo that had seemed like a really good idea at the time. His advisor drew her hoof back and forth across his chest, Nigel watching her for a moment before grinning at an idea in his head.

“The secrets in the core routine,” he piped up, the startled changeling looking at him in surprise. She blushed as she realized that she had been caught staring at him while he slept.

“O-oh,” Reflection responded as she quickly pulled her hoof away, “I wasn’t looking because… well I mean you aren’t bad looking it’s just I was-“ she was cut off by a chuckle from Nigel.

“Relax; I know you were looking at the tattoo.” The changeling gave him a questioning look.

“Tattoo?” Reflection asked, the changeling blushing again as Chalmers picked up her hoof with a hand and moved it back to his chest. He began to trace it again with her limb as Reflection’s face heated up at the contact.

“Yeah, a tattoo is a picture that is drawn on skin by inserting tiny, little spots of ink with a needle. Modern day ones you can just get put on in seconds painlessly, however I went the old-fashioned route.” Reflection moved her other hoof over as it joined the first, the changeling attempting to capitalize on Nigel’s sudden affection.

“That sounds painful,” she mentioned, “why did you do it?”

Chalmers snorted, “short story: lots of booze and some very irresponsible friends.” Reflection hummed, Nigel continuing on, “Long story is that before I was promoted to Commander I served as a team leader in an ISA Spector squad called the ‘Infernal Jesters’, I didn’t pick the name.” The changeling’s hoof was guided to the text stating the name, her right hind leg slowly making its way over the top of Nigel’s right.

“After a particularly… unsettling mission me and the guys completed, which I can’t talk about by the way and to be honest I wouldn’t tell you if I could, we headed to a bar after our debriefing for a nice mind purge. One thing led to another and we then, as normal young males tend to do, decided to go and get tattoos to show off our ‘brotherhood’ or some crap like that.

We found a parlor that offered the old Terran style of tattoos, it seems stupid now but the prospect of shooting ink with a needle into yourself just seemed so hardcore at the time. We all decided to get matching tats of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, one for each of us.”

“Horsemen of the Apocalypse?” Reflection inquired as her leg made it all the way over Nigel’s as she changed position and lay down on her belly.

“Old Terran figures of the end of existence, each one Death, War, Famine and Pestilence respectively. I was given the title ‘Death’ as I was the commanding officer; mine was the first to be done.” Chalmers seemed to go back to into his thoughts as he smiled, “those were the times. Anyway, so after I had mine done everyone else had theirs. All fit the same theme, except for Orthodox of course,” Nigel’s smile turned into a full blown grin.

“What’s so funny?” Reflection asked, Nigel letting go of her hoof to rub his fingers through the changeling’s dark-green mane as he chuckled.

“Well, you see Orthodox isn’t human, in fact no-one knows what he is but pretty much imagine a short orange bipedal dragon the height of a standard pony without any wings. He’s so short and he’s also got a fiery temper so we… so we…” Nigel lost control, full-blown laughter taking over him for a few moments. He calmed down, taking a deep breath as Reflection giggled along with him. “He got so drunk that he didn’t know what was going on so instead of a human skeleton riding a horse we convinced the tattoo artist to do a leprechaun riding a really short pony.”

Reflection didn’t know what a ‘leprechaun’ was but she got the joke, the other soldiers had asked for something embarrassing to be drawn and the artist complied. “Wasn’t that cruel? He must have been upset with what happened.”

“You don’t know Orthodox,” Nigel replied, “given the chance he would have done the same to us. Besides, removing tattoos is incredibly cheap and simple these days. The sad thing is that he actually kept it without having it redone.” Reflection laughed at this.

“So he forgave you then?”

“Oh no, God no,” Nigel responded as he winced, “he spoke in an incredibly fake Irish accent, that’s the Terran culture that spawned the leprechaun, for about six months. I mean non-stop, out of work, during work, talking to higher ups despite multiple threats of demotion and even one of execution. It got so bad that we actually tried to get him killed by enemy forces on a mission.”

“What!?” Reflection gasped as she lifted up from the bed, “You tried to get your friend killed?” Nigel shrugged at her question.

“Different times back then, and we didn’t try to kill him directly,” Nigel continued on nonchalantly, “all we did was push him out of the transport over the enemy base instead of where we had arranged to drop off, didn’t really make a difference anyway. Everything was dead by the time we got there except for Orthodox; he earned ‘War’ for a reason. He stopped talking with the accent at least; I think he wanted to avoid any future unplanned transport exits.”

Reflection’s glare dropped a little, slowly she lay down upon the Emperor’s chest and closed her eyes with a huff.

“I suppose that if he survived then it’s not too bad, what happened to them?”

“Well, after a few more years I got promoted and re-assigned to a position supervising some operations in a classified sector. Orthodox was deemed too irresponsible for a command role and last I heard he was giving a sole-position. Apparently he’s been in a member of very successful missions and received numerous commendations. James was tested positive for psionic aptitude during a new medical test, he moved to the Psionic warfare branch of the ISA to train to be a unit commander. As for Elijah he always was the brains of the group, moving to UIP Research and Development and fast running his way up the ranks till he became department head of some classified subject. All in all everyone’s gone on to lead successful careers so far.”

“Especially you, Mister Emperor,” Reflection giggled. Chalmers smiled at her before making to leave the bed. The changeling looked at him with disappointment, latching her fore-legs around the Emperor’s right arm. “Oh come on, don’t leave just yet,” she pouted, Nigel looking down at her as she clung to him.

“You don’t think I’d love to spend all day in bed? I’ve got the small matter of an empire to rule you know?” Reflection did not let go, in fact she tightened her grip. “Very mature, come on, let go,” Nigel instructed, the changeling shaking her head playfully as she grinned at the Emperor.

“No, you need a day off and as your Empress I demand that you spend it in bed with me!” Chalmers must have missed the part where he made Reflection Empress, regardless he had things to do and he fully intended to make it to breakfast to catch up with Sparkling Scroll.

“Last warning Reflection, let me go or I’ll embarrass you for the rest of the day.” The changeling smirked at the challenge and once again shook her head.

“I think you underestimate me, I’ll be the one who comes out on top!”

‘Well, she is as stubborn as me,’ Nigel thought, resolving to not give in to the changeling’s demand.

“Okay Reflection,” Chalmers replied, “whoever wins gets to ask the other to do one thing that they have to do. No murder or forced empire handovers however.” At his terms Reflection grinned, she already had her victory reward in mind.

“Deal, hope you’re prepared to lose,” the changeling taunted, “for one you still have to get out of bed to even rule and I’m not going to let go, so you’ve already lost!” Nigel was overtaken by competiveness, if he was more level headed he would probably not have done what he did next.

“Oh, don’t bet on it Reflection…”

Sparkling Scroll was sitting at the table eating her toast with jam before her tranquil breakfast was interrupted by the sound of thumping coming from the stairwell. She stared at the steps as a very, very strange sight appeared.

The Emperor was walking down the steps in nothing but his underwear, a very strange and frightening picture on his bare chest. That was not what drew her attention however, oh no. Attached to Nigel’s arm via the use of her forelegs, Reflection was dragged along beside the Emperor as her rump and hind legs trailed on the ground. Each time the changeling’s behind went down on step was when a thump occurred, Reflection looking like she was holding on to Nigel’s right arm for dear life. Sparkling kept on staring, her fellow advisor still not letting go even when Nigel sat down at the table and grabbed a plate loaded with assorted berries and fruit.

“Um, is everything all right?” Sparkling asked as she furrowed her eyebrows in puzzlement.

“Yes it is,” a muffled voice sounded from under the table, “it’s just a little bet me and Nigel are having.”

“What?” Sparkling questioned, unsure of what the bet could possibly be. Reflection mistook the inquiry as Sparkling saying that she couldn’t understand what she had said due to her being under the table, the changeling attempting to drag herself up while still grasping Nigel tightly. Using her hind legs she managed to clamber up the Emperor to sit in his lap, Nigel continuing to eat his breakfast as Sparkling watched on in confusion. The two had certainly become a lot closer over the last few days.

“I said that it’s a bet,” Reflection huffed out, still firmly attached to Nigel’s arm. “Winner gets to tell the loser to do something that the loser then has to do.” The changeling glanced up at Nigel sultry before giving Sparkling grin, “I’ve already got what I want figured out.” Chalmers, having been attempting to ignore the changeling into submission paused his consumption of a crystal berry rolled his eyes at the conversation.

“Reflection, I hardly think that talking about the subject at the breakfast table is the polite thing to do,” he lectured as he finished his mouthful.

“You’re right,” Reflection conceded as she looked at Sparkling in apology, “I’m sorry Sparkling and Nigel, I don’t know what came over me.”

‘Huh,’ thought Nigel, ‘Maybe this bet won’t be so difficult after a-‘

“Such activities are only suitable on the breakfast table.” Reflection interrupted Nigel’s thoughts with her suggestive joke. Despite being the target Chalmers couldn’t help but laugh at the changeling’s completely spot-on timing as Sparkling looked at the two like they were crazy.

“Okay, just what happened last night to create… this?” the mare asked as waved her hooves at them. Nigel tried to raise his right arm to make a gesture but was reminded that it currently had a changeling attached to it so he used his left instead to make a counting motion with his fingers.

“One: I came back from the Diamond dog den extremely tired. Two: When I needed my comfortable bed someone was already in it and I couldn’t be bothered finding another. Three: When I woke up she was touching me in my sleep,” Nigel noticed the shocked look on Sparkling’s face and he scrambled to re-word what he had just said. “No, no not like that! She was touching my chest, that was all!” Reflection was giving him an unamused glare, Sparkling however accepted his explanation.

“Well, that’s a… relief?” she responded unsurely, Sparkling not really knowing what to think. The changeling and human continued their stare off, Reflection glaring at Nigel with the Emperor returning an apologetic smile. It seemed like the two would be locked in a stalemate forever however Sparkling noticed Nigel’s free hand stealthily making its way towards Reflection.

With a speed that seemed unnatural the dangerous hand was launched at the unsuspecting Reflection. The changeling had no time to react until it was too late, the insidious digits digging themselves into her mane and moving behind her ears. She looked set to berate the Emperor loudly but she was halted when the fingers began to scratch, all that issued out of the changeling’s mouth was a soft squeak. Chalmers’s tactic had worked, the changeling breaking her stare as she pushed back into the fingers while also resting her face against Nigel’s chest. What really concerned Sparkling was that the changeling was moaning with delight rather loudly.

“Is that really appropriate for an Emperor and his advisor to do at the table in view of subjects?” Sparkling questioned prompting Nigel to look at her while still scratching the incredibly comfortable changeling.

“I’m the Emperor, therefore I can do what I want,” came Nigel’s answer. He stopped his pampering of Reflection much to her disappointment and waggled his fingers at Sparkling.

“Are you jealous Sparkling? Do you want to try it as well?” Sparkling was about to decline strongly but she paused. Reflection, who was currently curled up on the Emperor’s lap while still maintaining her grip on his arm did look like she had enjoyed the head rub. Maybe it would feel pretty good, it couldn’t hurt to try. The mare hesitantly got off her seat and trotted over to the Emperor, upon reaching the seated human she sat down next to his chair, closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

She flinched when she felt fingers in her mane, the feeling foreign and alien. The mare relaxed however when the digits started to move through her red mane as they rubbed her head. She had to admit that it did feel really good but it wasn’t really worthy of moa-

“Ooohh.”

The fingers had proved that statement wrong, scratching behind her ears and feeling absolutely heavenly. Before she could stop herself Sparkling found herself pushing up into the hand much like Reflection had in an attempt to get as much of the soothing massage as she could. Her tail flicked back and forth and she had to fight to remain upright. She bet that if the human wanted to take over the planet all he had to do was just scratch behind the ears of any leader.

Sparkling was so caught up in the joy of the action that she didn’t notice the young guardstallion enter the dining room with a look which was a mix of embarrassment and surprise on his face. Reflection and Nigel also missed his entry, both of them focused on watching the Crystal mare’s amusing reaction to the massage.

“Um, Emperor Chalmers sir?”

Nigel’s hand shot away from Sparkling’s head as he faced the guard, Reflection bolting upright which caused the top of her head to collide with the bottom of Chalmers’s chin. Sparkling was so startled that she tried to get to her hooves only to trip and fall against one of the table legs, the mare unharmed however a jar of jam at the edge smashed upon the floor. Nigel, in the process of rubbing his chin where he had received a changeling head-butt stopped as soon as he saw what happened to Sparkling. He reached out a hand which she waved away, the mare more embarrassed than hurt.

“You okay there Sparkling?” Nigel asked with concern as the mare made to get up, however she gave up after three tries and just lay there.

“Yeah, just give me a minute,” she stated in a daze. Chalmers looked at her with worry but did as she asked as he turned in his seat to face the still highly-befuddled guard. Nigel attempted to look regal however the image was spoiled by the fact that he was mostly naked and a changeling was currently grasping his arm while sprawled across his body moaning in pain.

“What is it loyal guard?” Nigel questioned, the stallion to his credit recovering quickly from the surprising sight of his ruler.

“A number of Equestrian chariots have landed at the edge of the city and request that they be allowed to unload their cargo. Apparently they are carrying sixty-one changelings and a large amount of assorted goods and bits as payment for housing them.” Nigel grinned at the reminder of the deal he had made. He got additional subjects which had every reason to be utterly loyal to him and he got paid for the apparent ‘burden’.

Equestrians didn’t appear to be the most cunning of peoples when it came to politics and deceit.

“Very good, assemble a large amount of the guard all in full armour with halberds to meet me at the barracks. While I doubt these changelings will be immediately hostile it can’t hurt to make sure that we avoid any unwanted violence.” Chalmers stood up from his seat, picking up Reflection and lowering her to the ground as the changeling while she still seemed to be in pain.

Reflection still hadn’t let go of the Emperor’s arm, Nigel pausing for a second to see whether she’d give up the bet to rub the sore spot with a hoof. She didn’t evidently suffering through the pain was preferable to losing her chance to force him to do something. Sighing at Reflection’s stubbornness Chalmers used his free hand to rub the changeling’s head for her which rewarded him with a grateful smile.

“Excuse me for asking sir,” the guard spoke up, “but it may be a good idea to possible put on some more clothes?” Nigel scoffed at this, sweeping his free hand over his body.

“Can you not see my fine clothes made from the grandest silk in the land? My tailors assured me that they look amazing on me.” The poor guard had no response; in fact everyone in the room was completely lost. Nigel after a few moments sighed in resignation.

“Right, yes I guess no one will get that reference,” Chalmers looked back at the guard while pointing a finger at the stallion, “how can the Equestrians complain anyway? All of you equines wear nothing at all, at least I conceal the royal jewels.”

It took the guard a few seconds to understand what the Emperor meant by ‘royal jewels’ however when he did his face heated up. He was not keen on explaining this next part to his ruler.

“Well, sir I… I can’t speak for mares of course but stallions, uh, you see-“

“They have sheaths Nigel,” Reflection spoke up to the relief of the young stallion, “their equipment only comes out when in use.”

“Oh,” Nigel said as he glanced down at his crotch, “mine just kind of dangles free and majestically in nature’s wind, liberated and unbound by such-“

“Thank you for that sir, it was most educational but I think we get the point!” the guard quickly interrupted, risking the insubordination to stop the human from going into any more in-depth details. Chalmers seemed to not mind, his focus turning to Reflection who had almost lost her grip on his arm at his explanation. The changeling looked to be incredibly interested in the topic so Sparkling decided to take over the educational session.

“Yes, well that is correct,” she spoke up, “as for mares well we use our tails for concealment. There are times where it does occasionally show but that’s just life and how it’s always been. With you I just guess that we’re used to seeing you wearing lots of clothes all the time.”

“You know, pants have solved lots of problems over the years. Now it’s not me to force clothing upon my fine subjects,” as he said this Nigel lightly smacked Reflection on the behind, the changeling letting out an adorable squeak and blushing heavy green in response. The sheer abruptness of the action shocked the rest of the room. “In fact presented with such fine hindquarters it would be a crime to change your nature. Come along soldier, if I am to face our neighbors without my clothes then at least I shall not be alone. You should join us as well Sparkling.”

Chalmers took a step forward towards the exit to the throne room, Reflection still clinging to his arm despite the Emperor’s numerous attempts to dislodge her. He looked down at the still-blushing changeling with disbelief. “Really? You’re going to stay like that even when we’re going to meet people who you are going to be in charge of?”

“I could say the same about you,” the changeling retorted, “plus I really want my wish so don’t expect me to budge. Guess you’ll just have to give up yourself.” Chalmers narrowed his eyes. It was on.

“You underestimate my desire to win,” Nigel shot back as he dragged her with him as he moved to the door. Sparkling and the guard followed while giving each other looks that spoke of their confusion at what was happening. “You also don’t understand my ability to plow through all problems with the grace of an ox smeared in butter. Come Hell or high water I will beat you at this game, mark my words.”

Tempered Edge was standing in front of the chained changelings, all of the creatures having been removed from the ten chariots sitting at the back. The Lieutenant and her fifty pegasi guards all had formed a circle around the sixty-one changelings, the soldiers having been tasked with delivering the creatures to the Crystal Empire as well as the bundles of supplies as payment. Sharp Point had been skeptical of the Empire’s willingness to take the changelings even with the reports from guards and Shining Armour himself that the new ruler was anything but normal.

The large group of beings was gathered outside the strange dome that surrounded the city; while the ground was covered in snow outside inside the dome lush green fields could be seen with the city in the background. All sixty-one of the prisoners were sitting down in the snow, their comfort not the highest priority on the Lieutenant’s mind. She was here to deliver them and the payment then leave, apparently the Crystal Empire was not too friendly to Equestria after an altercation involving Princess Cadence.

All of the guards and changelings looked at the cobbled road that ran to the edge of the dome towards the city, the sound of marching hooves clattering out on the cobbled stone. Sharp Point was a little impressed when ranks of Crystal pony guards marched into view, garbled in dull armour and wielding the deadly-looking axe-spears that the Equestrian guards present at the time of the Diamond dog attack on the city had stated that the Crystal ponies knew how to use to deadly effect.

What shocked the Equestrians and the changelings however was the appearance of what seemed to be changelings in full-metal plate armour, the grey material looking incredibly strong with most of the wearers’ bodies covered completely. These changeling soldiers only had swords slung at their sides, how they held them in battle Sharp Point couldn’t figure out.

What concerned her however was the slight green glow around the horns of the eight changeling soldiers, evidently their swords weren’t the only weapons at their disposal. The column of soldiers halted, numbering over a hundred as they looked at the Equestrians and captive changelings with weapons ready. Tempered Edge noted that both changeling and crystal pony looked at the prisoners with pity, as unbelievable as it seemed they did appear to co-exist. A lone crystal guard walked to the front of the soldiers.

“Presenting His Majesty Emperor Chalmers of the Crystal Empire!” the stallion decreed before the column of soldiers split into two in a seamless maneuver and formed a path in the road. Through the gap emerged an unusual figure, the Emperor going off the announcement and the descriptions of the biped Point had been briefed on before departure.

The biped was wearing what looked like some strange type of pants that minotaur diplomats sometimes wore and nothing else. On his bare and, Sharp Point had to admit, well-muscled chest there was a creepy picture of an unknown creature’s skeleton riding a giant skeleton pony bursting out of a stylized wound in the human’s chest. This wasn’t the strangest feature however.

That was reserved for the changeling, a noble equivalent judging from the eyes, mane and tail which was clinging to the Emperor’s right foreleg with her front hooves. Sharp Point assumed that the changeling was female due to the mane style and the slightly slender body and smaller muzzle. The changeling was using the biped for support as she walked on her hind legs along with him, why she wasn’t letting go of the Emperor Sharp Point couldn’t work out.

Also with the Emperor was a crystal mare with a ruby mane and pearl white coat, the pony walking next to the changeling attached to the human as she looked at the prisoners with concern.

“Greetings Equestrians,” the Emperor welcomed as he stood at the head of his troops, “I see that you have brought me some prisoners as has been arranged as well as payment. This pleases me greatly.” The human puffed out his chest, the Lieutenant’s eyes drawn to the picture on his chest, was it some kind of human cutie mark?

“I… also have this for you sir,” Tempered Edge hesitantly added as she pulled a letter using her wing from a satchel she wore around her neck. She approached the Emperor warily as she held the letter with her wingtips, the human reaching out and taking it from her as soon as she came close. As soon as the Emperor held it in his strange claws Tempered Edge retreated back to her spot, the changeling attached to the Emperor eyeing her with suspicion.

“Thank you soldier,” Emperor Chalmers acknowledged as he tucked the letter into the side of his pants, “I believe that our transaction is over. I expect that you wish to return to your own country so I shan’t keep you.” Sharp Point glanced at the chained creatures who were still staring at the Emperor, his arm-mounted changeling and the crystal guards.

“Are you sure that you can handle them?” the pegasus asked earning a un-impressed look from the Emperor. The human walked over to a changeling guard and unsheathed the changeling’s sword, the changeling and the rest of the crystal guards not reacting as their Emperor took the weapon, walked over to the changeling prisoners and pointed the weapon at them as they huddled back in fear.

“I assure you Equestrians,” the Emperor lectured as the Equestrians backed away from the human, unsure of what he was doing, “these changelings will be imprisoned for at least a month to ensure that they will not escape, you have nothing to fear.”

Tempered Edge couldn’t argue with that, the Equestrians quickly hurrying back to the chariots which they then attached to themselves. They took off into the sky; the guards not attached flying alongside as they made haste back to Equestria. The Emperor watched them until they were out of sight, the captive changelings still watching him with apprehension.

“Are they gone?” the Emperor suddenly asked, one of the guards squinting to look at the departing Equestrians.

“They are sir,” the Crystal pony mare replied, the Emperor lowering the sword point to the ground as he waved over the changeling guard he had retrieved it from.

“Thank you Chatter, while unorthodox it certainly stopped them from asking anymore questions.” The changeling walked over in his armour and nodded, the human placing the sword back into the guard’s scabbard. Chatter glanced at Reflection still clinging to Nigel’s arm before shaking his head and returning his attention back to Chalmers.

“It certainly did work well Emperor,” the changeling agreed before looking at the prisoners, “what about them?” The Emperor looked at the captives, walking up close until he was only a few metres away from them. Noticing that they were still afraid of him, most likely because of the whole imprisonment thing he crouched down to lower his height, in the process dropping Reflection into the snow which did not make her happy at all.

“Hey, watch it!” she growled as she stood back up on her hind legs, shaking the snow off of her, “I’d prefer to stay snow free thank you very much!”

“Then maybe you should just let go then,” Nigel retorted before he faced the captives again, a warm smile on his face. “Sorry for my assistant’s behavior, we are currently in the middle of an important bet that I don’t intend to lose. Now about this month of imprisonment thing,” the changelings recoiled at the mention of more imprisonment, “calm down, that was a lie to get rid of the Equestrians faster. All changelings are welcome in the Crystal Empire.”

The prisoners looked at him curiously as Nigel said this, the biped did seem to be telling the truth, and after all he did have changeling guards and a changeling advisor. The human waved a hand, the guards moving towards their ruler with their halberds at the ready.
“Guards,” the human continued, “break off the chains.” The soldiers obeyed without question, ponies and changelings moving towards the prisoners. With sharp whacks the guard’s weapons cut through the chains with ease due to their enchanted nature. The few changeling troops used their magic to break the chains; evidently the Equestrians had assumed that they didn’t need to provide the keys to the locks.

The prisoners throughout this remained wary but still, the fact that they were being released from their bonds inspired some confidence that they were indeed going to be treated well. Chalmers was a little surprised that chains had even been placed on the nymphs of the group, around twenty of the small creatures glancing at the guards fearfully as the chains came off. Nigel wondered why the Equestrians were so spooked by changelings, sure they had invaded the Equestrian capitol but chaining up children who barely came up to his knee seemed a little extreme for the supposedly pacifist ponies.

Soon all of the captives had been freed, the former prisoners standing up as they glanced at the chains on the ground with disbelief.

“Well, we better go inside to the city,” Nigel stated once all were free, “standing here in the cold is not that pleasant and I’m sure you’re all fairly hungry.” He made a point of looking at the ragged group, all of the changelings looking down at their skinny torsos.

“Are...are you really letting us stay?” one male asked as he stared at Nigel and Reflection.

“Well, considering Reflection is currently holding on to him with an iron grip I’m going to say yes,” Sparkling spoke up as she prodded Reflection’s back with a hoof.

“Sparkling, cut it out!” Reflection complained as the other mare continued her assault, “you’re embarrassing me!” This actually got Sparkling to stop, the other advisor staring at her colleague with incredulity.

“You’re holding onto the Emperor, who is almost naked I might remind you, simply so you can win a bet and you think that what I’m doing is embarrassing?” Sparkling questioned while giving the changeling a strange look. Nigel used his free hand to point at the two mares while they were arguing as he pursed his lips and nodded at the changeling who had asked the question.

“I put up with them don’t I? Now hurry up, as soon as you enter the dome you’ll feel a lot better.” With these words the Emperor turned and walked into the dome, dragging Reflection out of her argument.

“Nigel!” she yelled as her behind bounced along the ground.

“I told you to let go when we were in the bed and you didn’t, if you insist on holding me then take what you get. You can let go anytime you stubborn changeling.”

Sparkling sighed as the two argued, wondering if all love was just a constant battle of wills between the precipitants. Still, she had her duties to do and that included introducing the new arrivals to the Empire. Moving in front of the confused changelings staring at the quarreling lovers Sparkling waved a hoof over her head dramatically.

“Welcome to the Crystal Empire!” she announced sarcastically, “land of order and infinite sense!”

With her announcement out the way she galloped to catch up to the Emperor and Reflection, the guards all following in an relaxed group now that the Equestrians had gone. The changelings were left outside the dome, the creatures sharing puzzled looks at being allowed to roam free before the first one, the male that had spoken to the Emperor, closed his eyes and stepped through the shimmering dome. As he did he seemed to take a deep breath, a joyful smile taking over his features.

“He wasn’t lying!” he exclaimed happily as he beamed at the rest of his fellows. One by one the group entered and they too found that the very air itself seemed filled with hope and love, the creatures pausing for a few moments to absorb their fill. None considered leaving, why would they when they were offered acceptance and food without having to drain it? Many broke into a brisk trot, their energy restored, as they willfully followed their new ruler who was just visible further down the road.

“All of the changelings have been housed and we have a team of officials working on finding suitable employment for them. As expected the citizens have accepted them willingly and I believe that a city party is being planned to celebrate.”

Sparkling finished her report, Nigel on his throne before her as Reflection lay on his lap, still gripping his arm of course. During the day Chalmers had found time to put on pants, the Emperor now wearing one of his blue dress uniforms.

“Great job Sparkling, I think you deserve a reward,” Nigel stated as he pointed to Sparkling’s pillow beside his throne. The mare, wondering just what Chalmers meant by a reward approached and sat down in her seat as the four guards in the room watched on interested. She was about to ask Nigel what her reward was but was cut off as the human’s fingers once again began to scratch.

“How is this so good?” Sparkling questioned blissfully as she sat on her seat. The four guards were very curious about just how good the Emperor’s massage felt, his advisor certainly seemed to enjoy it. After five minutes Nigel pulled his hand away, Sparkling feeling incredibly relaxed and content as she laid down upon her pillow. Nigel was pleased that his assistant was now stress-free, taking the time to withdraw the letter the Equestrian had given him.

“Wonder what’s in there?” Reflection said as she looked at the white envelope with a red seal. Nigel moved the arm that the changeling was holding and opened the seal carefully. The Emperor withdrew a sheet of parchment decorated with gold trim and began to read.

“Greetings Emperor Chalmers, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, rulers of Equestria do formerly invite you to this year’s Grand Galloping Gala held at the Royal Castle in Canterlot in a week’s time. We have sent you two tickets in case you wish to bring along another guest.

In light of your specific titles and position you are permitted to bring along a small personal security detail if you wish, please be assured that the Equestrian Royal Guard will be providing the utmost level of protection.

Due to the distance between your location and Canterlot we are willing to arrange transport to and from the Gala; a chariot will arrive at the edge of your city four hours before sundown on the day of the Gala.

The Princesses do acknowledge your commitments to your city but it is the belief that your presence will help to smooth over any prior disputes with our country and we look forward to your attendance.

Sincerely, Equestria.”

All three beings at the throne mulled over the contents of the letter, two golden tickets falling out of the envelop which landed on Chalmers’s leg. Reflection, still with her mind on the letter absentmindedly moved to pick up the tickets to examine them. She stared at the tickets in her hooves, not realizing that she had just lost the bet between her and Nigel.

“Are you going to go?” she questioned as she looked at Chalmers.

“I guess I will, after all showing up probably will improve relations between Equestria,” the Emperor replied with a shrug as he scrunched up the letter. “Also, to me this ‘Grand Galloping Gala’ sounds like the typical boring ball where they compensate with lots of good food and alcohol for free. How can I turn down an offer for free booze?” Sparkling stared at the two golden tickets, the mare actually wanting to attend the gala and meet equestrians that aren’t guards or royalty.

“Who will you take with you?” she asked attempting to keep the hope out of her voice. Considering that Nigel was seeing Reflection Sparkling dejectedly assumed that he would choose the changeling as a date.

“Well, I was going to take Reflection,” Nigel answered, Sparkling’s heart sinking at the news. She had really wanted to go but she knew that Chalmers would take Reflection along. “But I am the Emperor of the Crystal Empire,” Chalmers continued, “so you can come too if you want, if they complain I’ll just give you a knife or a sharp quill and claim that you’re a body guard.” Sparkling’s eyes lit up with the response, the Emperor furrowing his brows before raising both hands in the air. “Actually, screw it, I’m the Emperor of the Crystal Empire! I do what I want so if they say I can only bring one guest they can cry for all I care, forget the previous excuses Sparkling, you’re coming whether the Equestrians like it or not.”

“I don’t really want to go Nigel,” Reflection stated as she placed the tickets into one or Nigel’s pockets, “Parties aren’t really my thing.” Chalmers grinned and Reflection noticed that both of the Emperor’s arms were free, the changeling looking down at her empty hooves as she realized that she had lost their bet.

“Guess what my wish is Reflection?” Nigel asked as the changeling raised a hoof to protest. She stopped herself though, her hoof lowering. She did make a deal and Nigel did win, fair was fair so the changeling gave a slow nod of acceptance.

“Fine… I’ll go but I can’t promise that I’ll enjoy it,” she mumbled, Chalmers rolling his eyes at her sourness as he rubbed her head with a hand.

“You’re acting like the Equestrians won’t treat me like a villain as well,” Nigel informed as he started to stroke the changeling’s back to comfort her, “do you really think that the Princesses will be more worried about one changeling versus the guy who killed things in front of them? You’ll have guards and if anyone gives you crap I’ll set them straight myself.” Reflection sighed as sat up on Chalmers’s lap, resting her head against his shoulder.

“I guess you’re right,” she conceded as the back-stroking continued, her wings giving a little flutter every time Nigel’s hand ran between them.

“Also,” Nigel followed up, “I’ll probably be away for a day and the night, now you’ll get to spend it with me!” this last line of attack worked, the changeling smiling at the reminder. Sparkling was ignoring the exchange between the two, focused on trying to figure out in her mind one problem that had been overlooked.

“Who will rule the Empire in your absence if I go as well?” Sparkling’s question was waved off by Nigel, the Emperor still showering Reflection with attention.

“Strategy can handle things by himself; the good captain has proven himself to be steadfast in even the most trying times. With all of the ministers as well everything will be fine, considering how well the Empire has gone since I took over I have full trust with him.” Sparkling only had time to nod before the throne room doors opened and the first wave of petitioners of the afternoon court began to enter. Nigel fixed his advisor with a reassuring smile, “everything will be fine and you need some time off.”

With those words the conversation ended, Reflection still not moving from Nigel’s lap with the Emperor not showing any signs of making her. Sparkling happily sat up on her spot as some nobles approached the throne, the mare looking forward to the end of the week.

Author's Note

Well, more *shudder* character development and backstory has been squared away, one must wonder why the Emperor is suddenly acting a lot more friendly with Reflection and Sparkling?

Next chapter is sure to be interesting, Nigel at a party in Canterlot with a changeling date? That's sure to pass without any major incedent, right?
Isn't it strange how Luna and Celestia invited him to the Gala? Do they prehaps have different motives apart from being blessed with Nigel's charming presence?

This Year's Gala Better Not Be Like The Last...

“Calm down Reflection,” spoke Chalmers as he adjusted the changeling’s golden necklace so that the emerald set in the pendent was in the center of her chest. He had ordered the jewelry from one of the local jewelers as a gift for Reflection; the Emperor had hoped that the necklace would help ease the changeling’s concerns about the Gala. It hadn’t worked; since Nigel, Reflection and Sparkling had boarded the Equestrian chariot with their three guards the changeling had been growing increasingly nervous. Her wings fluttered and she constantly shifted in her dark green dress while Chalmers and Sparkling, the crystal mare in her own crimson dress, tried in vain to calm Reflection’s nerves.

“How can I calm down?” Reflection questioned as she tapped her front hooves together from where she laid on the red seat in-between the Emperor and Sparkling. “I’m about to trot into the palace that my race tried to invade a month ago, a palace filled with Equestrians who will hate me for what we did!” the advisor became more frantic, Chalmers sighing and pulling her close to him as he tried to banish her fears.

“This again,” he replied as he stroked her mane with a white-gloved hand, “look, nothing I can say can change what will happen. You won’t be alone though, I’ll be right next to you the entire time and Private Gilded over there,” Nigel nodded towards the golden-coated Crystal Guard stallion sitting opposite him receiving a nod in return, “is under orders to protect you from anything. Don’t forget that Private Chatter is also a changeling, so he’ll be under just as much scrutiny as you.”

Reflection rotated her head from its spot resting against the Emperor’s black-uniformed leg, the advisor looking at the changeling in his metal armour as he lay opposite Sparkling. The soldier met her stare with a re-assuring smile, Reflection’s frown lifting a little bit.

“Besides,” Nigel continued, “if the Equestrians get really carried away then I’ll just smack a noble on the rump or something which should divert attention from you.” The guards and Sparkling looked at the Emperor in shock at this; the scary thing was that they knew that he would do it to. Reflection however reacted differently, the changeling’s fear disappearing as she glared at Chalmers.

“Oh no you won’t, you’ve only done that to me once and you’re certainly not going to do it to some pony noble!” Reflection fumed, the changeling sitting up on her rump so she could poke the Emperor in the chest with both of her forelegs. Her attack was swiftly countered however when Chalmers wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, Reflection squeaking in surprise before melting into the embrace. “I love you,” she mumbled through the black cloth of Nigel’s clothes.

“Am I the only one who is confused at that!?” Sparkling burst out as she tried to comprehend the sudden change of the mood that the human and changeling had gone through. The guard sitting in the middle, Sergeant Opel Blitz, was also looking at the pair strangely.

“At least you don’t have to guard the Emperor tonight,” Blitz commented only for her eyes to widen as she realized what that insinuated. “I mean the stress is pretty high with guarding the Emperor!” She added hastily, her sword’s scabbard clinking against her armour as she sat up on her rump and waved her front hooves in an attempt to diffuse the situation. The Emperor looked at her sternly, the guard beginning to sweat under her armour.

“Nice save,” Nigel suddenly complimented as he broke out in a grin, Blitz sighing in relief when the Emperor seemed not to mind her outburst. “How’s Flora doing?” Chalmers asked, the sudden topic change catching Opal off-guard.

“Uh, she’s doing fine,” Blitz replied as both of the Emperor’s advisors looked at her curiously, “she’s staying at one of her friend’s house, she’s talking normally to ponies now so I hope the worst is over.”

“Are you going to keep her?” Nigel replied, Blitz’s expression dropping.

“I’d love to, Flora’s a really good filly and I treat her like my own but I went down to the library the other day. I looked over the adoption laws and since I’m a single mare employed in the guard I can’t keep her in case I don’t come home, leaving her without a guardian.” Opal almost looked like she was going to cry, a chuckle from Chalmers causing her to look at the cheery Emperor.

“Guess what I remembered,” he asked, everyone gazing at him waiting for an answer. “I’m the Emperor,” he continued, “I decree that you shall be allowed to adopt Flora as in doing so you are technically preforming a service to the Empire. Also from now on ‘Bugger it, I’m the Emperor so I do what I want’ is my catchphrase, so there’s two reasons to celebrate.” Opal smiled a thankful grin at her ruler, the mare just managing to restrain herself from racing over and hugging the human partly because it would be unprofessional and also because Lady Reflection would most likely try to fight her because of it.

“Thank you Emperor, that means a lot to me and Flora as well,” Blitz acknowledged, Chalmers waving a gloved-hand in the air.
“What’s the point of having power if you don’t use it to better the lives of your subjects?” Nigel replied calmly, “besides it’s not a big ask and in the very unlikely and unwelcome event that you die in the immediate future then it’s not like we won’t be able to find her a place to stay, after all-“

“Yes, you are the Emperor and you do what you want,” Reflection interrupted from beside Nigel as she rolled her eyes. Nigel quickly moved a hand and playfully rubbed the changeling’s right ear, Reflection humming contentedly as the ear rub intensified.

“While Reflection may need to consider that mocking me when she’s aiming to get into my pants will probably not help her cause she is correct in that I can make it happen.” The changeling reluctantly pulled her head away as Nigel’s massaging increased.

“No more head rubs, you’ll mess up my mane,” she explained as she compensated by rubbing Chalmers’s thigh with a hoof. The Emperor ignored the contact as he looked at her with surprise.

“You, caring about how you look?” he questioned, the changeling flicking her head as she sat up with a straight back to mimic the human,

“if I must suffer through the indignity of sharing a room with such uncouth Equestrians then at the very least I aim to be more beautiful than them all,” Reflection stated in a mock posh accent as she raised her muzzle in the air,

“I must say my exquisite companion that I believe that you shall indeed be most visually stunning upon your entrance to this quaint little ball,” Chalmers continued the play in a nasally voice as he also raised his nose to the chariot roof, “such an enchanting grace is only fitting for a gentleman of my grand stature.” Both maintained their poses for a few seconds before bursting out into laughter at the same time, all tension gone from the chariot as the laughter continued.

“It’s like they’re made for each other…” Sparkling whispered in awe as the changeling paused laughing to nuzzle the Emperor who returned it to the best of his ability.

“Oh no, a female Nigel,” her guard, Chatter, replied worriedly. The couple being watched by Sparkling and the guards completely oblivious to the attention they were receiving. Sparkling wondered just how the guard knew the Emperor, looking back on the human’s casual banter with the changeling as he was selected to guard her she recalled that they seemed to have some prior history.

Everyone looked out the windows as the chariot started to descend, even the Emperor and Reflection stopping their affections to glance outside.

As she gazed out Sparkling could see rows of buildings in a city smaller than the Crystal City, a stone castle appearing to be their destination. The chariot soared over streets and alleys, a large crowd of ponies in fancy clothes growing larger as the chariot approached the front doors of the castle, the pegasi-pulled transport banking to land in a courtyard next to many other chariots all coloured white with gold trimming like theirs. A unicorn dressed like a butler approached, obviously intending to open the door to allow them out as two earth ponies rolled out a red carpet leading to the main doors.

“Showtime,” Chalmers muttered before glancing down at Reflection, “are you ready?” The changeling looked at him with a grin as she flicked her mane out one last time.

“Of course,” she answered confidently, the unicorn butler opening the chariot door.

“Thank you for coming, enjoy the Gala.”

The pair of unicorn nobles bowing in front of Celestia stood back up, their sugar-laden replies soaring over Celestia’s head. She was worried about Luna, glancing over to her sister next to her she saw that the blue alicorn was shifting constantly in her silver shoes. Luna had been sullen all week and had refused to tell Celestia what was wrong. She had heard however from a few palace staff that during the night court earlier in the week Luna had collapsed in her throne.

All Luna had said was that she had been surprised by someone’s bad dream, Celestia wondering if her Sister had attempted to access the slumbering human’s mind. The Sun Princess had dropped the issue, Luna would talk when she was ready and Celestia couldn’t be certain that the dream that she mentioned belonged to the Crystal Emperor. Luna’s apprehension did seem to have increased since a chariot was sent to the Crystal Empire though.

Celestia caught Luna’s eye and smiled re-assuredly, her sister giving a thankful look in return as she stood up a little taller. Celestia turned back to the ponies lined up at the stairs awaiting for her to welcome them. There were far more than the last Gala, after the mishaps caused partly by her student and her friends less of the nobility had opted to attend, allowing Celestia to invite far more of her ‘normal’ subjects like she had always wanted.

Twilight Sparkle and her friends were here once again, this time they had helped set up the party and while a few additions, notably the ones from the element of laughter, seemed a bit odd it was all in good fun. The dull nobility needed to cheer up a bit anyway in her opinion.

Celestia continued to greet the party goers before they entered the main ball area, Luna hanging back and merely nodding at the ponies, receiving cautious bows in return. A commotion from the main doors drew both princesses’ attention, one of the butlers charged with welcoming VIPs rushing up to the stairs before bowing before Celestia.

“Princess, the Emperor of the Crystal Empire and his retinue have arrived.” The grey stallion announced. Celestia and the butler failed to notice just how pale Luna had turned at the mention of the Emperor’s arrival.

“Very good,” Celestia replied with anxiety hidden behind a warm smile, “show them in, foreign leaders enter straight away remember?” The stallion looked up at her with brown eyes, the butler wearing an expression of concern.

“I would Princess, but it would seem as if the Emperor has only two tickets but has brought two guests including himself. We tried to reason with him but…”

“What happened?” Celestia sighed.

“He stated that, and I quote, ‘I am the Emperor of the Crystal Empire and I wish to bring both of my advisors, if you don’t like it then I’ll take my Nazi gold and leave’.”

“…What?” Celestia asked again, the alicorn narrowing her eyes in confusion before she shook her head. “Never mind, if he wants to bring both of his advisors then let him, it’s not worth the trouble to deny that.” The butler nodded at her suggestion. “Any more issues regarding the Emperor?”

“In addition the Emperor’s guards are well-armed.”

“That is expected from an Emperor,” Celestia began, ‘Especially one like him.’ “And he was given permission to bring his own security with him; I assure you that it is all approved. Please, bring him up to me immediately so I can welcome him straight away.”
“About that my Princess,” the stallion continued, “a few of his retinue are-“

“Changelings?” Celestia interrupted, the butler nodding his head. “The same applies to them,” the white alicorn responded, “their attendance was expected and there are adequate guards to ensure that nothing goes wrong, now if there is nothing else can you please escort the Emperor to me.” The stallion swallowed a lump in his throat, what he was about to say next would yield unpredictable responses.

“The thing is your Highness,” the butler continued, Celestia raising an eyebrow at him, what was the problem this time? “The Emperor… refused to cut in line.”

“…What?” Celestia questioned once again, the sheer unpredictability of the action ruffling her normally calm exterior.
“He claims that ‘it’s not polite’ and that he hates it when ‘Tossers’ do it to him. The Emperor stated that if he had to wait in line then that was okay with him.”

“Okay then,” the Princess replied as she returned to a motherly smile, “if that is what he wishes then we should take no action to change that, good work Welcome Mat, you may go now.”

“Thank you Princess,” the butler responded, giving one last quick bow before hurriedly moving into the crowd of waiting ponies. Celestia continued to greet her party guests, both Princesses awaiting the arrival of their Crystal Empire counterpart with differing levels of worry as the line grew shorter and shorter.

Reflection stood next to Nigel, the changeling leaning up against him as she anxiously tried to avoid the multiple stares and whispers that they were the subject of. What probably didn’t help was Nigel’s tall height compared to everyone else around him, the fact that there were two changelings and also the very intimidating halberds that each guard was carrying. The three guards had all remained still despite the many Equestrian Royal guard eying them with wary gazes. Sparkling was looking around at the many ponies in all of their different cloths with an almost child-like wonder.

Nigel had taken it upon himself to meet every concerned gaze and return fire with a disarming smile and wave. Reflection glanced up at him, slightly awed at how well he was coping with all of the attention. The reminder that he was right next to her enduring the same stares she was bolstered her confidence, the changeling attempting to do the same thing that the Emperor was doing but every time she smiled at an Equestrian they quickly turned away.

Eventually she gave up trying to smile; instead she just looked down at her silver-shoes and moved forward whenever the line moved. As she waited and walked she went over in her head all of the mis-haps that could happen that night, her previous confidence from back at the chariot having dissipated.

Soon however she found herself at the foot of the stairs, glancing up she found the studying stare of Princess Celestia focused firmly on her and Nigel. Princess Luna on the other hoof appeared to be trying to avoid looking at them, the midnight alicorn very uncomfortable. Reflection swallowed a lump in her throat as the group arrived at the two Princesses.

“Welcome Emperor Chalmers, I’m so glad that you could make it,” Celestia greeted with a smile, Reflection not detecting a trace of anything except warmth. Still, she doubted that the Alicorn was that happy to see them given her experiences when she had visited the Crystal Empire.

“Well I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a free party,” Nigel replied back with a smile, the human causing a small grin to show on Reflection’s face despite her anxiety. Celestia allowed herself a small chuckle as she lifted a white wing towards Princess Luna.

“Probably the best reason I’ve heard tonight,” the Princess responded, “I would like to introduce my Sister, Princess Luna.”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance Princess,” Nigel said as he greeted Luna, the Princess appearing to struggle to meet his gaze.

“Likewise,” came the response, the Princess neglecting to say anything else. Chalmers kept up his grin but Reflection noticed a slight eyebrow twitch from the human. Celestia gave her sister a strange look before turning back to the group, Reflection finding the ruler’s gaze landing in her.

“Miss Reflection, it’s rather pleasant to see you again,” Celestia commented, “I must say that you look stunning, I see that the Emperor encourages his advisors to look their best.”

“Actually Princess,” Reflection started nervously as she struggled to maintain eye contact with the alicorn, “I’m not here as an advisor, I’m here… I’m here-“

“She’s here as my date,” Nigel interrupted to save Reflection from having to break the news. Celestia’s look was one that the changeling was unable to place, Reflection was unsure if the Princess was disturbed or just surprised. It mustn’t have been that much of a shock, after all the Princess had walked in on them with their mouths together during her visit to the Empire.

“Oh, I see,” Celestia responded, “I hope the night goes well for you.” The alicorn glanced towards Sparkling standing on Nigel’s left. “You as well Miss…?”

“Sparkling Scroll your Highness,” the second advisor answered, “I’m the Emperor’s personal assistant.”

“A great one as well,” Chalmers chipped in much to Sparkling’s embarrassment. The Emperor looked behind them through the halberds at the line of ponies extending out the door. “We should probably get going so most of your guests can get in, we should talk later.” With a final nod the human moved past the Princesses receiving nods in return, his retinue following him into a bustling ballroom.

The respectful quiet of the entryway changed to the bustle of a ball in full swing, there must have been close to two-hundred Equestrians already enjoying the party. All around the lavishly decorated area there were ponies in top hats, suits, flowing dresses and other beautiful clothing sampling assorted food from large tables, retrieving a multitude of drinks from the bar and waiters as well as dancing to the music provided by the orchestra set up in the back-left corner.

“Well then,” Nigel said as he glanced down at Reflection, “let us mingle.” The human began to walk towards the main area, however he stopped when he noticed that Reflection was not following him. Chalmers turned around and gave her a questioning look, the guards and Sparkling also waiting for the changeling.

Reflection was staring out at the other party-goers, so far the group had escaped their notice but it was only a matter of time. She was so caught up in worry that she jumped in surprise when she felt her left silver-clad forehoof lift up. Looking towards her side she saw that Nigel held it in his gloved-hand, the human once again giving her a reassuring smile. Reflection closed her eyes and took a breath, when she opened them she nodded.

“That sounds like a plan.”

With a hoof in Nigel’s hand she walked with him, the human aiding her as she trotted on three legs. Due to a combination of Nigel’s height, their armed guards and their species the two quickly drew looks and whispers. Chalmers either didn’t notice or care as he strolled towards the bar, ponies moving out of the way of the biped and changeling. The three guards and Sparkling followed behind, the heavily-armoured changeling in particular attracting looks of awe and fear with his armoured form and halberd attached to the side of his armour.

Upon reaching the bar the Emperor halted in front of a suddenly free bartender, the soft-pink unicorn mare incredibly nervous. Looking at her red and gold vest Nigel and Reflection saw that she was named ‘Chardonnay’, the Emperor towering over the bar counter.
“I’ll have just a… red wine thank you,” Nigel ordered after glancing at the list on the side of the bar before he squeezed Reflection’s hoof. “What do you want Reflection, the same?” Reflection had never really had much alcohol, she knew that it affected changelings just like ponies but she had never seen the appeal. Regardless, there was no time like the present and maybe a drink would help calm her nerves.

“Yes thank you, I’ll have one as well,” she answered, the bartender seemingly unable to decide which creature she was more afraid of. The unicorn quickly got to work when they ordered however, her pink magic pouring a bottle of red wine into two skinny glasses which seemed designed to be able to fit in the crock of a pony’s hoof. As she placed them before the pair Nigel reached into a pants pocket and withdrew something from inside. Reflection watched as he moved his hand to the mare’s vest pocket, the bartender frozen with fear as the hand moved closer to her. The changeling caught the brief image and flash of a small diamond before it was placed inside the vest pocket of the unicorn.

“Forgive me,” Chalmers commented as the mare looked down into her pocket in surprise at the very, very generous tip, “but I find coins so bothersome to carry around, don’t spend it all on booze now you hear.” He lifted his glass off the bar and went to grab Reflections for here but stopped when a dark-green glow grasped the wine glass and moved it over towards the changeling. He stared at Reflection as her horn glowed the same colour as the field around the stem of the glass, the changeling taking a small sip of the wine before noticing the look the human was giving her.

“Oh, I guess I never told you that I could do this, did I?” she asked, Nigel shrugging and taking a sip of his own wine.
“I knew that changelings could do ‘basic’ magic from what you told me, you just never have used it yourself so I guess I’m just a little surprised.” Reflection grinned and moved her hoof which the Emperor was gripping so that Nigel’s hand rested in the crook, the changeling pressing her hoof down in a grasp.

“It just means that I don’t have to let go to drink,” she replied light-heartedly, Chalmers chuckling softly.

“I wouldn’t want to change that for you. Come on, I want to see if these ponies do any good cheeses.” Reflection giggled at his priorities as she took another sip, the wine was actually pretty good. Chalmers searched for Sparkling, the mare was sitting down at the bar on a stool while Chatter stood guard by her side. Sparkling was sipping a brightly coloured drink in a tall glass, no pony coming within two metres of the armed changeling standing beside her.

“Sparkling?” Nigel questioned, gaining his advisor’s attention. “Is it okay with you if we head off towards the buffet?” The Crystal mare nodded as she finished a sip of her drink.

“That’s fine by me sir, I’ve got Private Chatter here with me after all.” The Emperor grinned at her, his mood incredibly relaxed tonight.
“Thanks and remember, don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do,” he replied before he walked off with Reflection and their two guards towards the crowded food tables. Sparkling considered her words as she turned back to her drink, the tropical cocktail one of the best drinks she’d tasted.

‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,’ she mused, ‘so does that mean that I’ve just been given free rein to do anything?’

“Hey Twilight, isn’t that critter the Emperor of the Crystal Empire over there?”

Twilight and her five friends turned away from their conversation as Applejack pointed a hoof towards a tall biped dressed in a black suit holding onto the ebony hoof of a pony in an emerald dress browsing the suddenly vacated food table. Twilight examined the creature, determining that it did indeed look like the Emperor that Princess Celestia had warned her not to talk to if she could avoid it.

Why the Princess had said such a thing Twilight couldn’t figure out, it wasn’t as if she was going to bombard him with questions about just why he thought that he could take the Empire away from Princess Cadence who was its rightful ruler.

Okay, so she may have wanted to ask a few, tiny questions but they also included ones about his species and culture so it wasn’t all bad, right?

Twilight refocused on the situation at hoof however as her ‘Rainbow Dash is about to do something Rash’ sense tingled, the cyan pegasus as she hovered in the air eying the pony holding the Emperor’s claw narrowing her eyes,

“That’s not a mare, that’s a changeling!” Dash proclaimed as she zoomed off towards the pair with her rainbow gala dress from last year fluttering behind her.

“Rainbow wait! Celestia already said that changelings live in the Crystal Empire!” Twilight called out to no avail, her friend already halfway towards the pair with no signs of stopping.

“Why do I keep coming to these?” Twilight mumbled before looking at the rest of her worried friends. “Come on girls, we better stop Dash before she starts an international incident. Wait, where’s Pinkie gone?” the four remaining ponies searched around for the party pony, Twilight eventually spotting the pink mare over by…

The buffet table.

“Oh no,” the unicorn said in a soft voice, galloping off towards the confrontation with her friends following behind her hastily. They arrived just in time to witness Dash put her face right in front of the changeling’s, the surprised bug jolting in fright before the Emperor noticed just what was going on. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack stopped running and stared at the impending confrontation along with a vast number of surrounding ponies.

“Can we help you Miss?” the Emperor asked calmly, one claw holding onto the scared changeling while the other was holding onto a slice of cheese that he had just cut from a large wheel.

“Yeah,” Dash replied as her wings continued to beat while she maintained her close proximity to the changeling, “you can help by explaining just why there’s a changeling standing right next to you!” The statement drew more and more onlookers, Twilight not too sure what to do.

“Twilight dear,” Rarity whispered, “should we, well, do something?”

“I don’t know Rarity,” Applejack added, “While Dash is acting mighty rude I think that she has a point, however I’m more worried about that Emperor than that changeling. Something about him just doesn’t sit right with me.”

Fluttershy remained quiet, the pegasus watching Rainbow and hoping that her friend would calm down. The four, divided on what to do just continued to watch as the Emperor pulled the changeling a little closer.

“Reflection is standing next to me because she is my date for the evening,” the biped stated, the information drawing varying gasps of astonishment, curiosity and even some disgust from a few Equestrians. “I would very much appreciate it if you would back up a little bit and respect her personal space.” Rainbow narrowed her eyes before she moved back a metre, her wings folding to her sides as she stood on her hooves facing the pair.

“And just why are you with a changeling?” Dash leaned her head forward to squint at the biped, “are you a spy here to help her invade again!?” Twilight sighed; Rainbow’s insistence that everyone she hadn’t met were spies was getting pretty tiring. The Emperor popped the piece of cheese into his mouth, showing a flash of sharp white teeth before using his now free hand to rub the changeling’s back. Two guards armored in in Crystal armor and carrying long axe-tipped spears by their sides moved to step between Dash and the Emperor, however they were halted with a look from the human.

“I chose her as a date because I can, your misperceptions about her intentions here are a little insulting in fact. Also, it’s not like there is a plethora of human females on this planet so it was either her or a pony, and I’ll be honest I’m confident that I’ve made the right choice.” The changeling lost some of her terror at the human’s words, the creature looking up at him with a joyful smile. Dash appeared a little mollified; the Emperor was not done however.

“As for the ‘I’m a spy’ accusation you’re actually correct, I am a spy of sorts. However I highly doubt that my employers would stand to gain anything from depositing me on this planet to conduct espionage operations against a nation of sapient equines, I’d like to think that my time is worth more than that.”

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Dash’s fire returned as she flew up to the Emperor’s face, her pink eyes meeting his blue ones as the changeling and ponies watched on with worry. “Are we not good enough for you to spy on; is that what you’re saying?” The human’s gaze didn’t waver, however a slight grin graced his alien face.

“Oh no, not at all. It’s just that your nation doesn’t pose a threat to the humans I work for, believe me, that’s something that you want.”

“Not a threat?” Rainbow raised her forelegs up and made a boxing motion to the side while looking at the Emperor.

The human didn’t batch an eye, instead he quickly picked up the cheese knife that was embedded into the wheel of cheese, flicking it over so that the blade was held in his claw before throwing it over the heads of everyone towards a wall where it impaled on a ‘pin-the-tail’ poster the Pinkie had been putting up. All onlookers stared at the flung knife, having landed right on the spot where the tail was supposed to go. Pinkie, having been preoccupied by trying to attach the game’s fluffy tail to her own behind looked to the tail in her hooves and back to the knife.

“Hey, that’s not a tail!” she gasped as if all of the laws of the universe had just collapsed. Rainbow slowly turned back to the Emperor with her prior bravado extinguished. The human smirked at her before picking up another slice of cheese. The changeling beside him was trying to stifle a giggle while the two guards watched their ruler warily as Equestrian royal guards attempted to push through the stunned crowd to reach the biped.

“Now,” the human continued smugly, “if you would kindly leave us be I would appreciate it greatly, it certainly would help to prevent any more unfortunate incidents.” The Emperor continued to stare at the pegasus, Twilight however finally snapped into action, the unicorn levitating Rainbow Dash away while grinning awkwardly at the human.

“Come on Dash, I need your help with… something,” she provided as she removed Dash from the human’s presence as the biped turned to placate the Royal Guards inquiring as to why he felt the need to throw a knife.

Twilight and her friends, Pinkie having joined them suddenly with a tail attached to the side of the dress, moved Dash way from the crowd still observing the human’s antics as the pegasus started to struggle in Twilight’s magical hold.

“Hey, let me down!”

Twilight let go of Dash, the pegasus landing on the ground.

“Rainbow Dash, what were you thinking!?” Twilight asked as she glanced at the human conversing with two Royal guards. “Why did you go and do that, do you not remember the Princess telling us that changelings live in the Crystal Empire and that is was likely that the Emperor would bring some!?” An embarrassed chuckle from Rainbow answered the question for her.

“Uh, well Twi, the Princess was getting pretty boring during her big speech so I kind of… zoned out half-way through.” Rainbow offered a wide grin in the hopes that Twilight would forgive her. Twilight however seemed to be doing deep breathing exercises, eventually calming down enough to reply.

“Alright, I guess I could have seen that coming. It still doesn’t change the fact that you almost started a fight with an Emperor! An Emperor who threw a knife into a target from a hundred hooves away and who Celestia said led an army to fight Diamond dogs!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie chipped in as she jumped into the conversation… literally. “I mean he didn’t even use the tail! Who doesn’t know how to play ‘pin the tail on the pony’? It’s the most fun-er-ific game in the history of fun! I know, I’ll go over and teach him how to play it as well!”
Pinkie made to bounce off towards the human before being halted by Applejack, the farm pony firmly holding Pinkie’s tail in her teeth.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea Pinkie,” Applejack said through clenched teeth as Pinkie stopped mid-air, drawing almost as much attention as the human did. “He don’t seem like the fellow to enjoy those sort of things. We should probably leave him alone for now.”

“Hmmmm,” Pinkie said as she rubbed her chin with a forehoof, “so he’s like a Cranky-Doody-Dandy then, okie-doki!” She landed upon all four hooves, Applejack letting go of her tail as Pinkie agreed to leave the biped alone.

“Your right there Pinkie,” Dash agreed as she ruffled her wings, “he’s cranky alright.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity lectured after giving a few noblemares a polite nod, “you did insult his date, defending her was the expected reaction from that Gentlecolt he seems to be. I personally don’t like changelings either but he, and the Crystal Ponies I might add, obviously do like them. The changeling as well, ‘Reflection’ I think her name was, also has a stunning outfit. Did you see that lovely necklace she was wearing? Back to the Emperor however, judging from his attitude and actions towards you he was quite restrained -“

“Restrained!?” Rainbow spluttered in surprise. “He threw a knife at me!”

“Um, actually Rainbow, he threw the knife past you,” Fluttershy spoke up gaining the attention of her friends, “but I agree that he seems a bit strange. I mean, when Rainbow was arguing with him did you see his guards?” Everypony except Rainbow Dash thought back to the incident.

“Yeah,” Applejack answered, “they looked pretty worried about what Rainbow was going to do.”

“Not Rainbow,” Fluttershy responded quietly, “they were worried about what he was going to do.”

This revelation drew their gazes to the Emperor once more, the human was chatting with the changeling as they drank from their glasses. The two guards, a stallion and mare, had stepped closer to the pair and a wide circle was formed around them by the crowd. Everypony kept glancing at the two, especially when the Emperor said something that seemed to worry the changeling. The biped leant down on his long legs and gave the changeling a quick kiss on the lips, increasing the murmurs from the onlookers. He then stood up, took her empty glass and headed to the bar with the guardmare following him behind leaving the changeling and what they assumed to be her guard alone at the buffet table.

“You talk to her.”

“Why don’t you do it?”

“What, and go past that changeling? It’s got a spear-axe!”

“So it’s okay for me to do it!?”

Chatter sighed as yet another pair of stallions debated on approaching Sparkling Scroll, the mare so engrossed in the orchestra playing that she didn’t notice pretty much every stallion in the room eyeing her appraisingly. The guard shifted in his armour, thankfully the padded interior was quite comfortable so wearing it for so long was bearable.

His charge, the advisor watching the cello solo with awe, was almost as popular as the musicians themselves. Her shiny pearl coat and ruby mane drew stallions like bees to honey, Sparkling’s dress and golden shoes only enhancing her figure more. Chatter himself had fallen into the trap, the changeling finding himself watching his VIP with something more than just a professional interest.

The flowing mane was enchanting, the way that she walked and her fascination with everything around her really drew Chatter’s interest. He sighed a little as the music continued to play, all of the stallions too afraid to approach her due to his presence. The piece playing drew to a close, Sparkling sitting on her rump and tapping her hooves together like the Equestrians around them to show her approval. Chatter was so absorbed in his own thoughts that when the mare asked him a question he completely missed it.

“I’m sorry, what was that ma’am?” he asked, Sparkling smiling at him as she stood up.

“I asked whether you enjoyed the music,” Sparkling inquired, her voice sounding a little slurred. Chatter had noticed that she had been very keen to try all of the different Equestrian cocktails. “And don’t call me ma’am, just call me Sparkling.”

“Oh, it was very nice… Sparkling,” Chatter responded, rolling Sparkling’s name around on his tongue. The mare beamed at him and looked around, spotting the numerous Equestrians around them staring at them.

“Well, I guess we’re popular,” she whispered, the advisor beginning to walk over to the main dance floor. Chatter followed as was his duty, the changeling forming a cone of space as he followed Sparkling while she made her way through the crowd. The mare stopped at the edge, the square marked out by lines. Ponies, both in couples, groups and solitary were dancing in the square already, Sparkling moving out to join them. Chatter advanced and halted at the edge, the changeling making sure to keep eyes on the advisor at all times. He was given plenty of room by the party goers observing the dancers, more loos of fear and suspicion directed at him as she stood still.

Chatter wondered just how the Equestrians would react if they knew just what the Emperor was like when he was angry, would that change how they viewed changelings as well? He guessed that it wouldn’t matter, it had seemed that with the invasion they had destroyed any hope of co-existence with the equines. He smiled under his helmet, at least the Crystal ponies were really nice, it was a true boon for the changeling race that the Emperor had allowed them to stay.

Speaking of the Emperor Chatter spared a second to glance around for the human, while it wasn’t his direct responsibility to guard the human he still felt the need to check on the ruler’s wellbeing. Granted, after the show with the cheese-knife earlier the guard doubted that anyone would give Chalmers trouble.

He spotted the biped, his height and distinctive black cloths making him easy to see at the bar as he ordered more drinks. Chatter was a little surprised to not see Lady Reflection with him, after all at the rate that the Emperor and Reflection were going he wouldn’t be surprised if she became a lot more active in the ruling procedure. Turning back around to the dance floor the changeling guard felt his heart drop.

There was no sight of Sparkling at all.

Throwing caution to the wind the armoured guard rushed onto the dance floor with his armour clinking lightly. Ponies scrambled out of his way as he searched for his charge, every group of dancers was investigated and a swift evacuation from the floor resulted.

“Hey, watch it!”

Sparkling’s voice rang out from the center of the area, a mass of ponies fleeing as the changeling rushed over to investigate.
He found the mare on the ground, evidently having been knocked over during a pony’s rush to leave. Her tipsy state probably didn’t help matters.

“Are you okay?” Chatter inquired as he offered the mare a metal-clad hoof, the advisor grasping the limb and lifting herself up with the guard’s aid. While standing she tilted a little, Sparkling shaking her head to little effect.

“I guess, I feel a little dizzy though,” Sparkling replied. Chatter searched for somewhere to let the mare recover away from the stares. He spotted a padded bench at the back of the room, the lights hanging from the ceiling casting the area in shadows. He moved closer the Sparkling to steady her but when he did the mare threw a foreleg across his back as she used him for support.

Chatter’s face heated up, having to remind himself that he had to adhere to his duty and ensure her safety. Helping her walk, the two headed to the red-cushioned bench. They left the stares behind, the ponies moving back onto the dancing area with the incident already forgotten. As they reached the bench Sparkling sat down awkwardly, Chatter noticing that she had a silly grin on her face as she tried to imitate the way the Emperor sat.

“Heh, this isn’t that hard at all-“ she was proved wrong as she toppled onto her side, hitting the bench with a soft plop. She giggled as she righted herself, “I guess I’ve had a little bit to drink, haven’t I? I couldn’t help it, those cocktails were so yummy!” Sparkling almost toppled over again, Chatter reaching out a foreleg to steady her as she swayed on the spot.

“It’s okay, there’s a first time for everything after all!” Chatter replied with a chuckle, not noticing the mare studying him with lidded eyes.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Sparkling muttered, “why don’t you sit down, I still feel a bit woozy.” Chatter hesitated at the request; while unorthodox he guessed that it was within the scope of his orders from the Emperor. He sat down with care; the fact that he achieved it clad in his armour was testament to the skill of the Crystal Empire armorers. He felt Sparkling lean up against his left side as they looked out upon the ballroom, no-pony had noticed them in the secluded spot.

“So,” she continued, “you’ve got nice armour.” Chatter was a little confused at this, had she only just noticed or was it just the alcohol playing with her mind?

“Uh, thanks?” he answered unsurely, the mare moving one of her hooves to play with the grip of the halberd at his side.

“Does that helmet have a face thing that lets you open it up?” Sparkling asked, Chatter shaking his head.

“No, we have to remove the entire helmet,” he answered as he lifted it off to show her, the changeling placing it by his right side when it was fully removed. “You see, while a face-plate on hinges would be useful I was told th-“

Chatter was cut off by an obstruction in his open mouth, the changeling’s body freezing as the pony he was supposed to protect, one of the Emperor’s closest advisors and friends, kissed him passionately. He remained frozen for a few seconds before the mare pulled away, Sparkling giggling as his dumb-struck expression.

“Well, you did say ‘there’s a first time for everything’ so I thought that I’d try what a changeling’s like to kiss, after all Nigel seems to like it.” Chatter could only turn his head to stare at her, still unable to grasp what had just happened. “Don’t worry, it was my first kiss as well,” Sparkling giggled as she continued, her alcohol-addled mind assuming that the reason for the guards stunned reaction was because of that. “Here, let me change that,” she followed up as once again she kissed him, this time when she pulled away Chatter’s mind started to work again.

“Wha…?” Okay, so maybe it wasn’t all the way there.

“Mhmm, I actually like this. I guess some of Nigel’s personality is rubbing off on me, you lucky changeling.” Chatter still couldn’t believe that this was happening, he thought that Sparkling…

“I thought that you… you know, liked the Emperor?” he continued, Sparkling resting her head against his armoured shoulder as she sighed.

“I do, I mean as a close friend. He’s good looking, nice, harsh when he needs to be, loving to everyone around him, funny and I think there’s a very intelligent creature under the mask that I’m sure he wears, but I’m not in love with him. For one, Reflection would kill me in a heartbeat but it’s also because we don’t really mesh personality wise. I mean look at Reflection and him together, they work so well in a way that I never will. I’m happy to remain just a friend though, I still get head scratches so it’s not all bad.” Sparkling rubbed her head against the cool metal that she was resting on as she finished her speech.

“Oh…” Chatter began as he summed up the nerve to reply. “That makes sense; I can see where you’re coming from. Going of what I know about the Emperor you do seem to put more thought into your words and actions. I know it’s probably wrong for you to kiss me considering that I’m supposed to be guarding you but I want you to know that it was my first kiss and I’m overjoyed that it came from-“

Chatter was cut off by a snore from Sparkling, the mare drooling onto his armour as her head rested against it. Chatter looked at her and sighed, it looked like they would be here for a while.

“-you,” he finished, placing his helmet back on his head as he sat back and savored the after-taste of the mare’s gift.

Prince Blueblood, Nephew to Princess Celestia, swayed on his hooves as he finished off another glass of wine. This year’s Gala was intolerable, for some strange reason Celestia had let all the rabble in along with the nobility! He was used to noblemares chasing him for attention but now even peasants were attempting to lure him into a marriage, the nerve! The wine had helped with his displeasure, so much so that he decided that he needed more.

“Bartender!” Blueblood called, a young pink-coated mare in a red vest nodded at him.

“Yes sir, what can I-“

“Sir?” Blueblood slurred angrily, “I am Prince Blueblood, insolent servant! Fetch me more wine!” The unicorn mare folded her ears back and quickly got to work, a glass of wine transferring over to Blueblood’s light-blue magic field. Without a word the Prince walked off to find somepony else to harass.

He didn’t leave a tip.

Sipping his drink he made his way over to the buffet tables, not taking notice of the tall creature dressed in black that passed him on its way to the bar. Blueblood stumbled but caught himself, taking a second to flick his mane back over his head before continuing on.

He stopped however, his eyes falling upon a coal-coated mare in a flowing moss-green dress with a matching mane and tail. She was facing away from him, the pony seeming quite lonely by herself. Blueblood decided that he’d grace her with his majestic presence, the Prince trotting towards her with a smirk on his face. In his drunken state he failed to notice the gold Crystal guard standing nearby the mare.

As he drew closer Blueblood’s eyes traced the mare’s flank, most of it was hidden by her dress but the shapely curves and toned rump were still visible under the clothing. The Prince prepared to turn his charm on, at least this mare might make this dreary night worthwhile if he played his cards right. Oh, who was he kidding? He always played his cards right, he was the Prince after all.

“Why hello there,” Blueblood announced as he stopped behind the mare as the pony in question seemed to stiffen, “I’m sure you know who I am, I’m a Prince after all, I noticed you over here by yourself and I thought that a beautiful mare like you looked rather lonely.” The Prince kept his confident grin up as the mare started to turn around. Needless to say, when she did turn around the stallion was in for quite a shock.

“Excuse me?” Reflection, the changeling who was Emperor Chalmers’s advisor questioned as she stared at the Prince in surprise. Blueblood recognized just who he had been talking to, the Prince spluttering as he backpedaled away from her.

“You’re not a mare! You’re a changeling!” Blueblood’s alarmed cries drew everyone’s attention, the ballroom falling silent as the Prince’s panicked voice rang out. “Eugh!” he hacked as he looked at her, “to think that I actually thought that you were a noblemare! I cannot believe that my eyes graced your putrid flank with their gaze!” Reflection was withering under the barrage of slurred insults, the combination of the Prince’s harsh words and the stares from everyone shattered her sense of worth. While normally she would have gone over and hit him the stress of the night just reduced her to sadness, her fiery temper extinguished.

“Excuse me sir,” Gilded Gold, Reflection’s guard stepped in, “Refrain from saying any more thank you, in fact I believe an apology is in order to Lady Reflection.” Blueblood turned away from the changeling who was quickly tearing up to the guard that had spoken, the Prince narrowing his eyes.

“Apologize!? I do not take orders from commoners!” The guard frowned, the stallion having to remind himself that assaulting the Prince would not be a good idea. He tried to spot the Emperor however he could not find him, without support his hooves were tied.

Meanwhile, the Prince faced Reflection once more to continue his tirade. “If anyone should apologize it should be you changeling, why Auntie let you in I’ll never know!”

“Blueblood!” a shrill voice rang out, Rarity storming up to the Prince with fire in her eyes. “You are hardly acting like the prince that you are supposed to be, if anypony here is the ruffian then it is you!” Blueblood swayed a little, squinting his eyes at the unicorn that looked very familiar.

“Oh, it’s you,” he spat, “just when I thought this terrible Gala couldn’t get any worse you of all ponies show up.” Rarity’s frown turned to a snarl, the Prince deciding to end his rant there, but not before one final jab at the changeling who had insulted him. “The thing is, you’re still better than a filthy roach.”

His alcohol-addled mind figured the best way to finish the insults, his glass of wine flicking put to throw its contents through the air. Time slowed as the red liquid soared towards the upset changeling, set to impact upon her in a final humiliation. All eyes watched the wine close, almost about to hit its target. Reflection just had enough time to close her teary eyes before a loud splash and thump was heard, however the changeling didn’t feel wet at all so what happened? She opened her eyes and gasped at what she saw.

The Emperor pulled himself off the floor from where he had landed after his heroic dive to intercept the wine; having taken the liquid to the chest in lieu of Reflection much like a bodyguard would take a bullet. The room exploded with noise, everyone surprised at the Emperor’s un-expected arrival and action. The human stood fully up in front of his date to face the smirking Prince, his suit ruined from the wine.

“You better explain why you decided that assaulting a lady as well as a high-ranking political figure in service to my Empire was a good idea.” The human commented calmly, Blueblood rolling his eyes at the demand.

“I’d hardly call that a lady, though I suppose a monster as vile as you doesn’t have much of a choice.” Gasps of shock came from every one of the Equestrians watching, most of them were wary of the biped but he was still an Emperor. This was further enforced as the two guards, the mare that had accompanied the human moving with her fellow to step between the two arguing males. They were halted with a wave of a hand, Chalmers narrowing his eyes at the Prince in front of him.

“You truly are a most disgusting creature aren’t you?” The human responded coldly, “you must feel incredibly insecure to have to resort to such actions against someone who has done you no harm, insult me all you wish but I won’t tolerate insults against my companion.” The Princes mood turned dangerous at this. He was well past the point of tipsy and his normal unpleasant demeanor was amplified ten-fold. Disregarding the Emperor’s guards he stepped forward, the Emperor remaining still.

“Sergeant Blitz, Private Gilded, please escort Reflection away from the area.” Both guards obeyed without question, the changeling hurriedly moving with them to the back of the room as ponies cleared a path for the three. A circle was created around the Emperor and Prince, Blueblood pawing his hoof at the ground while the stood up straight with his hands behind his back.

“You think that a beast like you can best a stallion like me?” Blueblood raged.

“More than that,” Chalmers replied evenly, “I’m going to rip off your horn and shove it so far up your rump that whenever you want to use magic you’re going to have to open your mouth.” Royal guards had noticed the growing incident long before, however none seemed willing to interrupt the notorious Prince or the threatening human. There was still no sign of Celestia or Luna, the party had been going for a while but it was tradition for them to make an appearance later on in the night.

The two arguing royals squared off, Blueblood however was consumed by rage and alcohol. To the horrified shock of many the Prince brought his glass down upon a table edge, the top of the wine flute shattering to leave the sharp stem. This prompted action from the royal guards, Blueblood had gone too far this time. They found their way obscured by the mass of part-goes all too dumbstruck to move; despite their best efforts getting through the crow was slow going. Many cursed the decision to have all flight capable guards patrolling the exterior of the city, some pegasi right now would be very useful.

“What do you say now Monster!” Blueblood threatened as the glass stem waved in the air. Chalmers didn’t back an eye, he merely swept a hand over the front of his ruined shirt.

“You ruined my uniform,” he answered before swiftly grabbing both sides of the clothing with his hands.

A mighty rip sounded as the Emperor tore his shirt apart, discarding the clothing as he thrust his chest out and threw his arms out to the sides. With his bare skin exposed his morbid tattoo was visible to everyone, Blueblood even in his intoxicated state started to question if this was a good idea or not. Chalmers wasn’t done, placing one leg forward as he extended his right arm towards the Prince and made a ‘bring it on’ gesture with his hand.

“So, you going to use that bitch-stick or are you going to throw down like a Gentlecolt?” Nigel challenged, Blueblood snorting before his horn’s glow increased in intensity as the glass moved forward.

“That’s what I expected,” commented Chalmers as he dashed towards the Prince much to the shock of all the onlookers.

Blueblood sent his broken glass forward to meet the rapidly approaching human, a wet squelch sounding as the Emperor barreled into the Stallion. The guards arrived in time to witness the Emperor, having over-powered the Prince easily due to his inebriated state, lift the struggling unicorn over his head.

The human’s muscles bulged with strain, the guards watching on helplessly as the Emperor threw the Prince towards the buffet table.
Blueblood screamed as he flailed through the air before he was halted by the table, the unicorn crashing into a chocolate fondue fountain and causing the table to collapse under his weight bringing all manner of food down upon his once-spotless coat. Everypony stared at the table with baited breaths, the Prince groaning but not moving.

“Just like I said, he fought like a bitch.”

Ponies looked at the speaking Emperor only to turn away squeamishly or stare horrified.

Imbedded into the human’s right shoulder was the wine glass, the improvised weapon sunk deep into the flesh. Blood flowed copiously from the wound, splatters of crimson blood falling upon the ground as the royal guards finally spurred into action.

Deciding that helping the combatants was the top priority, the guards split up and made for the human and Prince. Chalmers waved off the equines much to their disappointment. “Tis but a flesh wound,” the Emperor joked while placing on hand upon a table still standing. The ponies still watching nearly lost their stomach contents when the biped clasped his hand around the glass and pulled, the human wincing slightly as he extracted the weapon from his shoulder. With a plop it came free, a stream of blood gushing out of the jagged hole.

“Huh,” Chalmers said through clenched teeth as he looked down at his wound, “now my pants are covered in blood and also ruined, nothing quite says ‘it was a rocking party’ like a glassing and ruined pants.” Dropping the glass on the floor he picked up his shirt rags, finding a dry spot to hold against his shoulder. Without another word he walked over to where his guards and Reflection had disappeared to, a large set of open doors leading further into the castle.

Leaving the stunned murmurs of the Equestrians behind he searched around for his companions, spotting a flash of crystal armour near a large stone staircase. He walked over, turned the corner and found two guards with a very upset changeling.

Reflection was bawling her eyes out in a mixture of both sadness and worry, the night had turned out just like she had feared. Opal Blitz was the first to spot the shirtless human, the mare galloping over to him immediately with her halberd clinking against her side.

“Nigel!” she yelled as she closed on the bloody human, all professionalism forgotten as she saw her ruler injured.

“It’s nothing,” Chalmers dismissed as he approached Reflection. The crying changeling had looked up at Opal’s yell; her eye’s fixed on Nigel’s blood-covered form with a terrified stare. The Emperor quickly crouched down beside her and grabbed her head with his free, un-bloodied hand and held her against his left side in an attempt to calm her down. Private Gilded was frozen on the spot; he was only a private and had no clue what to do.

“Are we… are we at war with Equestria?” he questioned, he wasn’t sure what had happened but considering that the Emperor had fought and been shanked by a Prince the prospect of war was not unlikely.

“No, it was just some drunken prince who stepped over the line,” Nigel answered as he stroked Reflection’s mane, the changeling’s sobs starting to die down. In truth he felt terrible for her, he shouldn’t have trusted the Equestrian’s to leave her in peace. He glanced at Gilded, the stallion also brimming with guilt because of his limited help in the situation.

“Gilded,” Chalmers called, the guard looking up, “it wasn’t your fault. You actually helped more by not attacking that Prince, I can take the heat that Celestia will no doubt bestow upon me for fighting her nephew or whatever he was.” The Private sighed but nodded his head, hearing it from his Emperor did make him feel a little better.

“Should we find Sparkling and Chatter?” Opel spoke up, the mare staring at Nigel with concern.

“They should be fine, I think I saw them over in the corner somewhere so they should not be noticed by the crowd. The royal guard will be in damage control mode so I’m sure they’ll be safe.” Chalmers looked down at his shoulder again, “Speaking of damage control…”

As he said this he removed the gory rags to examine his wound. Opel looked as did Gilded, the puncture having closed up with a patch of new pink flesh covering it.

“That was fast,” Gilded remarked, the information of the Emperor’s healing rate having found its way around the barracks.

“It was only a small wound; I’ve had far worse before.” Chalmers commented as Reflection moved her head to look at what the guards were talking about. She sniffled, feeling that it was her fault that he got hurt. Nigel noticed this and continued to rub her head, the human glancing back to the corner leading to the ballroom where the sounds of very angry yelling from Celestia could be heard. “We should probably find somewhere to hole up until she calms down, I don’t think that asking her for a lift back right now is a good idea.”

“You should probably get cleaned up as well,” Opel suggested, Chalmers nodding his head in agreement.

“A fine idea, I doubt that I look very regal now do I?” Nigel stood up, Reflection getting to her hooves with him with only the occasional sniffle. Chalmers continued to hold her hoof in his clean hand; right now the changeling was feeling terrible. Nigel had overhead some of the things that Blueblood had been saying to here and that’s why he had returned so quickly from the bar without their drink refills. He cursed inside, she had been doing so well confidence-wise before he had left and he hated seeing the normally fiery changeling reduced to this crying wreck.

He tugged on her hoof as he moved towards the stairs, the group of four assuming that a bathroom of some sort could be found on the upper floor if their own palace was anything to go off. As they climbed the grey stone steps the shouts from the ballroom reached a crescendo.

“What Blueblood, just what possessed you to start a barroom brawl with the Emperor of the Crystal Empire!?”

Luna winced as Celestia yelled the word ‘possessed’, the Prince’s detrimental influence was more benign but still the word exhumed sore memories. She was surprised that her normally freakishly-calm sister was currently shouting at Blueblood in the middle of a public ball but even Celestia had her limits. Stabbing a foreign ruler with a broken wine glass after humiliating his date evidently was one of those limits.

“But Auntie,” Blueblood squeaked out as he cowered under the barrage from the irate alicorn, “she is a changeling; she was the one that started it!” The healing spell that Celestia had used on Blueblood after his date with the buffet table had also cleared the effects of the wine that had caused the problem but had left the layer of food and chocolate on his once-clean coat. Celestia stood over him, her guards surrounding the circle area while all of the party guests were watching the lecture throughout the room. Blood splatters could still be seen over on one side, the blood only one of the stains on this year’s Gala.

“Don’t even try that!” Celestia retorted, “From what I know of Miss Reflection she is hardly the sort to insult ponies. Add to that what some witnesses have told me you said was incredibly vile and inexcusable!” Blueblood whimpered and caught sight of the Bearers of the Elements behind Celestia, Rarity giving him a death stare that was only rivaled by Celestia’s.

“Regardless of her race,” the Sun Princess continued, “she was a guest as well as an important political leader from another country and your actions towards her disgust me! I’m not even going to start on stabbing the Emperor; you should think yourself lucky that he didn’t kill you for what you did. You were there during the Diamond Dog attack on the Crystal Empire, how did you think a fight between you and him would turn out!?”

Luna was a little surprised that Celestia had let this information slip in public, the crowd of ponies already discussing what had just been said. The most Luna had been told was that there had been a ‘slight-hiccup’ with Celestia’s trip to the Empire, all of the guards that Luna had asked had replied that they had been sworn to silence. Celestia took a few deep breaths, the Prince groveling at her hooves trembling as he remembered how the human had danced over the body of his slain foe. Looking back, he had come incredibly close to receiving the same treatment.

“Get up,” Celestia ordered, much calmer than before, “go to your room, we’ll be discussing your punishments for your actions later. Get out of my sight.” Blueblood scrambled to his hooves and bolted out of the room heading for his quarters as if the denizens of Tartarus themselves were after him. Celestia put on a smile and turned around to address her subjects.

“My little ponies, I’m incredibly sorry for the incident that had occurred. I assure you that everything is being sorted out and the party can resume, thank you.” A few hesitant hoof-stomps grew into a strong applause as the Princess ordered the Gala to continue. They died out as ponies once again began to mingle, an occasional glance towards the blood and the ruined table the only reminders of the fight.
“Please have somepony clean up the mess,” Celestia ordered to her guards as she headed for the doors that the human had gone through. “I have to go and apologize to the Emperor for what happened as well as see that he gets medical attention whether he likes it or not.” Celestia was stopped as a blue wing flung out to block her path, Luna looking at her sister with a kind gaze.

“Sister, let me see to the Crystal Empire delegation, you should remain here to reassure our subjects. I’ll make sure that Emperor Chalmers is fine, you’re already under enough stress as it is.” Celestia’s smile was both unsure and thankful at the same time.
“I thought you didn’t like the Emperor Luna?” she asked, Luna nodding her head.

“I don’t,” Luna leaned in to whisper to her sister, “he scares me Tia; I’ve seen things about him that I shouldn’t have. Still, I will have to face him sometime and I might as well now.”

“That’s very brave of you Luna,” Celestia whispered back, “despite how he acts I don’t think he hates us, he’s just so different to anything we’ve encountered before. Good luck.”

With that Celestia pulled away, shooting Luna a final encouraging smile before she prepared for the thankless task of calming the fears of the ponies. The Princess of the Night found herself alone, with a final sigh Luna trotted out of the room to find the Emperor.

Opel and Gilded turned their heads as the door to the small servant bathroom opened, Nigel and Reflection walking out after having spent ten minutes in there.

The changeling had refused to let go of the Emperor and he himself had not forced her to leave, something that the guards could understand. Gilded had filled Opel in on the details of what the Prince had said to Reflection, the mare shocked that Gilded’s charge had received such abuse and her opinion of Equestrians had dropped heavily. As the human and changeling walked out the two soldiers saw that the Emperor’s wound had closed completely, the only remaining mark a small scar that if the rumors were true would fade soon enough.

“Let’s go find somewhere to rest,” Chalmers suggested, the two guards thankful for the decision. The four moved down hallway after hallway, passing numerous doors and closets. Eventually they found themselves on the floor that held a number of bedrooms, the four passing a ajar door with a love-heart symbol above it before a voice behind them stopped them.

“Emperor Chalmers!”

They turned around to find Princess Luna chasing after them, the alicorn stopping when she reached them. Gone was her nervousness from before, instead she was focused on her mission.

“I’m glad that I found you, I want to apologize on behalf of my sister, myself and Equestria as a whole for what our Prince did, I assure you that he will be punished accordingly.” The Emperor looked down at Reflection before looking back to Luna who was staring at his tattooed chest and the scar from the glass.

“We accept your apology,” he answered with a nod from Reflection who had cheered up a little, “I can’t hold you or Princess Celestia for what happened, the Prince had been drinking and things deteriorated from there.” Luna tore her eyes away from the small scar, the Emperor pointing at the star of skin. “Artificial fast healing, it’s gone so quickly because it was rather small. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine.”

“That is good to hear,” Luna replied before she locked eyes with the changeling who had a hoof in the Emperor’s hand. “Lady Reflection, are you okay? Considering what was said-“

“I’m fine thank you,” Reflection interrupted curtly, Luna letting the changeling’s rudeness slide as the creature had just gone through a lot.

“I understand, is there anything I can do for you until you leave? I’m afraid that the soonest available chariot is a few hours away.”

“If it’s not too much trouble,” the Emperor responded, “is there a small guest room we can possibly borrow? My guards and I are rather weary.”

“Of course,” Luna answered as she led them down another three doors, stopping at one with the sign ‘diplomat’ written above in gold. “This is reserved for ambassadors normally but you are more than welcome, you are an Emperor after all.” Luna opened the room, the mahogany door opening to reveal a large, generously furnished room with a large four poster bed in the middle. Forgive me for asking, but wasn’t there two more in your group? Would you like me to organize to find them for you?”

“No thank you Princess,” Nigel politely declined, “last I saw they were enjoying the party so I do not wish to disturb them.”

What Nigel did not tell Luna, or anyone for that matter was that when he left the ballroom he had spotted the pair in a secluded corner sitting on a bridge. Both the Chatter and Sparkling had been resting their heads against each other as they slept. He decided that he’d give Chatter a free pass with his actions, although he would have a very in depth discussion about the definition of ‘guarding’ with the guard when they returned to the Crystal Empire.

“Very well then.” The alicorn responded, “I shall organize for someone to inform you as to when a chariot is ready, I have a Prince to talk to.” Muttering the last part under her breath the Princess let the group be, the four watching her as she disappeared around a corner. Nigel looked into the room and gestured inside with a hand.

“Ladies first,” he offered to Opel as Reflection was still holding onto his hand. The sergeant walked into the room, her halberd fitting just under the door. Gilded was the next to enter at a prompt from the Emperor. Nigel started towards the room before he was halted by a tug by Reflection, the Emperor stopping to smile at her. “What is it?”

Reflection didn’t answer, the changeling looking at the two guards staring at her from within the room.

“Opel and Gilded, could you two please stay here and wait until we come back?”

The two looked to their ruler for confirmation, Nigel giving them a shrug in reply.

“I don’t know why either, I’m okay with it though. I doubt any Equestrians will come after us considering.”

“Take care sir,” Gilded said as he shut the door, before it closed Opel shot Reflection a knowing look that was missed by both males. Reflection started to trot back the way they had come, guiding Nigel along the hallway. She stopped at the love heart decorated door, peeking into the room through the slightly open door. Nigel kept quiet as the changeling opened the door and entered the room, Reflection waiting until he was inside before she closed the door. The room was completely dark however she was able to see thanks to a slightly better night-vision gained from living in underground caves.

Nigel was led blindly through the room before a bedside lamp was turned on, illuminating the room and revealing its contents.
There was pink everywhere, from the pink bed-sheets covered with red love-hearts, the walls lined with pictures of a certain Captain of the Guard, the ceiling and even the rug on the floor. A huge dresser with a mirror above it was also pink, a multitude of cosmetic products lined on the top. Nigel looked at Reflection curiously as the changeling let go of his hand and sat down on the side of the bed.

“Why do I get the feeling that I’ve just walked into a trap,” he joked, however the serious expression of Reflection’s face stopped his laughter. “Okay, what’s the deal?” Reflection kicked her hind legs against the bed as she looked down at her dress.

“Nigel, what you did for me back then was really great and I’m sorry that you got stabbed by that disgusting Prince.” Nigel didn’t reply, he could see that Reflection wanted to continue. The changeling looked back at him, her green eyes meeting his. “Do you know what I would have picked if I had won our bet a week ago?”

“I can make a guess,” Chalmers responded, the changeling wasn’t exactly subtle with her desires. Reflection ceased her kicking and stared into his eyes with confidence.

“Well, I would have picked for us to spend an entire night together, intimately.” Reflection didn’t waver as she held her gaze with Nigel. “I love you and I know you love me but we’ve been together for a while and after tonight with Blueblood I really need you to show me that you love me like I want you too, please?” Her two front hooves began to fidget, the changeling tapping the silver shoes together as she waited for Nigel’s answer. The Emperor sighed as sat down next to her, Reflection’s hopes of him agreeing dropping.

“Look, Reflection,” Nigel began, the changeling bracing for rejection, “I know that what Blueblood said was incredibly hurtful and I can understand why you feel like this, I just don’t think it’s time for that yet.” He must have seen that she was about to cry again, the human leaning forward and embracing her. “Please understand that it’s not because of how you look or what you are, I just feel like I need to settle in to this new job of mine before we can get really serious.” Reflection sighed sadly, she guessed that the explanation was better than nothing.

“Fine,” she mumbled into Nigel’s bare chest as she rested against it. Chalmers however was glancing around the room puzzled.
“Why did you bring me to this room in particular?” he asked, Reflection looking around with him.

“Well, that heart above the door when we came in looked like Princess Cadence’s cutie mark.” Nigel knew little about ‘cutie marks’, all he knew was that his Crystal pony subjects and Equestrians had marks on each flank, for instance Sparkling had a single shining scroll. He hadn’t been paying much attention to that detail, looking at someone’s behind while you’re introducing yourself never worked out for him in the past. “Seeing that, I figured that it meant that this is her room and I thought-“ Reflection continued on with her explanation before Nigel interrupted her.

“You thought?”

The changeling had a very faint blush as she replied.

“I thought that us making love in the bed of the Princess of Love who I happen to also hate would be fun and sexy.” Her blush intensified as she finished, it had sounded like such a great idea when she first had it. Nigel stared at her with an un-readable expression as he tried to find a way to voice his thoughts.

“So you led me to this room, a room which you believe to belong to Princess Cadence, purely because you felt bad about what Blueblood said and wanted to have sex with me in her bed to make you feel better about yourself?” Chalmers wasn’t too sure what to think about the changeling’s idea.

“Pretty much,” Reflection admitted, “but I’ve also been looking forward to the sex for a while, I’ve always wanted to go all the way.”

“You never have?” Nigel asked surprised earning him a love tap on the arm from a hoof.

“Thanks for acting surprised,” Reflection’s reply was accompanied by a small smile, “I’ve done some things of course, a changeling’s gotta eat after all, but never full on intercourse.”

“I didn’t mean to insinuate anything,” Chalmers responded, “it’s just that you’re very bold with your advances so I just assumed…”

“Or maybe you just make me feel like a pony mare in heat every time you’re around even with clothes on,” Reflection teased as she prodded his stomach. She started to rub her hoof around in circles, before she stopped to remove the shoe covering it and tossed it on the floor beside the bed. She resumed with her bare hoof instead, Nigel humming in thought.

“You know,” he started, “you do have some good points in your favor.” Reflection’s heart skipped a beat and the hoof stopped as she heard this. Was he really considering it? “You are right about the length of time; we have been pretty close over the last few weeks. There is also the point about the room, I doubt that we’d get a chance like this again.” Reflection’s heart was pounding in her ears, it almost seemed like a dream.

She let out a surprised squeak as she felt another one of her shoes be removed, Nigel slipping it off her other forehoof with delicate care. The other two hind ones followed, the silver metal placed haphazardly on the floor. Her heart skyrocketed however when the Emperor took a few moments to remove his own boots and pants, leaving him in just a plain set of white underpants.

Reflection let out a light moan as she felt a hand slip down the neck of her dress to undo the clasps holding it one, the changeling squirming out of the clothing as it too was placed on the floor. She and her lover leaned back onto the bed, one hand massaging her flank while the other reached for the light switch. Reflection moved her head towards Nigel’s, their mouths connecting as the light was turned off to once again plunge the room into darkness.

“How long are they going to be gone for?” Gilded asked as he paced the room, the stallion still wearing his full armour while Opel had taken her helmet off. “Just what are they doing that they need us to stay here?”

Opel couldn’t believe that her colleague was so naïve, she did acknowledge that he was only nineteen but surely he would have picked up on the changeling’s intentions.

Reflection was not very subtle when it came to her attraction to the Emperor.

“Really?” she responded as she laid back upon the bed, “you really don’t know what exactly two lovers who asked to be left alone until they return might be doing in a floor filled with empty bedrooms?” Gilded halted in his tracks, looking at his fellow guard in shock.

“You don’t mean…” his eyes darted to the door and back again as he lowered his voice, “… they’re having sex?” Opel couldn’t help it, the mare burst into laughter at his response.

“Of course, what else did you think it was?”

“Well it’s just that I can’t imagine what that would possibly look like. I mean changelings I can work out, they’re pretty much like ponies from what I’ve been told except for the shape shifting, now there’s an advantage.” Opel shook her head at the colt’s reply before he continued on. “It’s just the Emperor, I mean what would that look like?”

“I don’t want to know, I don’t think about that,” Opel answered with a grin, “unlike you it seems.”

“What- no! I like mares!” Gilded quickly defended, Opel raising an eyebrow at him which Gilded interpreted the wrong way. He furrowed his brows at her, the guard once again looking towards the door. “Are you suggesting…?” he trailed off leaving an implication that gained Opel’s attention.

He was close to her age, only three years younger than her and he was fairly decent looking. Actually now that she thought about it Crystal ponies all seemed to possess traits which would be considered beautiful. Still, everyone needed some excitement in their life.

“No, we’re on duty.”

But no excitement was needed now.

Gilded bowed his head slightly at the reply, trying to figure out if it was because of his looks or if he was too bold in his approach before he paused, a thought occurring as he looked back up at the mare.

“Wait, you said ‘No, we’re on duty’, does that mean then when we get off duty-“

“We’re on duty,” Opel interrupted enjoying how easy it was to toy with the young guard. Gilded stopped talking, Opel pointing a armour-clad hoof towards a fully stocked bookshelf against the wall. “Say, is there any good books in there? I think we’ll be waiting for a while."

Princess Cadence sighed as she walked up the stairs to her room, the young Princess having spent most her time down at the Gala in the outside gardens trying to convince Shining to move back in with her that night with little success. It had been a rough couple of weeks in their relationship, their visit to the Crystal Empire had caused many cracks to appear.

In retrospect she shouldn’t have treated him like she did, even though he was Captain of the Guard she did have a habit of controlling him. Hitting him probably didn’t help much either. She opened her door without thinking, taking a second to glance up at the heart above her door that represented her cutie mark. Instead of the pride that she normally felt the reminder of her mark and how she had not been living up to it left a sour taste in her mouth instead.

Walking into her dark room she neglected turning on the light and instead used her horn to light up the surrounding area as she kicked off her golden shoes and removed her tiara. She really needed a nice, hot shower to sooth both of her mental and psychical aches. Looking forward to the relaxing feeling of the water upon her back Cadence walked into her bathroom, turned on the light and entered the shower, the room quickly filling with steam.

As the Princess hummed a tune while she washed, the sheets on her bed moved in the dark as two heads peeked out from the covers to stare at the bathroom.

“Well,” Nigel whispered to his bed partner, “that was pretty close.”

“Yeah,” Reflection agreed, “but we’re not free yet, we better go.”

“I second that,” Nigel replied as he quickly left the bed, grabbing his discarded underpants that were hanging on the headboard and putting them on. Reflection got out and shakily began to gather up her dress and shoes, the changeling still affected by the debauchery that they had been partaking in before the Princess of Love had walked in.

Nigel managed to put his pants on and grabbed his shoes, Reflection having put on her shoes but not her dress as the changeling and human moved to the door leading outside. Checking to make sure that no servant would spot them leaving Princess Cadence’s chambers half-dressed the pair hastily ran back to their own room laughing all the while. Nigel knocked on the door three times, Gilded opening it and before he could even ask what was going on Chalmers and Reflection rushed past him and closed the door behind them.

“We did it, we got away!” Reflection joyfully stated as Nigel sat down to put his boots on.

“You two did something interesting then?” Opel questioned, Reflection sharing a look with the mare that translated to ‘I’ll tell you about later’.

“Yeah, we did some stuff like chess," the changeling replied as she again removed her shoes before walking towards the bathroom. “In fact the chess game was so fun that I think I need to take a shower.” As the bathroom door shut Opel turned to the seated Emperor, Gilded mouthing the word ‘chess’ in confusion.

“So what’s the plan?” she inquired, Nigel finishing tying his shoelaces.

“Well, I think a chariot should be ready soon, I was thinking that we get Sparkling and Chatter then leave. I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one night.” Both guards murmured agreements, the three waiting patiently for Reflection to finish her shower.

The shower shut off five minutes later, the changeling emerging from the bathroom with a damp mane and tail. Nigel helped her back into her shoes and dress before the four left the room, their destination the ballroom.

Nigel headed to where he last saw the guard and his advisor, the two still sleeping against each other in the shadows. The Gala was back in full swing, the orchestra had started up again and everyone was enjoying the dancing.

“Chatter, Sparkling,” Nigel whispered as he shook the two on the shoulders, Chatter waking up straight away while Sparking grumbled and groaned.

“Emperor Chalmers, “ Chatter started, alarmed that his commander had found him asleep next to the mare he was supposed to protect, “I was just- I mean I was only- well, you see Miss Sparkling has had a bit too much to drink and-“

“Relax Chatter, it’s all good,” the Emperor replied as Sparkling groggily woke up, the mare still resting happily on Chatter. “You may want to give her some help moving, thought. All we need to do is wait for a chariot and then we’re home free.”

As if summoned by the Emperor’s words a single royal guard trotted up, the unicorn to the group just as Chatter managed to get Sparkling to lean on him so that they could move.

“Emperor Chalmers,” the stallion began, “a chariot is ready to take you back to your empire and the Princesses wanted to see you before you left.” The human nodded, the guard returning it before disappearing back into the crowd.

“Well, you heard him,” Chalmers said, “let’s go home already.”

“Once again we’re incredibly sorry for what occurred, what my nephew did was inexcusable.”

“As I said to Princess Luna,” Nigel replied to Celestia as the ponies and changelings behind him boarded their chariot, “it’s okay, it would be a shame to let one incident to ruin our nations’ relations. Besides, I myself didn’t help matters but it would for the best if we just left this behind and continued on.” The Emperor joined his retinue inside the chariot, the four pegasi attached to the front ready to take them back to the Empire.

“I also believe that continuing on would be the best option,” Celestia responded with a smile, the Princess relieved that the human didn’t appear to hold a grudge against her nation. “May your journey back be pleasant and I hope that we can have that meeting sometime in the future.” The chariot door was shut, the Emperor sticking his head out of the window.

“Sure,” he answered, “we’ll arrange something in my palace next time, we’ll do tea and cakes or something.” Celestia beamed at this, tea and cakes we’re two of her favorite things, maybe her positive judgment of the human was solid after all. “Also,” the Emperor continued, “consider the Crystal Empire’s borders open to all Equestrians, just because a few of us have our disagreements doesn’t mean that our subjects should suffer for them.”

“The same shall apply to Equestria,” Celestia declared happily, even though the Gala was a disaster it had strangely ended in warmer diplomatic relations. Celestia looked at the human with thought as something came to her mind. “Emperor Chalmers, would that offer happen to apply to Princess Cadence as well? I understand that your subjects are not fond of her but being kept away is really having a detrimental effect on her.” The Emperor looked back into the chariot and appeared to converse with someone inside of it, the human turning back around after a few moments.

“I will allow her to visit, I owe her that much after what we did to her,” Celestia assumed that the Emperor was talking about when he ordered Cadence to be pelted with fruit. “It goes without saying that it would be wise for her to refrain from attacking my subjects though.”

“I can assure you that I myself will relay that to her,” Celestia agreed, the Emperor smiling before glancing up at the moon.

“Well, it’s getting late and we have a long flight ahead of us,” Chalmers observed, “I’ll let you know about a date for our meeting, goodbye Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.” Celestia nodded then waved a wing at the pegasi attached to the chariot. The four guards took off, the transport heading into the sky as the Alicorns watched it leave.

Cadence stepped into her bedroom, still a little damp from her invigorating shower. A quick glance to her dresser and the photo of her and Shining together caused her to sigh, she made a vow that she would go to his parent’s house tomorrow where he was staying and apologize until he came back. Flicking her bedroom light on she saw that her bed was messed up, did the maids not come in today?

Cadence shrugged mentally, with the Gala tonight maybe the servants hadn’t gotten around to it. She clambered into the welcoming embrace of the bed, the alicorn snuggling into the soft mattress and pillows.

The bed was very warm, feeling far more comfortable than usual. Cadence for some reason thought that she could smell the faint scent of wine, an oddity considering that she didn’t drink. She dismissed the smell as a trick of her mind and turned off the light, the very faint sounds of the ongoing Gala barely audible as she laid her head back on her pillows.

‘I wonder if it was as interesting as last year?’

Author's Note

Well, sorry for the extended time that this chapter took, I had to re-do a lot of the scenes.
A brief cameo from the EoH (I tend to shy away from writing them) and Blueblood glassed someone, over all a fairly tame party.

Reflection's revenge plan for Cadence may have been a bit extreme, still, at least for Cadence she'll be allowed back into the Crystal Empire. Hopefully next time she'll behave herself.

Luna has still not told Celestia exactly what she saw about the Emperor but it seems like both sisters keep certain things to themselves. At least it seems like Equestria and the Crystal Empire are starting to get along, let's just hope that peace can continue without someone messing it up.

Or should that be...

Someelk?

Lunch and Dinner With A Side-Serving of Elk Invasion

Chalmers and Reflection stumbled into their bedchambers, Reflection yawning as she clambered into the large bed.

It was very late and after the Equestrian chariot had dropped them off everyone had gone their separate ways. Chalmers had commended all three guards for getting everyone home safe. Well, relatively safe. Sparkling had sobered up a little on the trip back and retired to her castle quarters without a word, the mare unusually silent.

“What a night,” Chalmers muttered as he stripped down to his underwear and joined Reflection in bed. The changeling snuggled up against him and sighed happily as Chalmers slipped under the covers.

“At least it ended well,” Reflection sleepily replied as she rested a foreleg across the Emperor’s chest. An arm wrapped around her in return, Nigel humming as he stared up at the red ceiling of the bed.

“I’m glad you feel that way. As long as you’re happy then I’m happy.”

“I don’t think we’ll have a problem with that if you remain willing to continue on tomorrow with what we were doing before Cadence interrupted us,” Reflection mumbled as she started to drift off. Nigel didn’t reply, the changeling had a cute smile on her face and he didn’t want to risk wiping it away by reminding her that he did have an empire to rule and couldn’t spend all day with her.

He briefly wondered just what was taking the ISA so long to track him down; hopefully he wasn’t that far from UIP space. Glancing to his left as Reflection started to snore softly he laid back and closed his eyes.

They didn’t need to rush to find him in his opinion.

“Good Morning Keep Safe.”

Keep Safe, Treasurer of the Crystal Empire, turned around from his many lists on the stone bench to face the Emperor. Chalmers was walking through the door to the treasure vault with his changeling marefriend following behind, Keep Safe using a golden hoof to adjust his red robe to quickly make himself presentable.

“Good morning sir,” Keep Safe responded with a bow. He knew that the Emperor was not one for such formalities but as a minister he thought it wise to show respect. “I’ve just been cataloguing our gem supply as well as our… special gems.” Keep Safe glanced Reflection, the changeling not knowing about the enchanted gems hidden away. The changeling frowned a little at the mistrust show towards her, the Emperor noticing her unhappiness as he observed the room full of gold and gems.

“It’s okay Keep Safe, Reflection her can be trusted to know about the enchanted gems.” Reflection perked up a bit at this and looked curiously up at the Emperor.

“Enchanted gems?” she inquired. Emperor Chalmers nodded in response and gestured to Keep Safe.

“That’s right,” Chalmers answered. “In addition to keeping stock of our secret treasure supplies down here, Treasurer Keep Safe has also been placed in charge of gems woven with spells. That’s where all the gems that are set into our armour and weapons have come from so far. Remember those small gems on my armour?” Chalmers pointed down to the black uniform on his right breast where the gems would be if he was wearing his armour. “All found in here. There are hundreds with all sorts of useful enchantments on them.”

“More are being found each day,” Keep Safe imputed, the middle-aged stallion adjusting his round spectacles covering his ruby eyes. “In fact Emperor sir, I believe that Golden Ring has managed to fulfil your request regarding the new type of gems. He’s in the inner vault.” A grin lit up Chalmers’s face, the human striding over towards a glowing illumination gem set in a wooden torch, which was identical to many around the room. Reflection and Keep Safe followed, the changeling observing the Emperor carefully as Chalmers reached a finger out to the torch while Keep Safe already knew what was going to happen.

Nigel pressed the glowing gem providing the warm yellow glow, Reflection halting as a shimmering doorway appeared in the grey stone.

“Every Palace needs secret doors,” Nigel joked as he gestured for Reflection to follow him inside. The changeling followed cautiously through the concealed door and found herself in a large room, almost as large as the vault they had come from.

All around there was racks and shelves filled with gems of all different shapes, sizes and colours. Five Crystal unicorns were moving around a large center workbench, the horned-equines focusing on piles of normal gems heaped on the table. One of them, a unicorn with a slightly brighter golden coat than the Treasurer, turned his head as the three entered. Reflection noticed that he quickly bowed before Nigel with a joyful haste.

“Don’t worry about that,” Nigel commented with a dismissive wave. “Keep Safe has informed me that you managed to complete the project.” The bowing unicorn rose, his silver mane glinting in the flickering torchlight.

“I have Emperor,” he answered happily as he trotted over towards a shelf loaded with fat pink gems. The unicorn grasped one in his golden magic and trotted back over towards the ruler, Chalmers grabbing it out of the air to stare at it as the gem glowed faintly. Golden Ring noticed Reflection sniffing the air and his eyes lit up in excitement. “You brought a changeling! We can test it right now if you desire, sir.”

“Good idea,” Nigel agreed. He held the gem out to Reflection who found herself drawn to it. “Go on, touch it,” Chalmers urged, Reflection reaching out a hoof to brush the gem. She jolted in surprise as the warm feeling of love surged from the gem into her, the stone’s pink glow getting brighter as she fed.

“That’s amazing,” Reflection commented as she removed her hoof after a few seconds. “You can store love in gems?” Golden Ring nodded at the question.

“We can,” he confirmed. “The base gems, rubies, are enchanted to draw love from the surrounding area or direct contact from a willing subject and store it for later. The Crystal Heart has saturated our empire with positive emotion so there is theorized to be an infinite supply. What this means is that if a changeling needs to be away from the city for a long period of time and don’t have another source they can use a few gems.” Golden Ring glanced between Nigel and Reflection, his eyes widening with understanding. “Oh, so you’re that changeling,” he figured out, prompting Reflection to nuzzle against Nigel’s hip.

“I am,” Reflection purred as a hand scratched behind her ears. Golden Ring glanced up at the Emperor with a questioning look.

“Do you still want it?” He asked, Nigel nodding in response.

“Yes thank you, now is a good as time as any.” Golden nodded at his ruler’s answer and returned to the shelf. Keep Safe looked at Chalmers with an eyebrow raised while Reflection watched Golden Ring return with a dull gem in his magic. The unicorn moved the grey love-battery over to Chalmers, the Emperor pointing at it as he glanced at Golden. “So do I just…?”

“Yes sir, you just touch it,” Golden replied, Chalmers shrugging before grasping the jewel with both hands. A pink glow grew brighter as the human held the gem, Reflection trying to peek in-between the fingers to see what was happening. Keep Safe and Golden also watched on as the glow increased in intensity before stopping and dying out. Chalmers opened his hands and in the middle rested the gem, now a healthy deep-pink colour. The Emperor moved his gaze from the charged gem to Golden Ring.

“So all the love inside here-“

“Is from you and you alone,” Golden informed. Reflection lifted her head up in understanding as Nigel held the gem out to her. Looking down at her necklace still around her neck, Reflection noticed that next to the clasp holding the emerald on there was an empty clasp waiting for another jewel.

“How long have you been planning this?” she asked as Nigel reached down to set the gem on the free space.

“An Emperor does not reveal his secrets,” Chalmers lectured as he finished securing the jewel charged with his love. Reflection stared down at it as the pink gem rested against her bare chest.

“Why isn’t it working?” Reflection questioned. Golden Ring stepped forward.

“Sorry to interrupt the moment,” he apologized. “The gem you’re wearing is like the other love-jewels in that they are made to activate by a hoof-touch, both pony for love injection and changeling for siphoning. Your one is also able to be used by hands and does not draw in ambient energy, which means the Emperor is the only one who can charge yours.” Reflection stared at the smiling human in amazement as Golden Ring continued on. “Emperor Chalmers specifically requested that he be the sole source for the love.”

Safe Keep and Golden flinched back as Reflection launched herself towards the Emperor. Her wings buzzed and propelled her into his chest, Chalmers chuckling as she embraced him in a tight hug. The human put one arm over her back and moved the other under Reflection’s rump to support her weight. Both Golden and Keep Safe looked away as Reflection kissed the Emperor, the human pulling away after a few seconds. Reflection compromised by nuzzling his face with wings still buzzing, Chalmers patting her on the back as he held her in a hug.

“That’s so sweet of you,” Reflection murmured as Nigel looked over her shoulder towards Golden Ring and Keep Safe.

“I do try,” he chuckled before nodding towards Golden Ring. “Now Golden, the rate of production…”

“Will be incredibly fast,” the golden unicorn finished for his ruler. “Since we’ve figured out the actual enchantment that is required and recorded it, a single unicorn can enchant one gem every ten minutes with hardly any stain placed on them. I’ve taken the liberty of setting up a schedule for the enchantment of five-hundred regular gems.”

Golden Ring glanced down at the ground briefly before looking back up. “In the unfortunate event that the Crystal Heart stops working for whatever reason we should be able to sustain the current changeling population for two months with our projected supplies. I can have them all done within the week.” Chalmers removed his arm from around Reflection’s back, walking towards Golden Ring and offering his hand. Golden stared at the offered limb for a few moments before quickly raising his left hoof to meet it in a shake.

“Great job,” Nigel complimented before he looked towards the other unicorns working away at the workbench. “The same applies to all of you. You are doing your empire a great service.” The seated unicorns briefly looked away from their work to nod at their Emperor before returning to their tasks. Chalmers didn’t mind, he preferred efficiency over pleasantries.

“I believe that Captain Strategy wished to see you Emperor,” Keep Safe spoke up, Chalmers letting go of Golden Ring’s hoof and putting Reflection on her own hooves, much to her disappointment.

“I can’t carry you everywhere,” he explained to the changeling as she huffed and leaned up against his leg instead. The Emperor turned back to his treasurer. “Thank you Keep Safe, please continue on with the good work. I know record keeping is not the most invigorating of work but I do appreciate it.”

“It is my talent Emperor,” the Treasure replied with a bow. “I am happy to be of assistance.” With a nod to the Emperor and Reflection, Keep Safe walked to the hidden door, activated a switch disguised as another torch and left through the door. Golden Ring returned to his fellow unicorns with a tray of dull gems in his magic while Chalmers looked down towards Reflection as she tugged on his pants leg.

“Why does Captain Strategy want to see you?” she questioned as Nigel started to walk towards the exit. Reflection followed him with a bounce in her step as the pink gem around her neck continued to glow with a steady beat.

“I suspect it will be about the new toys that I asked the Head Blacksmith, Iron Greaves, to make for the Guard.” Chalmers activated the doorway and shot a final a look towards the unicorns busy enchanting gems, before he and Reflection left with the city’s military district their destination.

With a thump a crystal-tipped bolt the length of a pony left a large wooden ballista. The hundreds of guards in the training yard watched the deadly projectile soar through the air before it impacted an old wooden stall that was serving as a target.

The flimsy wooden structure was turned to matchwood and the bolt impaled into the snow bank behind it. The head blacksmith whooped in joy as he witnessed his machine preform as expected, ten more of the weapons stored under white camouflage sheets. The three guards, two ponies and a changeling, operating the ballista didn’t pause as they reloaded. Thanks to the changeling lifting the large bolt with his magic and the two pony guards quickly turning the two handles, which tightened the ropes, the machine was ready to fire again in twenty seconds.

“Very good,” complemented Captain Strategy as he looked towards Iron Greaves. “I’m sure the Emperor will be very pleased with the devices.”

“Oh I am.”

Iron Greaves and the Captain turned to face the voice. Strategy saluted and Greaves bowed as Emperor Chalmers strolled up behind them with Reflection by his side.

“Everything works sir, your diagrams for the new weapons were spot on!” Iron gushed excitedly as Strategy spared a glance towards his troops to ensure that they were on their best behavior for the ruler. Nigel took a moment to give all of the assembled soldiers a proud nod before he gave a thumb up to Greaves.

“To think they laughed at me when I took ancient warfare in officer school.” Nigel raised a fist to the sky dramatically much to the amusement of Reflection. “Who’s laughing now, Nigel M Chalmers that’s who!” Chalmers followed up his declaration with a peal of hearty laughter before looking down at the very confused blacksmith. “Just think Iron, you’re lucky that I didn’t drop the class to do something useless like ‘Diplomacy and Negotiation Training’.”

“I… am very glad, sir?” Iron hesitantly answered as Strategy coughed into a hoof to attract the Emperor’s attention.

“You seem to be in a very good mood Emperor,” the Captain observed. “I trust that the Equestrian Gala went well?” Reflection stepped towards Strategy and tilted her head to the side in confusion.

“None of the guards told you?” she asked, receiving a head shake in response from Strategy.

“No they didn’t,” Strategy answered.

“I got stabbed and a Prince insulted Reflection,” Nigel provided. Both the Captain and Blacksmith drew back in surprise while whispers broke out amongst the soldiers lined up in the yard.

“What happened to cause that?” Strategy asked with disbelief on his face.

“Well the prince was a complete tosspot who took offence to Reflection's existance so when I stepped in to defend her, like a gentleman I might add, he attacked me with a broken wine glass.” Strategy shook his head, he wouldn’t have believed it if it was anyone else involved. “He was swiftly introduced to a buffet table, the Equestrian Princesses tore him a new one and the night ended well in more than one way.” Strategy missed the conspiratory look that the Emperor and Reflection shared, the Captain more focused on the whispering troops behind him.

“Quiet down soldiers,” Strategy ordered as he tried to figure out how a stabbing of an Emperor could end well. Chalmers however thwarted his attempts to bring the troops to order, the human walking up to the lines of armoured ponies and changelings.

“No need for that at the moment Captain,” Chalmers said over his shoulder before turning back to his troops. “Now for you lot. Enjoying the new weapons are we?” Nigel was answered with a chorus of ‘yes, Commander sir,’ as the soldiers stood up straight. Chalmers scanned the ranks as Reflection walked over to the ballista to get a closer look. “Where’s Corporal Chatter, is he on patrol?”

“No, he’s off-duty today since he accompanied you last night,” Strategy informed as Nigel rubbed his chin in thought.

“Interesting,” Chalmers mused to himself. “I wonder if that’s why Sparkling asked for the day off as well…”

“Is something wrong sir?” Strategy inquired, Nigel shaking his head.

“Nothing Captain, I was just talking to myself about a small matter. There is no need to be concerned.” Chalmers glanced over towards the white sheets in the corner of the yard. “I take it that those are other ballistas?” Iron Greaves ran up in response, having overheard the question.

“They are, Emperor,” the blacksmith replied. “Ten more of them are ready. Another two weeks and we should have twenty more working. Five-hundred bolts with standard tips have been constructed, we have one-hundred incendiary tips and I am taking the liberty of experimenting with some alternate materials. The aid of the unicorns has been essential sir, even the two assigned to me have made a huge difference.”

“It’s good that they have adapted back in so quickly,” Chalmers agreed as Reflection made her way back to them. Iron looked towards the changeling’s chest, the pink gem having caught his attention. The blacksmith’s eyes widened in recollection and he raced off towards the armory entrance fifty metres away.

“Where are you going Iron?” Chalmers called after the stallion, Iron not stopping as he looked back over his shoulder.

“I’ve got one more thing to show you,” Iron yelled back. “I need one changeling guard for this so can one changeling soldier please follow!” The fifty-three armoured changelings looked between each other before the one closest to the armory rushed off to follow the blacksmith.

While the soldier disappeared into the armory interior Nigel looked questionably towards Captain Strategy.

“You don’t know what’s got Iron so worked up?” Chalmers asked, Strategy furrowing his brows in response.

“No, Emperor,” Strategy answered. “I only know about the Ballista so anything else is new to me.” Nigel hummed and scratched Reflection behind the ears as the changeling sat down in bliss. She started to rub her head against the Emperor’s leg with affection, the guards relaxing at a nod from Strategy. The soldiers began to chat with one-another while they waited, Strategy waiting uncomfortably next to Reflection and Nigel as the two showered each other with attention.

It took a while but soon iron Greaves returned to the yard, the changeling soldier in tow. All the guards leaned in to get a closer look at the soldier as the blacksmith led it to the Emperor. The grey metal plates covering the changeling looked heavier than the regular armour, large shoulder guards and greaves protecting the trooper’s body. The helmet was also different, a clear shield constructed from transparent crystal instead of a traditional metal visor. Also of note was the large array of nine, pink gems set on the right side of the soldier and the large rectangular shield attached to the left.

“Iron,” Chalmers started as he stared at the changeling who looked like he was dressed to break up a riot. “Just what the hell have you made?” Iron ran a hoof along the steel armour and stopped at the pink gems shielded by a metal plate.

“It’s a creation I call the ‘Infantry Suppression System, Changeling Model’. What it does is use love-battery gems, given to us by Golden Ring for testing, to enable a changeling soldier to fire a large amount of magical bolts in a short amount of time.” Iron moved around to the left of the soldier to point at the large shield attached to three hinged metal arms. “The shield locks into place into combat to shield the soldier from any enemy fire. Private Shift, would you please activate your shield like I showed you.”

A green glow lit up around the shield and it swung into place, the rectangular piece of gem-imbedded metal covering the front of the changeling. A square cut into the top of the shield allowed the soldier to peer out while also letting the tip of her black horn poke out.

“The shield is inlaid with strengthening gems and withstood repeated hits from magic bolts without a scratch.” Iron reached through the square in the shield to tap at the crystal visor that was part of the changeling’s helmet. “The visor itself is constructed from hardened crystal that can resist magical and crossbow bolts. We used a clear visor to ensure maximum visibility in combat. The role of changelings like the private here, and eventually unicorns once the population recovers, is to support infantry squads with rapid suppression fire. I took the idea from those ‘machine guns’ you told me your ancestors used in their wars.”

“We still use them today, at least more developed versions of them,” Nigel commented as he bent down to face the armoured soldier. “Is it heavy at all in there, Private?”

“No sir,” the female replied. “It doesn’t weigh any more than the standard armour, the shield is a little heavy but the crystals balance it out fine. The padding is pretty good as well, I can hardly feel the armour around me.” Chalmers nodded at her response, standing back up and looking down towards Reflection.

“We might have to get you one,” Nigel directed at her while he gave her head a rub. Reflection shuddered and shook her head at the suggestion.

“No, I think I’ll pass on that,” she answered while examining the large shield. “I don’t really want to wear anything that needs an enchanted shield to protect my face.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Chalmers joked before glancing down at Iron again. “Well it looks impressive Iron, but does it work?” The Blacksmith nodded, directing Private Shift to turn towards a set of snow-bag targets to the left of the destroyed stall.

“It hasn’t been tested yet, Emperor but I am confident that everything is going to go smoothly. Now if Captain Strategy allows I would wish to use the aid of the Private here to test it for you.” The Captain walked up and nodded, having been intensely watching as Iron pointed out the armor’s features.

“I don’t see why not. Do you just need the Private to fire normally or do you need something else to be done first?” Iron shook his head as he moved to stand next to the changeling guard. Everyone including the assembled guards were watching the three targets at the end of the range with interest as Private Shift’s horn started to glow.

“Nothing else needs to be done.” Iron replied. “Now Private, when you fire the first shot you should feel the energy from the crystals recharge you quickly. I want you to fire three single shots at each target to begin with.”

“Okay,” the Private responded before firing three bolts at the targets. Two hit their snow-bags while the other landed just short, Shift shuffling in her armour to compensate for the weight at the sides.

“Do you feel any different Private?” Iron asked, eliciting a head shake from the changeling.

“No, it’s like I haven’t fired any magic at all. Normally after three shots I’d start to feel some drain.” Iron grinned and pointed towards the targets with a hoof.

“Good, everything seems to be working as needed. Now can you please fire as many bolts as you can at the targets. When I tap you on the shoulder, I want you to stop.”

“I can do that,” Private Shift replied as she adjusted her hoofing and braced. Once again she pointed her horn downrange and fired off a bolt.

Everyone’s eyes widened in awe as a hail of green bolts flew out from the changeling without pause, peppering the targets and surrounding ground with holes. The gems set into the right-side of the changeling’s armour glowed bright as the firing continued. Iron waited until they had reached ten seconds of sustained fire before he tapped Shift on the shoulder, the changeling’s magic dying out leaving the soldier breathing heavily.

“Are you okay Private Shift?” Chalmers asked with concern as the changeling shakily nodded her head.

“Yes Emperor,” she answered while huffing. “I can just feel lots of energy coursing through me, is that normal?”

“It was expected,” Iron replied as he moved to view the gems, which were slightly dimmer than before. “Does it hurt Private?”

“No,” Shift responded as she got her breathing under control. “It actually feels pretty good. I feel so full of energy and I can continue if you want. I was just not expecting that much power.” Iron shook his head and used a hoof to swing the Private’s shield back to the side.

“That won’t be needed Private, you can remove your helmet if you want.” Shift nodded and levitated her helmet off of her head, the changeling placing it onto her back as Iron gestured for the Emperor, Reflection and Strategy to come around to the Private’s right side. “Now see these gems here,” Iron explained as he lifted up the metal guard to expose the pink gems sitting in a rack. “These ones still hold a charge but when they are depleted it’s a simple matter of unclasping the rack and inserting a new one.”

Iron pointed towards two metal buckles able to be manipulated by hooves. Strategy tilted his head and gestured at the rack.

“I assume that a second changeling or pony will be needed to remove the rack as well as carry spare ones.”

“They will be,” Iron replied. “Now military tactics is not my area. That field belongs to you and the Emperor,” Iron nodded towards Chalmers, the human enjoying watching his subordinates figure this out without his input. Captain Strategy chewed his lip in thought while examining Private Shift in her armour.

“How many of these suits do you have?” Strategy asked.

“Only the one now Captain,” Iron answered. “However since the prototype is such a success we can start work on more right away. With our current work on the ballistas we can produce possibly two a week. I recommend that certain soldiers be trained in the suit we have as soon as possible to allow for immediate deployment once the rest are made.”

“I agree,” Strategy said with a nod. “The tactical advantage that such suits would give our forces is something we can’t pass up.” Strategy looked up towards Chalmers. “Emperor, a team of three would be ideal. One changeling wearing a suit supported by two loaders with extra crystal-racks would be adequate. I believe that if possible we should strive to attach one of these teams to each ten-pony squad. That would allow each squad to operate efficiently and be able to encounter any flying enemies, such as Pegasi.”

“War with Equestria is thankfully un-likely,” Chalmers replied. “I do however agree that it can’t hurt to be prepared. I trust that you and Iron will be able to implement such methods without much of my input. Great work both of you,” Nigel glanced down at Private Shift. “You too Private, I hope that you will continue to perform as you did today.”

“Thank you sir,” Shift answered. “I’ll try my best.”

“Good, I have great confidence in you.” Nigel turned to the Captain. “Strategy, I believe that it is almost time for lunch. Would you please dismiss the troops, you should join me and Reflection and we can grab some food in the city.” Strategy saluted and moved to his troops, the soldiers soon filing out of the training yard and towards the mess hall. Chalmers looked down towards Iron Greaves who was directing Private Shift to the armory. “Will you also be joining us Iron?”

“I’m afraid not Emperor,” Iron regretfully called back. “I have a lot of work to finish and I need to help Private Shift out of her armour. I’d hate to hold you up.”

“Okay then,” Chalmers answered. “Some other time perhaps, keep up the good work.” Strategy returned and saluted his ruler and Reflection.

“I am ready to depart sir,” Strategy informed, Nigel waving a hand as he turned towards the exit.

“Drop the formality Strategy, none of the troops are around and you’re off duty for an hour.” The Captain followed as Chalmers and Reflection started to move towards the exit to the city. “Let’s just all relax and enjoy our lunch while we have a rare break in the excitement. We could all use it.” Strategy nodded as he moved to the other side of Nigel, the Emperor now flanked by the Captain and Reflection.

“Okay… Nigel,” Strategy agreed with some hesitation at the informality. His answer was met with a chuckle from Chalmers and a giggle from Reflection, the Captain sighing as the changeling received another head pat.

While he did enjoy having an opportunity to share a meal with his Emperor, a being he respected greatly, he didn’t look forward to playing third wheel while the two lovers fawned over each other. He steeled himself and tried to put that thought out of his mind.
He had survived a Diamond Dog raid and Sombra’s reign, surely lunch with the two wouldn’t be that trying?

A pair of tired, brown eyes narrowed as they examined the city in the distance. A sheen could be seen surrounding the habitation with a dome, presumably what was keeping out the harsh winter winds. Inside the city was mostly sunny, save for a snow-covered area on the outskirts that seemed to be part of a military compound.

With a grunt the owner of the eyes pulled himself off the snowy hill he was laying against, a shaggy fur coat the colour of his eyes.
The young male elk shook the snow off his antlers, the large set almost ready to shed. He stretched before turning away from the city with a frown on his face. It was as the chief had feared, outsiders had returned to the sacred snow plains once again.

With a flick of his short tail the elk galloped off into the lightly-falling snow away from the city. The Chief would hear of this trespass.

“Thank you.”

Nigel politely took the plate of salad from the very nervous waitress and placed it on the table to join Strategy’s. Reflection had declined any solid food, however she had ordered a tall glass of iced tea. The three sat inside the rather cozy café with their food and drink ready to go, while the other patrons whispered excitedly to each other about the royal visit. Unseen by anyone, the owner was currently jumping around her office with excitement at the thought of the business that the visit would bring.

Chalmers picked up a large fork meant for unicorn use while the waitress finished putting down the three iced teas.

“I’ll be back after you have finished, Emperor,” the young mare informed as she shook on her emerald hooves. “If you need anything at all I’ll be back right away.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Nigel reassured while Reflection took a particularly noisy gulp of tea through a straw. “That is if Reflection remembers her manners.” The changeling’s cheeks bulged and turned a deep green as she struggled to prevent the tea escaping. While Nigel grinned at her she managed to force the liquid down, saving herself further embarrassment in front of the waitress and other patrons.

“Nigel!” Reflection hissed as she glared at him. “Stop it!”

Her angry words had no effect on the cheerful human, Chalmers looking her dead in the face.

“Don’t you mean, ‘stop it please’?”

This did not help the situation at all, Reflection launching a barrage of hoof-smacks at the Emperor’s left arm. Captain Strategy tried his very best to make himself as small as possible as his two companions continued the play fight. It was quite an impossible feat considering that he was still wearing his armour but thankfully for him the attention of all the patrons was focused directly on the changeling attacking the Emperor.

“One issue with your plan there,” Nigel chuckled as Reflection continued to fruitlessly hit him. His hands quickly moved up and grasped her forehooves as she glared at him from her seat. “I have hands and thus have so much power over you.” Chalmers leaned forward and pressed his nose against Reflection’s, “Something which you got an example of last night.”

Reflection’s blush deepened and her mouth dropped open. None of the other patrons had overheard the words but Strategy had. The Captain suddenly became very focused on his salad, not a single bite taken yet but he felt that it was the best course of action. All the ponies in the café were gazing at the Emperor and changeling with awe, pleasantly suprised that they were able to witness such casual behavior. Chalmers began to move Reflection’s hooves to the sides and the middle as he pulled his face away.

“Hey, Macarena!” he declared as he completed the dance steps using Reflection’s hooves. Reflection didn’t like how he was mocking her, her horn lighting up with a green glow. Strategy and the rest of the patrons watched with baited breath as a glass filled with iced-tea lifted off the table and suspended over the Emperor’s head. Nigel glanced up at the glass, just as it tipped over.

Strategy’s eyes widened as his ruler was drenched with cold liquid. Shocked gasps filled the café at the display and the torrent of tea stopped as the glass was emptied. Chalmers didn’t move as cold icecubes slapped against his forehead and his clothes dripped with tea.

“I forgot about that,” the Emperor muttered. Reflection’s embarrassment was forgotten as she smirked triumphantly up at the human with her hooves still in his hands. Her celebration was short lived, her eyes widening in surprise as the hands quickly moved to her sides and lifted her off her seat. She had no time to complain before she was dumped into Nigel’s lap, the pants soaked with tea.
Reflection recovered enough just in time to feel a hand move away, her eyes looking above her as a full glass of Chalmers’s drink was held above her.

“No…” she stated slowly as she looked pleadingly at Nigel. She was met with eyes filled with a mischievous glint and it was at that moment that she realized that she was doomed.

Reflection spluttered as the glass was emptied over her and she was doused in cold tea. Her green mane flattened with the moisture and her tail was also drenched, leaving her in a disheveled state. The empty glass was placed back down on the table and she felt an arm wrap around her waist to pull her towards Nigel’s chest.

“Now what did we learn?” Chalmers asked as he plucked a cherry tomato from his salad and plopped it into his mouth. Reflection shook her head in a vain attempt to dry her mane before she huffed and glared up at him.

“I learnt that you’re an idiot,” she shot back. Nigel merely chuckled again and moved his hand to the middle of Reflection’s back, between her wings. As his hand rubbed the spot, Reflection’s wings fluttered and she held back a gasp.

Captain Strategy had given up on trying to figure out what was going on in the Emperor’s head and so he had just begun to eat his salad. He almost longed to be back out in the training yards, by the Heart, even war would be preferable to having to sit through this and share in the attention.

“Nigel, stop it,” Reflection begged. “It’s so embarrassing and everyone’s watching.” Chalmers halted and glanced around the café, remembering that they were indeed in a public place. As he scanned over the confused and surprised faces of his subjects he did the only thing he could think off that made sense.

Well, sense to him anyway.

Reflection gasped as she found herself pulled up into a kiss, the contact so surprising that she didn’t fight back. Her limbs relaxed and whatever anger that was left was washed away by the affection. Chalmers broke the kiss and placed Reflection back down on his lap before turning towards the café patrons all staring at him.

A stallion at a back table started to tap his hooves together like a clap, the motion spreading as more stallions and mares joined in. Nigel swept a hand in front of him and bowed in his seat, Reflection burying her face into his chest to hide her blush. Nigel turned back around to the table as the applause started to die out to find his guard Captain staring at him with an open mouth.

“It’s rude to stare at someone with your mouth full, Strategy.” The Captain shut his mouth quickly and chewed, his hoof reaching out to grab his glass of tea tightly. Chalmers held up his hands to show that he had no designs on the Captain’s drink. As Strategy relaxed he moved his hands back down to Reflection’s head, rubbing behind her ears and pulling her face away from his chest. “Sorry, guess I went a little overboard with the excitement.” Reflection’s glare softened with the ear rub and apology.

“It’s okay,” she sighed. “I didn’t help and I caused far more of the trouble. I just feel like everyone is always judging what I do because I’m with you,” she murmured as the activity in the café went back to normal.

“Let them judge,” Nigel retorted before leaning down and whispering to her. “Besides, I’m fairly certain that half of the mares in here are jealous that it’s you sitting in my lap and not them.” Reflection giggled and pushed against his stomach with a hoof while Nigel selected a piece of lettuce from the plate, his fork forgotten.

“Excuse me Emperor and Lady,” the waitress who had served them earlier shakily asked as she approached with a white towel on her back. “Would you like a towel to dry off?” Reflection nodded, the young waitress shivering as a green glow levitated the towel off her back. Reflection dried her mane with the towel, Chalmers rubbing her back while she did so.

“Thank you Miss,” the Emperor stated to the nervous young mare. “If I may request another towel for myself?”

“Oh course sir,” the waitress stammered before turning to rush off towards the kitchens.

“Oh, one more thing,” Nigel called out after her, the mare stopping to face him.

“Yes sir?” she asked hesitantly.

“Could you also fetch us some more iced tea while you’re at it?”

The door to the café jingled as it shut behind the three as they exited. Nigel, Strategy and Reflection walked out onto the sunny street with ponies and changelings giving them polite nods and waves before going on with their day. Not one noticed the Emperor’s slightly damp hair and clothes, or Reflection’s wet mane and tail. Strategy mumbled a quick goodbye, thanking the Emperor for the meal before heading back to the training yard.

“Goodbye Captain,” Chalmers called out after the retreating guard. The Emperor smirked, the human glad that he had managed to ruffle the normally stoic stallion with the display inside the cafe. Reflection had warmed up more during the meal, the changeling back to her normally cheery self. Despite smelling like iced tea she was waving back to many ponies and changelings as they passed. Chalmers neglected to wave and instead nodded in return as the two made their way back to the palace.

“Did you really have to tip the waitress that much?” Reflection questioned as Nigel stopped to shake his damp hair.

“We pretty much had a food fight in the café,” Nigel reminded her. “A good tip is barely beginning to make up for that. I’ll also have to send something to the owner, I suppose, for putting up with us.” Reflection playfully bumped her rump against him.

“Well, if you’re paying people to put up with you then I think I’m owed the entire treasury by now.” A wide smile punctuated her statement, Chalmers reaching down to run a hand through her mane.

“Only a few weeks and already you’re bleeding me dry,” Nigel joked while the two moved past crowds of excited subjects. Reflection didn’t reply and instead just enjoyed the warmth of the sun. The enjoyment didn’t last for long as a large shadow flew overhead, causing the crowd surrounding the two to let out surprised gasps. Chalmers and Reflection looked up just in time to spot an Equestrian chariot soar above them and head to the main park.

“Are you expecting anyone?” Reflection questioned as Nigel frowned and changed course towards the park.

“No,” Nigel replied. “I did tell Celestia that she could drop by anytime so maybe she decided to show up today.” The pair increased their pace, rounding the corner past a sweet shop to enter the main park.

The Equestrian chariot was sitting on a clear patch of grass, the park having provided plenty of space for a landing. The four pegasi attached to it glanced around nervously as a force of twenty Crystal guards galloped towards them from the left. The approaching guards however stopped with a hand raise from Chalmers, the Emperor and Reflection approaching from the right of the chariot.

“So gents,” Chalmers called out, attracting the attention of the pegasi. “Just who have you brought to my humble domain?” The Equestrian guards shifted in their armour as the chariot’s right door opened, Shining Armour hastily getting out of the vehicle. The stallion was wearing his armour, a single suitcase levitating in his magic field.

“Hi Nigel,” Shining greeted, shocking his own guards with the informality. “Celestia suggested that I spend some time in the Empire to relax and get away from things.” Shining glanced over the Emperor and Reflection, taking note of the dampness and messy appearance. “Is this a bad time?”

“Not at all,” Nigel answered as he walked over and took Shining’s suitcase from him, much to the suprise of all the guards and civilians watching. “Reflection and I just had a little food fight in a local café. It’s been a rather slow day.” Shining did a double-take at this information, the stallion furrowing his brows before remembering what Celestia had told him before he had left.

“Oh, that’s right,” he commented as he glanced at Reflection. “I heard that you were dating your changeling advisor.” Shining Armour looked back at the chariot as shuffling sounded from inside, a pink hoof stepping out onto the grass. “This is going to be really awkward,” he apologized to Nigel and Reflection as Princess Cadence exited the chariot.

Cadence didn’t have any luggage, the alicorn moving to stand beside Shining who seemed to lean away from her. An uneasy silence descended upon the four, Nigel and Shining both looking away as Reflection and Cadence sized each other up with frowns. Eventually Nigel manned up and took a deep breath before giving Cadence a polite nod.

“Princess Cadence, how nice it is to see you again,” Chalmers greeted as he forced a smile. Cadence’s frown deepened before she closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate, her face relaxing before she opened her eyes again.

“The same to you,” she strained out, Cadence’s false smile a lot less convincing.

“Well, you see,” Shining coughed into a hoof as Nigel gave him a questioning look while Reflection continued to glare at Cadence. “When Celestia suggested I visit the Empire… she also said that it would be good if I brought Cadence along. We’ve been going through a rough patch the last few weeks.” Chalmers’s look softened at Shining’s explanation, despite Cadence’s behavior towards Reflection in the past he rather enjoyed the Equestrian Captain’s company. It was probably because Shining also didn’t care much for the formality of his station, which was something Nigel respected.

“It’s fine,” Nigel reassured. “It’s not really a big deal, and on the bright side you’re here. If you didn’t have any plans we should go out to a bar and grab a beer… or whatever it is that Crystal ponies drink,” Chalmers muttered before scratching his chin in thought. “Now that I think about it I actually don’t even know if they have alcohol. Still, we should probably try to find out if you feel up to it.” Shining Armour’s face lit up in a wide grin, the Captain nodding his head to the idea.

“That sounds like a plan,” he agreed happily. Cadence however had a different opinion, the alicorn fixing Shining with a disappointed look.

“I thought that we were going to try and work out our relationship, Shining,” Cadence said as she broke the staring match with Reflection. Nigel stepped in quickly as Shining’s face fell.

“Well we could do a double-date thing,” Chalmers supplied hastily in an attempt to salvage the situation. “You two and us two head out to a nice pub or something to get a meal and some drinks. Maybe it would help to ease some of this tension that obviously exists between us.” Cadence bit her lip in thought and looked back towards Reflection. Nigel glanced down and saw that the changeling was actually baring her two fangs at the Princess. “That means you too Reflection,” he lectured as he tugged on her ear to stop her glaring.

“I… guess that we can try it,” Cadence relented before shooting another venomous look at Reflection. “I can’t promise that I will enjoy it though.” Shining turned to tell Cadence off before a hiss caught everyone off guard. All eyes locked on Refection after the changeling made the strange sound. Her head was lowered and her eyes were staring right into Cadence’s with a dangerous glint.

Despite the serious situation and the shock of the two Equestrians and their guards, Nigel almost burst into laughter with how adorable Reflection looked to him. Containing his mirth as he fought to maintain his façade, Nigel swept Reflection up in his arms and shot Cadence and Shining an apologetic look.

“Excuse me,” he apologized as he turned and started to walk towards a bench well out of earshot. “I must have words with Reflection here.” With that the Emperor swiftly increased his pace, clamping a hand over Reflection’s mouth until they reached the bench. Making sure that they wouldn’t be overheard, Nigel let go of Reflection and looked into her angry eyes. “Now that was just uncalled for.”

“No it wasn’t,” Reflection shot back. “I just know that she will spoil everything.” Chalmers sighed and shifted Reflection in his grasp so that his hands were under her forelegs, leaving her hind legs to dangle in the air.

“Look,” he started as he fixed her with a weary gaze. “Can you just try to get along, for me?” Reflection softened at this, her anger fading as she looked down at the pink gem around her neck.

“I don’t know,” she mumbled. “Even after our little revenge plan at the Gala I still feel so terrible around her. Something in my gut just tells me that she’s bad news.”

“Consider it from her perspective,” Nigel suggested as he pulled Reflection in a little closer to his chest. “Cadence must be filled with jealousy. I’ve taken control of the country that she was apparently supposed to rule, the subjects dislike her greatly, she’s having troubles with her lover and to top it all off the human that took her empire from her is sleeping with a member of the race that crashed her wedding. Can’t you see that she may just be extremely stressed out and that’s why she’s so mean to you?” Reflection sighed and held her forelegs out, hoping for a hug.

“I suppose so,” she muttered before Nigel pulled her close into an embrace. The Emperor’s arms moved from her forelegs to wrap around her back, Chalmers easily supporting her weight.

“Good, now do you think you could find the strength to apologize to her for hissing?” Reflection scrunched up her face at the suggestion. “Just to let you know,” Nigel informed as he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “I found the hissing adorable. You’re even cuter when you’re angry.” Reflection blushed before her limbs relaxed.

“You always know what to say, don’t you,” she murmured before sighing again. “Fine, I’ll go over and apologize to her, for you. I know you’re only really doing this because you want to go drinking with Shining Armour.” Nigel lowered her to the ground, a hand resting over his heart as soon as Reflection’s hooves had hit the ground.

“What? He’s potential bro material.” Reflection shook her head at the strange term.

“Bro material?”

“Yeah,” Nigel continued. “A guy has friends, and then once a friend meets certain criteria then they are put on the ‘bro-chart’ and begin to gain bro points.” Reflection stared at Nigel as he continued on explaining his system. “Bro points are earned by going out drinking, visiting strip clubs, going fishing, more drinking, not taking crap from controlling girlfriends and having great parties. As you earn more points you become a bigger and better bro.”

“Okay…” Reflection nodded hesitantly. “Shining Armour is bro material because?”

“Because he’s easy to talk to, laughs at my jokes, doesn’t bother with formality and I get the feeling that under that mask of a military officer there’s a surfer-dude just waiting to rock out, get wasted and party.” Chalmers shot a glance towards the waiting Equestrian duo. “It’s probably the hair that gives it away.”

“Okay, I get it.” Reflection conceded before starting to trot off towards Cadence. “Let’s just let this over with so we can go back home and have a shower.” Nigel shrugged and followed her, Cadence watching Reflection warily as the changeling stopped in front of her.

“Uh, Princess Cadence,” Reflection began hesitantly as Nigel stood beside her. “I’m sorry for hissing at you, I’m still working on controlling my temper.” Cadence was shocked at Reflection’s apology, the Princess raising her eyebrows in confusion.

“Thank… you?” she replied, Reflection letting out a breath before turning to walk off towards the palace. Nigel watched her go, secretly proud of her courage to apologize to her nemesis.

“Well that worked out well,” Chalmers observed as he faced Cadence and Shining again. “Tonight is still a go then?”

“I don’t see why not,” Cadence relented as she moved closer to Shining.

“We just have to find a hotel first,” Shining added, Nigel putting both hands up in front of him.

“Nonsense,” he declared. “You can stay in one of the Palace’s guest rooms for as long as you want.” Shining quickly raised a hoof and shook it in the air.

“No, we can’t possible impose-“

“I won’t have it any other way,” Nigel interrupted. “AS far as I’m concerned you deserve the same privileges as foreign ambassadors so the Palace it is. Now about your chariot…” All three turned to look at the vehicular with the four nervous pegasi guards strapped into it. “I’m afraid that leaving it parked there is an issue.” Shining Armour held up a hoof as a signal that he had it covered, the Captain trotting over to the four guards.

“Thank you troops,” he addressed to his guards. “You can return to Equestria now. If we need anything I’ll contact the Princess.” The four pegasi seemed hesitant at leaving the Captain and Princess Cadence in a foreign Empire but after a few moments their wings flapped and they took flight. Crystal ponies and Changelings ambling around the park, kept out by the guards who had formed a perimeter, looked up as the chariot flew away into the distance. Nigel picked up Shining’s suitcase from the ground where it had been placed and gestured towards the road leading to the Palace.

“After you,” he offered, Cadence and Shining walking out in front of him as the guards escorted the three back to the castle.

The inside of the pub quieted down into silence as the Emperor, his advisor-slash-lover, Shining Armour and the Equestrian princess who had been placed in the stocks weeks ago walked in. The four quickly made their way to a table in a back corner, patrons surprised that the ruler of the Empire was frequenting a pub instead of a fancy restaurant.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Cadence asked as she sat next to Shining, the Princess glancing around nervously at the glares she was receiving from most of the bar patrons. She gulped when she saw that the most hateful glares were coming from the few changelings that were mixed in with the crystal ponies. “I don’t think that I’m welcome here.”

“You got that right,” Reflection muttered under her breath. Nigel however still heard it and gave her a warning look before tapping on the crystal table to gain Cadence’s attention.

“Just ignore them,” Chalmers suggested as he glanced at the offenders and waved a finger at them. The changelings and ponies that had been glaring at Cadence looked away at the behest of the Emperor, a few smiling in apology to him before returning to their drinks. “As soon as they see that I’m okay with you a lot of the distrust should go away. I highly doubt that you’ll get attacked in the stree…”

Nigel didn’t finish the sentence, remembering the circumstances of his first meeting with Cadence. Shining Armour coughed into a hoof and Cadence looked down at the table uncomfortably. Reflection had frozen, half of her angry at the reminder of what Cadence had done while the other half was threatening to burst into laughter at Nigel’s blunder. Luckily for all four, the arrival of the Emperor prompted an immediate visit from the serving staff.

“Good Evening, Emperor,” the waitress had a coat the colour of pink-sapphire and bowed as she greeted the ruler. “Y-your visit is unexpected,” the young mare stammered as she looked up to find her ruler’s eyes on her. Chalmers smiled down at her and reached a hand out to pat the mare’s purple mane.

“I’ve always been a bar-man, even gaining an Empire won’t change that,” Nigel informed before gesturing to the waitress’s simple white uniform. “You’re rather young to be working in a bar.”

“I’m twenty-two, I just look younger,” the mare replied with a slight blush. “I’m hoping to start a place of my own one day,” she continued causing Nigel to smile, as the other three at the table watched the exchange with interest.

“Good for you. Now, about our drinks and food,” Nigel glanced towards Shining and Cadence as the waitress withdrew a notepad made of parchment from a large pocket on the front of her apron.

“We have sandwiches, potato wedges, salads, a fruit platter and the special today is a vegetable pie,” the waitress supplied. Shining and Cadence looked at her strangely.

“You make wedges out of potatoes?” Shining inquired, the young mare unsure how to address the stallion. Shining was not wearing his armour so to her he looked like just another pony. Still, he was dining with the Emperor and appeared to be with a foreign Princess so she nodded politely.

“Yes sir,” she answered before looking back at him curiously. “What else do you make them out of?”

“Well,” Shining started. “Hay is the usual. Have you not heard of hay-fries?”

“Hay… fries?” the waitress replied unsure. Shining shook his head, remembering that the Crystal Empire had been gone for a thousand years.

“Never mind, I’ll give these ‘potato wedges’ a try,” Shining decided.

“Good choice,” Chalmers added. “Potato wedges are some of the best things invented.” Shining grinned and then looked at Cadence. The Princess recalled the options and made her choice.

“I’ll have the fruit platter, thank you.”

“Nothing for me thanks,” Reflection stated as the waitress turned to her. Nigel was the last one left, the Emperor quickly deciding on what he wanted.

“I can’t pass up the pie,” he chuckled as he patted his uniform-covered stomach. “Thank the geniuses at R and D for my superhuman metabolism. Who needs fancy guns when you can eat all that you want and not get fat? Not this Emperor.” Nigel pointed to himself before noticing the looks from his dining companions and the waitress. “Sorry,” he chuckled. “I’m just rambling again.”

“That’s good… I think,” the waitress hesitantly offered after she had written the orders down with a pencil grasped in her mouth. “What would you like to drink? We have assorted wines, I think we have a few bottles of fine port-“

“I’ll have the hardest spirit you serve, a double,” Nigel ordered much to the surprise of the waitress.

“Me too,” Shining added, a competitive look being sent the Emperor’s way. The human matched it with one of his own, Nigel going one step further.

“In mine I want a slice of lemon.”

“What’s a ‘Lemon’?” the waitress asked with confusion. Nigel cursed under his breath; he had forgotten that the Empire didn’t grow citrus due to the climate.

“Never mind about the lemon,” he conceded before turning back towards Shining. “It’s on Armour, you have no idea what hell you’ve just unleashed upon yourself.” Shining smirked back, Cadence shaking her head at the two males’ behavior.

“Just a glass of wine for me,” Cadence muttered. “I don’t mind which kind, surprise me.” The waitress wrote it down and looked towards the last member, Reflection. The changeling looked at Cadence and a small grin appeared on her face as she glanced to the awaiting mare.

“I’ll have the same as Ni- the Emperor. The hardest spirit, a double please.” The waitress paused and glanced towards Chalmers, the Emperor shrugging as he stared at Reflection.

“It’s your choice,” he said as Cadence frowned at the changeling, catching on to what Reflection was trying to do. She was not going to let the changeling get one over on her however.

“Actually,” Cadence spoke up confidently. “Change my wine to the same. Your hardest spirit and make it a double as well.”

“Are you sure Cadence?” Shining asked with worry. “You’ve never really drunk much alcohol-“

“It’s fine Shining,” Cadence reassured as she smirked at Reflection. “Tonight is supposed to be fun after all.” Reflection narrowed her eyes and Nigel worriedly mouthed ‘leave it’ to Shining, the stallion wincing and holding back any further arguments.

“Is that all then?” the waitress huffed as she put her pencil back into her pocket. Nigel nodded quickly in response.

“Yes, thanks for the patience,” Chalmers complemented. The waitress smiled at him warmly, Reflection shooting the mare a warning glare that sent her hurrying back to the bar.

“So I heard that Blueblood stabbed you at the gala,” Shining began as the four settled in for the wait. Nigel sighed as both Cadence and Shining looked at him curiously.

“It was nothing,” Nigel answered. “It was just a small fight and it was only a wine glass. Nothing permanent was done and we both walked away intact, although I believe that Celestia did far more damage to him then I did. I could hear her yelling from outside the room.”

“He’s a stuck-up snob,” Shining agreed. “He fits the stereotype of the ‘snobby noble’ perfectly. Out of the entire nobility he is the only one that I actually hate having to deal with, the majority of them are almost as bad but Blueblood takes it to a new level.” Cadence and Reflection stayed out of the conversation, both of them electing to just listen instead as the two males discussed the Prince’s behavior.

“He was drunk though,” Nigel added. “I can’t really judge how he acts when he’s sober.”

“Just as bad,” Shining informed with a huff. “He probably doesn’t have the guts to fight anypony though. All he does is leach off the treasury and parade around Canterlot. He’s known for being pretty vile when he gets angry,” Shining gave Reflection a sympathetic look. “I heard about what he said to you at the Gala, I’m sorry that the guards didn’t do more to stop it.”

“It’s fine,” Reflection replied curtly. “I just want to leave it behind and forget about it.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Nigel seconded as he grasped one of her forehooves with his hand. “I think our drinks are about to arrive anyway.” All four glanced to the end of the table as the waitress returned with a tray balanced on her back. With the aid of Shining’s magic, four glasses filled with a clear liquid were placed on the table. Nigel narrowed his eyes and picked up his glass, smelling the alcohol within.

“Miss,” he asked the waitress while raising an eyebrow. “Is this… vodka?”

“No sir, it’s called ‘Potadue’,” the waitress answered.

“But it is brewed from potatoes, correct?” Nigel inquired as the other three took sniffs of theirs. The young mare nodded as she placed the empty tray on her back.

“It is, it does have a very high alcohol content though so it’s quite popular.”

“I see,” Nigel responded before grinning. “So, you mean to tell me that you have managed to find a beverage in the Empire that does not contain any traces of berries or crystal, and then brought it to me?”

“Yes… sir?” the waitress replied nervously. “is something wrong?”

“Not at all,” Chalmers continued. “In fact I would kiss you if Reflection wouldn’t kill me for it. As much as I appreciate Crystal berries as a food source it does get tiring when they are put into everything.” Reflection stared at him to make sure that he refrained from kissing the waitress, the crystal mare blushing at the praise from the Emperor. Nigel leaned back in his seat and took a sip of his drink. “Oh, what I would give for a nice, juicy steak.”

“I’ll be right back with your food straight away!” the waitress hurriedly stated before quickly dashing off to the kitchen. Reflection wasn’t very surprised at the revelation that Chalmers ate meat, she had found his sharp incisors and canines when she had first kissed him. Shining and Cadence on the other hand were shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

“So you eat meat then,” Shining commented as Cadence leaned away from the Emperor.

“I do, humans are omnivores,” Nigel confirmed. “Does that bother you?” Shining Armour shook his head at the question as he took an experimental sip of his drink.

“Not really, I’ve worked with griffons before and they were pretty easy to get along with,” Shining explained. “They all seem to dislike the idea of eating an intelligent creature unless it’s an emergency, which is the same with humans I expect.” Nigel nodded.

“I can’t speak for all human-kind, but I can say with confidence that all of the people I know find eating something that can talk unsettling. My empire, the one that I originally come from, actually has outlawed the consumption of intelligent species save for emergency situations such as on the battlefield.” Shining nodded and Cadence relaxed a little at this, Nigel noticing her unease while Reflection enjoyed that he had such an effect on the Princess.

“I’m sorry,” Cadence apologized. “Unlike Shining I haven’t had much experience with… meat-eaters. I understand why many Equestrians are afraid of griffons, but you really don’t look like a predator.” Nigel chuckled and drank some more of his drink, Cadence taking a small sip of hers, causing her eyes to widen.

“I’ll take that as a complement,” he joked before raising a hand. “It’s okay, I can understand why you may be uncomfortable with it but,” Nigel leaned forward a little towards Cadence. “I should inform you that while humans may not look like it, we were the apex-predators on our home planet for a reason. Claws and big teeth are one thing, mentality and an inventive instinct is a whole different matter.” Cadence moved a little closer to Shining Armour at the information, the Captain absorbing the information with interest.

“You’re still a big softie inside,” Reflection teased as she poked Nigel in the side. “Mister Apex-Predator.”

The tension at the table started to wane as the changeling and human laughed together. Cadence and Shining looked at the two and then at each other, Cadence lowering her head and sighing.

“Shining, I’m really sorry for how I’ve treated you over the last few weeks,” Cadence apologized as Reflection and Chalmers stopped laughing to observe the interaction between the Equestrian visitors. “I’ve been under a lot of pressure and I haven’t been taking it well, can you please forgive me?” Shining exhaled and lifted Cadence’s chin with a hoof.

“I do Cadence,” Shining answered. “I… haven’t been the best husband either. I shouldn’t have shut you out when I could have talked to you about it instead, even if you’re scarier than a dragon when you’re angry.” Cadence smiled at this, the moment broken at a hacking cough from Reflection. Nigel, Shining and Cadence turned to find the changeling holding her glass with both hooves, almost a third gone already.

“Reflection,” Nigel scolded as he took the glass from Reflection’s trembling hooves. “You don’t drink that much and vodk- Potadue is strong. Take small sips or you’ll end up off your face in a few minutes.” Reflection waved him away as she finished coughing.

“I know, I’ll be fine,” she reasoned. “Just give me a minute.” Nigel looked to Shining and Cadence, shrugging with a happy smile on his face at Reflection’s antics.

“Ah, I knew that this would be a good idea,” he informed before raising his nose to sniff the air. “Speaking of a good idea, I smell pie and wedges.”

All four looked as their waitress returned with a changeling dressed in a matching uniform following behind. Both had trays piled with food, the pony transporting a large bowl of wedges and a huge plate of fruit while the changeling’s tray was dominated by a gargantuan pie. Shining Armour looked at the changeling waitress curiously as she used her green magic to levitate Nigel’s pie down in front of him. Chalmers just assumed that the Captain was unused to seeing the creatures in everyday life.

“That’s a bit too much pie isn’t it?” Reflection observed as she stared at the mound of food on Nigel’s plate.

“The cook heard about the Emperor visiting so he did an extra special one,” the crystal mare informed as she placed Shining’s wedges and Cadences fruit plate down on the table.

“You’ll just have to help me eat it then,” Nigel said to Reflection as he cut a small slice. Steam wafted out and the scent of assorted seasonings caused mouths to salivate. Before he took a bite Nigel looked towards his two guests, Shining taking a small bit of his wedges as Cadence started on some apple slices.

“No thanks,” Reflection acknowledged as she took a sip of her drink, wincing a bit. “I can’t stand solid food.”

“Your loss,” Nigel replied as he nodded at the two waitresses, both of them bowing before leaving the four to their food. All conversation halted as they ate and drank, for pub food it was very good. Reflection was surprised when Nigel managed to finish the entire pie, the human shooting Shining a victorious grin. The Equestrian captain still had a quarter of his wedges left in the bowl, unable to finish the generous serving. Cadence had managed to eat her entire meal with no problem and was now working on finishing her drink.

Shining frowned as he looked down to his bowl before he glanced towards his half-full drink. A part of his mind whispered that his next course of action was not going to end well, Shining ignoring it as he levitated his glass and downed the rest in one go before slamming it on the table. Chalmers’s eyebrow raised as the Equestrian smirked at him. Not one to back down from a challenge, Nigel grasped his glass and also downed it immediately. The two males stared at each other as their companions looked down at their own drinks.

“Can I get you another?” the crystal pony waitress asked, having rushed over as soon as she saw the Emperor finish his drink. She had been put on ‘Emperor-duty’ by the manager and was tasked with seeing to the ruler’s needs right away. Chalmers continued to stare off with Shining, handing his empty glass to the waitress.

“Yes thank you, exactly the same.”

“One for me too,” Shining ordered, Reflection sharing a look with Cadence before taking a breath and finishing the rest of hers.

“Me, me too,” she said with a cough. Reflection tilted her head to the side and stuck her tongue out at Cadence, the changeling already feeling a little more relaxed. Everyone looked at Cadence expectantly, the Princess sighing before emptying her glass with a few gulps.

“Fine, another for me as well,” Cadence ordered as she shuddered from the aftertaste. The waitress didn’t interject as she gathered the four empty glasses and trotted back off, returning shortly with a tray of fresh drinks.

Nigel didn’t wait for his, the Emperor taking his straight off the tray before he finished it in one go. Slamming the glass back onto the table he was met with four shocked looks from his guests and waitress.

“Top that,” Chalmers taunted to Shining, the Equestrian Captain biting his lip before levitating his glass towards him. Closing his eyes, Shining copied Nigel and finished his drink without a breath, much to the surprise of Cadence.

“What now?” Shining questioned as the waitress passed the two females their glasses. Nigel leaned back in his chair and grinned, placing his hands together so that the fingers formed a pyramid.

“It’s simple Shining, we continue until one of us forfeits or passes out. You can back out now of course,” Nigel’s grin increased. “But then you will forever go down in the history books as the stallion who couldn’t handle a few drinks.” Chalmers popped his neck as Reflection and Cadence watched the two face off. “I mean that literally, I can order it to be placed in the actual history book. One of the better perks of being an Emperor.” Shining’s eyes hardened at the challenge, his honor as a stallion and a guard captain was on the line.

“Let’s do this,” Shining accepted. “As they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.” Nigel flashed a toothy grin, placing both arms on the table.

“Waitress,” Chalmers addressed to the awaiting mare. “We require some more refreshments.”

“So then we dunked him in the fountain, armour and all!”

Nigel burst into hearty laughter as Shining retold how he had organized for an insubordinate guard to go for an unexpected swim in a city fountain. A pile of glasses was in front of both of them, the two having each finished ten drinks each. Shining swayed slightly in his seat and Nigel appeared the same, save for a cloudy look in his eyes. The competition had been swiftly forgotten as the night had continued, both of the competitors focusing instead on enjoying the company.

Cadence and Reflection had both stopped after the second drink, both of them leaning up against their partners as they shared stories. Nigel had remained tight-lipped about his past, instead focusing on re-telling experiences that had occurred since he had become Emperor. However, after the many drinks he began to share more details from his time outside of the Empire.

“Reminds me of the time when one of my close friends drank the last of the beer and didn’t bother to buy more,” Nigel contributed as Shining placed a foreleg on the table and rested his head on a hoof. “We drugged his food, waited until he fell asleep and then covered him in fake explosives and timers.” Nigel paused his retelling to laugh, re-living the moment as Shining drunkenly sniggered. Cadence had drifted off with her head against Shining’s shoulder and Reflection was completely out of it, the changeling staring at her empty glass on the table as her vision swam.

“What happened?” Shining asked, prompting Nigel to chuckle again.

“He woke up with twenty seconds on the timer to go, oh, how he yelled. It was completely worth the telling off that we got from the commander of the base for raiding the armory for timers.” Shining chuckled and was soon joined by Chalmers, the two wiping tears from their eyes before Chalmers surveyed the surrounding pub. He found it empty, his addled mind deducing that it was quite late in the evening.

“You’re so mean,” Reflection slurred as she rubbed her head against Nigel’s shoulder. Shining watched the changeling snuggle up against the Emperor, prompting the Captain to glance at his wife. Cadence was sleeping on his shoulder, the Princess out for the night. Shining turned around to face Chalmers again, just in time to see Reflection lose her balance and topple out of her seat.

Reflection panicked and flailed her limbs, her head landing straight into Nigel’s lap. The Emperor winced but immediately thought of Reflection’s own welfare. He hurriedly went to check on her but a giggle from Reflection waylaid his fears.

“This isn’t so bad,” she mumbled from under the table. Nigel quickly shot an apologetic look towards Shining, Cadence still sleeping soundly.

“And that there friends is a sign that it’s time to go home,” Chalmers apologized as he picked Reflection up off the ground and hugged her to his chest. She giggled in his arms, her breath heavy with the scent of alcohol.

“No arguments here,” Shining agreed, having managed to wake Cadence up. The Princess was off her seat and had a foreleg draped over Shining’s withers as the Captain helped her walk. Chalmers moved from out of the table with Reflection held in his arms. He joined Shining and Cadence as Reflection continued to nuzzle his chest.

“Hang on one second; I’ll meet you at the door.” With that Nigel walked over to the bar, the manager fast asleep with his bronze-coated head on the counter. “Excuse me sir.” The stallion jolted up, his ruby eyes widening as he looked up to find the Emperor looming over him.

“Emperor!” he said as he scrambled to make himself presentable. “Forgive me for falling asleep!”

“It’s no bother,” Nigel reassured as he waved a dismissive hand. “We are well past the closing time I believe so if it’s anyone’s fault then it’s mine.” The stallion went to try and shoulder the blame, Nigel holding up a finger to silence him before a word could be uttered. “Now don’t argue, I won’t have any of it. Just in regards to the bill, please send it to the castle. I’ll have my treasurer look over it.” Nigel made to leave but turned back around, remembering something. “Oh, and please add on ten percent for both of the waitresses. Actually, add ten percent for yourself as well in return for not kicking us out.”

“But that’s a lot of money for tips,” the manger tried to reason. He didn’t mind the extra money for him and his staff but he still felt that it was too much.

“Nonsense,” Nigel retorted. “It’s going to happen and it’s final. We had good food, great drinks, outstanding service and I think that it should be rewarded. Please send along my regards to the waitresses and rest assured that I will no doubt return often. Now I should be getting everyone home.”

“Thank you sir,” the manager acknowledged with pride. The compliments and promise of continued patronage was worth far more to him then the extra ten percent. Nigel gave the stallion a final nod before rejoining Shining and Cadence, the four leaving for the palace and thusly their beds.

Nigel got out of the bath and dried himself off, the cool water helping to clear his muddled mind somewhat. He was still feeling a little lightheaded but it wasn’t too bad. He smiled to himself as he went over the night, it had gone better than planned and everyone had a great night. There were no fights, no arguments and he felt that it was a success. Shining and Cadence had been escorted to their guest room and invited down for breakfast the next day, the two Equestrians thanking him for the night.

The smile disappeared from his face when he opened the package containing the new dressing gown that he had ordered from his tailor. He sighed as he held the hot-pink robe up, it was his own fault for not specifying the colour. After staring at it for a few moments he shrugged, some of his male subjects were pink-coated so it probably wasn’t a big blow to his manhood. Besides, it wasn’t like anyone outside the castle would see him in it.

He put it on, cursing under his breath as he realised that he had forgotten a fresh pair of underwear. His old pair was already in the wash basket by the door and he couldn’t be bothered to search around for it. It looked like he was wearing his new gown to bed. Rubbing his face with a hand, he walked out of the bathroom and found that the bedroom was dark except for two candles on the bedside table.

Reflection was lying on her side seductively on the red covers, her tail positioned strategically as she gazed at Nigel. Chalmers sighed internally; he should have guessed that this would happen. As he stared, Reflection beckoned with a hoof, the changeling still giddy from the alcohol she had drunk.

“Come on,” she pleaded as she grinned. “The night’s been great, let’s make it excellent.”

“You’re still drunk,” Nigel replied as he took a step closer to the bed.

“And you’re not?” Reflection asked mischievously as she flicked her tail out before drawing it back in.

“Touché,” Nigel conceded as he gazed down at the waiting changeling.

Well, she did have a point.

“Please?” Reflection continued. “You were fine with me at the Gala.” Chalmers considered it, he wasn’t that tired and he didn’t have anything planned in the morning apart from breakfast.

“There’s just one problem,” he sadly stated as he made his decision. Reflection’s ears drooped and her head lowered in disappointment.

“What?” she asked with a heavy voice.

“I’m not wearing underpants underneath this robe.”

Reflection jolted up at the answer, looking up at Nigel’s smile she realised that he was only playing with her. She grinned when she figured out that he was agreeing to her proposal. Reflection switched positions and rolled onto her back, her hind legs crossed while her forelegs were pressed up against her chest. She giggled as the Emperor climbed onto the bed and loomed over her with his larger form, her mouth opening for a kiss.

She was rewarded when his mouth met hers, Reflection’s forehooves moving to hug Nigel’s back as she mashed her tongue with his. Her face grew hot and her hind legs fell to the sides, her tail withdrawing and exposing all. Chalmers pulled away, Reflection able to taste the alcohol that he had drank.

“A lack of underpants will not be a problem,” Reflection panted out as she rolled her tongue around in her own mouth to relish the taste of the recently-broken contact. She gasped as she felt a hand brush her down low, the same hand coming back up with a light coating of clear fluid.

“And with only a single kiss as well,” Nigel chuckled warmly as he leaned down to plant kisses down Reflection’s neck. She bit her lip and trembled at the sensation, moving a hoof to push Nigel’s head away, causing him to stare at her in confusion. “Something wrong?”
“No,” Reflection answered. “I just thought that we could maybe skip the foreplay? I’m… kinda ready already.”

“First time I’ve heard a girl request that,” Nigel muttered before smiling back down at her. “If you want to, who am I to say no?” He quickly undid his gown, the hot-pink fabric falling to his sides and he took up position. Reflection smiled and leaned back, her eyes closing as she prepared to feel amazing. Her breath caught as she felt him start to move forward against her. “Here I go-“

“Emperor sir!”

Nigel was cut off and he quickly moved away as the male voice, combined with hurried knocks, spoiled the romantic mood. Reflection covered herself with the sheets as Nigel shot her an apologetic look before doing his gown back up. The human got off the bed and rushed to the door, opening it to reveal a frantic guard in full armour.

“What is it soldier?” Nigel questioned as the guard saluted sloppily.

“The watch reported a large army of unknown creatures approaching from the north! Captain Strategy is already mobilizing the troops but they are almost upon us! There are hundreds of them!” Chalmers swore loudly, an invasion just had to happen right now.

“Fuck’s sake, I’ll be down right away! Tell the Captain that I will be with him shortly!” The guard nodded and dashed off to deliver the news while Nigel turned around and hurried back to Reflection. The changeling had sat up in the bed and was staring at him worriedly, the situation clearing her mind of the alcoholic fog.

“We’re under attack again?” she asked with shock, Nigel leaning over to give her a quick kiss as he grabbed his sword from its rack on the wall.

“Stay here until I get back, I have to deal with this.” At his words Reflection scrambled to leave the bed, Nigel pushing her down as the changeling panicked. “Hey, relax. I’ll be fine. Take a deep breath and just trust me.”

“Okay,” Reflection followed his advice and exhaled. “Just come back, promise?”

“I promise,” Nigel replied as he kissed her again. “And when I do, we shall continue, you have my word.” Reflection nodded, watching with concern as he headed for the door.

“Wait!” she called out as she spotted his armour still assembled on its stand. “What about your armour!?” Nigel turned around at the door, attaching his sword’s scabbard to his bathrobe’s belt.

“Do not fear,” he reassured with a smile while running a hand down his gown’s chest. “My sheer pinkness will throw off the enemy’s aim. Smoke me a kipper, I’ll be back for breakfast.”

With those final words Nigel rushed out of the room, leaving behind a very worried changeling.

Captain Strategy was staring out anxiously at the line of torches from his position on the main north road, hundreds of the fires lighting up the night in the distance. All around him guards took their positions, Crystal ponies making walls of halberds while changeling soldiers stood behind the rows of halberd-toting guards. A few of the changeling guards had flown up to the roofs of buildings surrounding the road to give them a better line of fire if the army in the distance attacked. Private Shift had been hastily put into the new changeling armour, three guards assigned to help her reload the glowing gems on her side.

“Captain Strategy, report!”

Strategy turned to spot the Emperor weave through the guards crewing the three ballistas that had been hastily set up to point northwards. The human was dressed in a pink gown and nothing more, his sword attached to his fluffy pink belt. On his feet were a pair of soft pink slippers, the ruler obviously having been about to retire for the night when the alarm had been sounded. Strategy saluted as more guards rushed passed to add to the growing line of soldiers.

“Ten minutes ago the watch spotted a glow coming from the wastes of the north, sir,” Strategy informed. “The alarm was sounded and a few changeling scouts confirmed that creatures that look like deer were marching on the city. They don’t seem very coordinated but they are all armed with blades attached to their antlers. No ranged weapons have been sighted but we can’t rule them out.”

“The status of the garrison?” the Emperor inquired.

“We have most of the guards assembling here, with smaller teams heading to barricade and guard the rest of the entrances to the city.” Strategy paused for a second as a further twenty guards filed past with weapons and armour at the ready. The weeks of drills focusing around preparation for attacks were paying off, with the entire military force of the Empire mustering in a short amount of time. “At last count there are two-hundred and thirty-nine guards here now. We have three Ballistas set up with another two being prepared, while the rest are being deployed to guard the other entrances. We have the one set of advanced changeling armour here also, ready to go.”

“Good work Strategy,” Chalmers complemented as he stepped next to the Captain to gaze out at the enemy army. “Have they moved any closer since they were spotted?” Strategy nodded, pointing out to a set of snow-covered hills where the bulk of the creatures were centered.

“They have, but as soon as they reached those hills they stopped. They’ve been standing there waiting for something. We’ve received no demands, no threats, they haven’t sent out any scouts and they haven’t even declared who they are. We’ve done a rough count and it’s around seven-hundred of them to our four-hundred and forty guards.”

“So we’re outnumbered almost two to one,” Chalmers muttered as he continued to watch the enemy forces. “No matter,” he spoke up as he gave Strategy a pat on his armoured back. “We’ve got good weapons, good armour and most of all we all have proven that we can work together well in the stress of combat. Let them come if they wish, and they break upon our weapons like the sea upon the shore.” Strategy looked at his ruler with awe while the troops that had overheard the speech cheered in approval.

“Sir… that was amazing,” Strategy breathed out, Nigel tapping his finger against his nose.

“Don’t tell the troops this,” Nigel whispered to his Captain. “I’m still a little drunk from dinner and I get pretty wordy when I drink. Expect the rousing speeches to flow like alcohol at a student party.” Strategy wasn’t too sure what to think at the revelation that Chalmers was intoxicated.

Now that he thought about it, the ruler’s current choice of attire made much more sense.

“Are you planning to fight, Commander?”

“Of course,” Nigel replied as he tapped his sheathed sword. “Hopefully though we can sort this out without the need for bloodshed, maybe it’s all a misunderstanding.”

“I doubt that they’re here to drop in for tea,” Strategy dryly remarked as the two continued to observe the opposing forces from behind their troops.

“Maybe they’re here to try and sell us a religion?” Nigel offered, Strategy glancing up at him as two more ballistas were wheeled into place behind them.

“With hundreds of soldiers and weapons?” the Captain asked befuddled.

“Oh, you haven’t seen how far the priests go back home,” Nigel reminisced. “Regardless, I believe that the best course of action is to prepare for an attack. It never hurts to be prepared. We should move as many civilians as we can into the palace-“

“Already ordered it,” Strategy interrupted with the situation not the time for formality. “Squads are moving as many as they can, starting with those closest to the north of the city first.” Nigel looked down at the Captain with approval, the stallion’s initiative impressing him.

“I knew I made a good choice when I allowed you to be Captain,” Chalmers replied. Strategy’s stony expression didn’t show it but he swelled with pride at the praise. “I doubt that you even need me here, you’ve got it all covered,” Nigel joked. Strategy didn’t take his eyes off the enemy as he responded.

“Your presence uplifts the troops, sir,” Strategy informed. Nigel glanced around and indeed noticed that all of the guards were brimming with confidence, a few looking towards him and turning back to the enemy with renewed conviction. The Captain and Emperor watched as a team of thirty guards, armed with crossbows made from crystal and wood, formed up in a square to the left.

Nigel exchanged nods with the new guards as he examined the projectile weapons, the crossbows mounted on the right shoulders of the guards. Each of the weapons was connected by joining crystals to the armour, strange straps hanging at mouth level of the guards. He watched with interest as the squad commanders ordered their troops, ten each, to load their weapons.

Each guard used their mouths to pull back a handle, a series of cogs drawing back the weapon’s mechanism with little effort. In a show of great dexterity and training, each guard used their mouths to select a metal bolt from their quivers and then place the bolts into their weapons. The crystal-tipped projectiles settled in perfectly to a slot on the crossbows, the weapons loaded and ready to fire in under ten seconds.

“Remind me to give the head blacksmith a raise,” Nigel mentioned to Strategy. The Captain, who had also turned his attention to the crossbow toting troops, nodded in agreement.

“A big one,” Strategy added, causing Nigel to hum in agreement. A murmur from the troops at the front caught the attention of the two, a guard lieutenant looking back towards them.

“There’s a single enemy approaching!” the stallion called out. Nigel and Strategy moved to the front of the line, guards parting to create a path for the two. Chalmers’s hand rested on the handle of his sword, Strategy resting an armoured hoof against his own. The pair halted at the front, surrounded by their armoured troops as the solitary figure drew nearer. Nigel recognized the creature from a terran nature documentary he had watched a few months ago before arriving in the Crystal Empire.

“Elk,” Chalmers stated, drawing the attention of Strategy and the guards around them.

“Elk?” the Captain inquired, seeking clarification. Chalmers nodded, the figure approaching already half-way across the field of snow.
“Not just any elk,” Nigel continued, still a little peeved that he had his night with Reflection interrupted because of them. “These are cock-blocking elk.” Strategy decided that it was wise to not ask the Emperor what had prompted that label. A few of the guards around them snickered, before glares from their sergeants and lieutenants put a stop to that.

All of the troops were brought into line before the lone elk arrived. The elk was a male or ‘bull’, Nigel remembering that only male elk grew antlers. It wore no clothing save for its natural covering of course, shaggy brown hair and a necklace adorned with shed antler-parts and golden charms. Attached to the large pair of antlers was a pair of long, shiny metal blades that resembled triangular axe heads.

Nigel thought that it looked ridiculous, the Emperor struggling to hold in his laughter at the strange weapon as the elk approached to within ten meters.

“Hello ponies and… biped,” the elk spoke in a guttural voice as his yellow eyes narrowed. “You are occupying our rightful lands. Leave now or we will remove you with force.”

“Well that was straight to the point,” Chalmers replied. “I don’t see a sign on the ground saying ‘Property of the Elk, keep off the grass’.” The bull focused on him with a snort and frown.

“I am the Chief’s Firstborn,” the bull informed. “I don’t have time for disrespect, especially not from an unnatural creature like you.” Nigel normally would have retaliated for the insult, he did however have to admit that his pink dressing gown might be at fault for the elk’s observation. He did however settle for mentioning his title.

“Firstborn, you say?” Nigel continued as he started to pace back and forward in front of his troops while checking his nails for dirt. “That’s pretty cool, but then again what do I know?” Nigel’s hand slipped into his gown and withdrew his crown, Strategy mentally questioning just when the Emperor had retrieved the seldom-worn object. Nigel placed the crown on his head, turned to the Firstborn and shrugged. “I’m just an Emperor after all.”

The elk’s eyes widened in shock at the announcement. The bull quickly looked at Strategy as Nigel grinned.

“I thought that you were the leader,” the elk said before he pointed at the Emperor. “Not this creature.”

“I’m just a guard captain,” Strategy growled, annoyed with the elk’s lack of respect. He knew that Chalmers enjoyed informality with his troops, subjects and close friends but this elk was none of those. “Emperor Chalmers is the Emperor.”

“But why is a biped leading ponies?” the elk demanded. “You ponies never have respected other species.”

“You have no right to just walk up and gain that information,” Chalmers replied lightly. “I’m a nice guy though, so I’ll let you know that it may have something to do with the fact that I killed the sorcerous tyrant who was the former Emperor. Oh, I also skinned him, turned him into a rug, led my forces to fend off a diamond dog raid and then exterminated the rest of the mutts with the aid of my highly trained soldiers.”

The Firstborn looked a lot less sure of his superiority, the elk only now noticing just how dangerous the crystal ponies looked with their heavy armour and halberds. He glanced up and noticed five changelings on the roof of a house, the steel-armoured creatures’ horns glowing. The sight of the insectoid equines rattled him, the elk having not encountered changelings before.

“You can brag all you want Emperor,” the elk replied as he strengthened his resolve. He lowered his antlers to the ground then raised them up, the iron blades glinting with torchlight. “I, Firstborn Cedar, son of High Chief Mahogany, challenge you to a duel. When I kill you, your people will have two hours to leave our land before any remaining ponies or insects are slaughtered. The Great Gods will look upon me and laugh at your defeat.” Cedar finished his challenge by sweeping his antlers to the side to show off the deadly blades.

“Emperor, let me duel for you,” Strategy offered while taking a step forward. “I’ll swear to teach this elk about respect.” The Captain was waved back by Chalmers, the Emperor’s dressing gown dragging against the cobbled road.

“Thanks for the offer Captain, but I like to fight my own battles.” Chalmers stepped towards the elk, closing to five meters away before he drew his sword. The elk’s eyes didn’t leave the long, steel blade as Chalmers twirled it around in a lazy circle. “Now Firstborn Cedar, son of High Chief Expensive-Wood,” Nigel smirked as the elk snorted in anger at the disrespect to the Chief. “While the satisfaction of defeating you in front of everyone is more than enough for me, just what do I win if I do defeat you?”

“In the impossible event that you do win,” Cedar responded with a hoof-stamp. “You get three hours to move out.”

“Son, a quick word of advice,” Nigel advised as he squared off against the elk. “Let your wife do all the shopping, you suck at haggling.” Cedar’s face began to turn red, the elk falling into the human’s trap as the taunts continued. “As for this three hour limit of yours, and I assure you, it will be three hours, I say you can take it and shove it.” Chalmers gestured back towards his ranks of soldiers. “My subjects were on this land at least a thousand years ago. They’ve survived sorcerous despots, nation-wide slavery and raids from bipedal, talking dogs. They, and I, will not surrender their homes to a group of elk who show up and attempt to bully them away.”

Cheers and shouts of agreement rose up from the ranks of guards behind Nigel, the chorus of defiant yells able to be heard around the city. Ponies and changelings stamped their hooves and rattled their weapons in a cacophony of noise in a show of support for their Emperor. Cedar snorted, pawing against the ground while shaking his head.

“Your words are meaningless, you are outnumbered and your forces will fall. If you refuse to leave then we will have no problems with taking our land back from your subjects as they breathe their last breaths.” Cedar raised his head and reared up, the elk army exploding with bellows of support for their chosen champion. “Now prepare yourself,” Cedar ordered as he slammed his front legs back down. “Prepare to fight your last fight tonight!” Chalmers turned to Strategy, the human walking over to the Captain and lowering his voice.

“Are all our forces ready?” Nigel whispered, Strategy nodding his head as he glared at Cedar.

“Yes Emperor, every guard is at their positions. We are ready for their attack once our three hours are up.”

“There will be no three hours,” Nigel replied with determination. “As soon as I kill this whelp I want the artillery and archers to begin to bombard their positions. We kill as many as we can from range and force them to either retreat or attack, all the while they lose soldiers. If they attack we hold our positions and use the buildings to create choke-points, our halberds and armour will keep them at bay while the changelings flank them and crush their forces. If all else fails I want you to pull everyone back to the castle and defend it with your lives. If we are to die then at least we can take comfort in knowing that we died fighting.”

Strategy nodded stoically, both Captain and Emperor knowing that fatalities on their side were likely. Both also knew that their soldiers were ready to sacrifice their lives for the Empire, the highest possible faith placed in their troops. Chalmers glanced back at the waiting Firstborn, leaning down one final time to give a last order to his Captain.

“If I die, either in the duel or the battle, but you then beat the enemy then follow the plan I made for such an occurrence,” Chalmers instructed. “I want you to ensure the safety of Reflection and Sparkling Scroll in addition to as many civilians as you can save. Sparkling will be appointed the new ruler and you are to serve her as you did me. Rebuild and continue on as we have been going, never give in to the demands of others. When my people arrive, tell them exactly what happened and you can rely on them to help.” Strategy held back his concerns, however he remembered something.

“What about your two Equestrian guests?”

“Damn,” Chalmers swore quietly. “I forgot about them. Okay, make sure that both Captain Armour and the Princess manage to flee the country if it looks like we’ll lose. With any luck the Equestrians may arrive and tip the balance in your favor.”

“Yes sir,” Strategy saluted. “It also looks as if your opponent is getting impatient.” Nigel followed the Captain’s gaze and saw that Cedar did indeed look annoyed.

“That’s good, he’ll only be more careless in the fight.” With that Nigel turned around and motioned for Strategy to retreat to the lines of soldiers, the Emperor pointing the tip of his sword towards the ground. “When do you wish to start, oh mighty superior combatant?”

“Right now!” Cedar bellowed, lowering his antlers and charging forward. Nigel was prepared for such a tactic, after all, having a pair of antlers as your only weapons didn’t really give you many options. He stepped to the side, raising his sword to block a strike as Cedar whipped his antlers around. Metal clanged as sword met antler-axes, Cedar jumping back with surprising nimbleness. Nigel yawned, raising an eyebrow at the elk and twirling his dressing gown’s belt in his free hand.

“That’s all you’ve got?” he taunted, Cedar snarling in rage before leaping at Chalmers again. Sparks flew as the blades crashed together, Nigel parrying the elks strikes as the Firstborn rammed his antlers at Nigel, again and again. Suddenly the elk spotted Nigel’s foot land on the hem of the pink gown, Cedar striking forward to finish the human as he saw Nigel trip.

He was in for a shock when the Emperor rolled out of the way, the trip a ploy to distract the elk and tempt him to attack. Cedar’ s head jerked to the ground, Chalmers having looped the pink belt of his gown around one of the elk’s antlers. The Emperor pulled on the belt as he rose to his feet at the end of his roll, causing Cedar to lose his balanced and come crashing down into the dirt.

The elk tried to quickly recover but before he could rise up to defend himself, Chalmers struck. The human smashed the curved pommel of his sword down upon Cedar’s head and knocked the elk back down, Cedar spluttering as his head rang and burnt with pain. Nigel recovered his belt and stood back up, redoing up his gown before stepping back and awaiting for the Firstborn to get up.
Boos rang out from the elk army while the Crystal guards cheered their ruler on, a few of them having witnessed Nigel fight before.

Chalmers stood still and brushed the dirt off his gown while he waited for Cedar to get to his hooves, the elk warrior shaking his head as he prepared to fight on.

“Want to Surrender?” Nigel inquired with a smug tone. “As you have just seen, my position of Emperor should not fool you into thinking that I can’t handle myself in a scrap. My… primary occupation has left me rather experienced in combat.” Cedar scowled and shook his head one last time, pawing the ground as he prepared to charge again.

“I’ll never surrender to you!” he defiantly snarled. “As long as my ancestors watch over me and my kin then I will taste victory. So I call on my ancestors to aid me now!” the elk bellowed into the sky, Nigel so caught up in giggling at the drama that he failed to notice the yellow glow build on the center hill located in the middle of the elk army.

Ponies and changelings gasped while elk cheered, as a yellow bolt of magic flew from the darkness to hit Chalmers in his unprotected stomach. Nigel staggered back but kept his footing, a hand covering a ragged hole in his stomach that the bolt had torn open while his sword dropped to the ground. The ponies and changelings watching went dead silent, shocked at the sudden attack on their Emperor.

Strategy’s face fell as he watched the Emperor’s blood gush out from around the human’s hand. Chalmers was more than just a ruler to him, Strategy could say with confidence that he counted the biped a good friend and the possibility that he was about to die shook the normally stony stallion to the core.

“I neglected to mention that I count my great-grandfather as an ancestor too, and that he is a skilled mage,” Cedar gloated as he watched his opponent try to hold in his guts. “You’ve obviously found that out, while some may call it cheating you were dead anyw-“

“Shut the fuck up you flea-bitten animal!” Cedar stopped dead and the Crystal guards all watched in awe as Nigel rose up and interrupted the elk’s gloating. “You’re a fucking cheat and if I wanted too then I could have cut off your head when you were making out with the ground! Do you have any idea how much bloody protein I’m going to have to eat after I regenerate this!?”

“Re… regenerate?” Cedar questioned with confusion, his eyes widening as the Emperor removed his hand to reveal his blood-stained stomach. The ragged hole was closing fast, a large scab of blood already hardened over the wound with a small amount of life-fluid bubbling at the edges.

“Exactly what I said you deaf Wanker!” Nigel yelled back, more annoyed then hurt. “You have no idea how righteously fucked you are! You are so fucked that they are going to have to re-write the Christian bible because of how screwed you are, your level of fucked is that biblical!” Chalmers hacked up a glob of blood onto the ground as his body’s enhanced bone marrow artificially worked overtime to compensate for the blood he was losing.

“That’s not fair!” Cedar accused with horror as he watched the human’s wound seal with the scab. Nigel stood up straight, his wound and sword forgotten as he glared at the elk.

“Not fair!? Not fair is having someone else take a potshot at your opponent in a duel you dishonorable Cur!” Nigel took a step towards the elk, his blood covered hands clenching into fists. “I’m going to kill you, cook you, and then eat your corpse to get all of my nutrients back, and I’m going to enjoy every second of it!”

Cedar panicked at the threat, Chalmers flashing him a view of the pointed canine teeth in his mouth. The elk noticed the human’s weapon on the ground and calculated that the Emperor would not have time to reach it. With a desperate energy he dashed forward, his hope soaring as the Emperor made no move for the weapon. The elk burst forward, set to gore Chalmers upon his antlers and attached blades.

Nigel had a plan however, his hands having moved to his gown’s belt while he was distracting Cedar by explaining what he would do to him. As the elk bared down upon the human, time seemed to pause for the shocked Crystal guards watching the fight. They held their breaths as the belt was ripped out and thrown away, Cedar’s eyes widening as he was treated to a view of Nigel’s naked groin. His pace slowed at his surprise, Nigel taking advantage of the opportunity to rip off his gown completely and throw it towards the incoming elk.

Cedar bellowed as the gown was tangled in his antlers, his vision being taken over by a wall of pink cloth. He veered to the side as he flicked his head to try and dislodge the gown, however he was unable to see where he was going and he tripped over a rock and went tumbling down again.

Nigel pounced on the Firstborn as pony, changeling and elk alike watched on in surprised awe at the turn of events. Nigel’s naked form overpowered the blinded warrior, the human dazing Cedar with a flurry of punches.

With a combination of his enhanced strength and the adrenalin pumping through his veins the Emperor managed to stand and lift Cedar with him, the naked human holding the Elk around the neck from behind. Chalmers glanced at his guards, flashing them a reassuring smile before turning towards the elk army as they bellowed with rage and shock.

“Hey, High Chief Mahogany!” Nigel yelled as he placed Cedar kneeling on the ground, holding the dazed elk’s head with his hands. “I hope you have some more sons!”

With a crack Nigel snapped Cedar’s neck, the sheer brutality of the finishing move causing a loud, male roar of anguish to sound from the center elk-held hill.

“This one was a decent size!” Nigel continued to shout as he kicked the body face-first into the ground. “But I need at least five more to make a really decent barbeque!” The roar of anguish turned to a roar of rage, the enemy army surging forward with furious war-bellows.

“Fire artillery!”

Five loud thumps sounded from behind Nigel as Strategy ordered the ballistas to fire. Five, red gem-tipped bolts flew out from the machines to land amongst the charging elk. One overshot but the others hit their targets, the enchanted Crystals on the tips of the projectiles exploding into liquid flame as they cracked upon the ground. Elk screamed in agony as the vicious, boiling magic covered them and seared flesh down to the bone.

“Archers, fire!”

With the order from the Captain the troops armed with crossbows raised their weapons to the sky. The thirty soldiers armed with the weapons had been joined by forty-five more, all seventy-five losing their bolts as one like they had been trained to do.

The seventy-fire bolts soared through the air to hit the opposing army, many elk warriors falling as they were skewered by the bolts. They wore no armour so the hardened crystal-tips of the bolts were even more deadly, the archers already reloading as the first volley thudded home.

“Fire!” the archers’ commanding lieutenant ordered after a few seconds, the mare having taken over from the Captain as Strategy focused on the overarching battle. As the second volley of bolts flew over his head, Nigel stared down at the dirty and blood-stained gown that still covered Cedar’s corpse.

“Shimmering Sequins is going to kill me when she sees what I’ve done to the gown,” Nigel muttered as the Elk army charged towards him. He glanced at the approaching enemies and decided that the incoming army was a more pressing matter then his talior. “Oh well,” he reasoned out-loud to himself. “At least when I get a new one I can ask for it to not be pink.”

“Nigel!” Chalmers turned around to spot Strategy behind the lines of halberds as the stallion called his name. “Get back behind the defensive line!” Nigel shook his head as the Captain motioned for him to retreat. Strategy shook his head in disbelief as Chalmers bent down and picked up his sword from the ground.

“No Captain,” Nigel called back as he faced the approaching elks while more ballista shots landed amongst them. “These Elk have interrupted my romantic night, threatened my subjects and shot me in the stomach with magic. I am going to try to personally kill as many of them as I can and you are going to let me.” Strategy looked at the ground as the guards braced their halberds in preparation to receive the enemy charge.

Chalmers noticed his Captain’s reaction and his mind went back to the changeling worrying for his safety back at the castle. His roaring ego died down as he remembered that he had responsibilities now and couldn’t go throwing his life away for the sake of his own glory. Clutching his sword, Nigel made one of the most mature decisions of his entire time spent on the planet.

Strategy looked back up with surprise as Chalmers took up position alongside his soldiers, instead of out in front of them alone. The Captain grinned at his ruler and friend, elated that he had chosen the safer option. He tried to ignore the fact that Chalmers was stark naked, now that the human was without coverings Strategy could see why he wore clothes all of the time. The soldiers on either side of the Captain and Emperor focused their attention forwards with the naked Emperor serving as a morale-boosting beacon, even with his ‘royal scepter’ out on display.

“It’s funny really,” Nigel casually remarked as the surrounding troops and Strategy glanced at him. “I’ve just killed something, I’ve got an enemy army out for my blood and I’m as naked as a newborn.” Chalmers raised his head and took a deep breath, smelling the night air with a wide grin on his face as the Elks closed to within one-hundred meters. “It’s almost like my first ISA solo mission,” he remarked. The troops around him relaxed a little, the casual banter calming their nerves. “All that’s missing is a nuclear weapon and five destroyed Andronian battlecrusiers.”

The troops chuckled before refocusing on the Elk. They didn’t know what a ‘nuclear weapon’ was or the importance of ‘Andronian battlecrusiers’, but they understood that that whatever had happened the Emperor was calm in the face of the enemy right now, their resolve hardened and they held their weapons steadily.

The Elk bellows grew louder as the enemy was only fifty meters away. Shiny antler blades were the main armaments with blade-studded hoof-shoes and spiked shoulder-pads sprinkled around the army. Nigel raised his sword as a final volley of crossbow bolts plucked the life from yet more elk.

“One thing is the same though,” he shouted over the din of the enemy as they lowered their antlers towards the Crystal guards.

“Our enemies are going to have a very, very bad night!”

Author's Note

Well, I finally got off my arse and wrote another chapter. Sorry for the delay, I had to go interstate for a week and a bit and for those who don't know Australia that's a good two and a half - three days of driving to get from the state i'm in to another.

The joys of living in the middle of the desert.

Anyway, I left a cliff hanger once again. It's a bad habit but it just felt right to end the chapter this way. Next chapter is going to probably be the most action packed and i'm willing to say that the fic is drawing to the conclusion. It's reached over 100,000 words so far and i'm happy with it, even if I look back over the first chapters and wince at my grammar and spelling mistakes.

Going to need to do a lot of editing of old chapters once i'm done.

Doing What is Right

Doing What is Right

“Fire!”

A flurry of green magic bolts hammered into the elk line just before they connected with the defensive line of Crystal guards. Changelings situated on the roofs of the buildings to the sides shot precise bolts while Private Shift in her advanced armour peppered the charging mass with rapid-fire bursts.

Bellows went up from the enemy as Elk warriors were hit, falling to the ground either dead or severely injured. The bodies stymied the charge, the mass of fighters slowing as clambered over their fallen comrades.

The charge was only slowed, not stopped however, and with the clash of metal on metal the fight was joined. Axe-blade met armour and halberds, the force of the charge forcing back the defensive line. Even the smallest elk bull was larger than a pony, the creatures ramming their bladed heads into breastplates and using their strength to gain ground.

The guards lashed out with their halberds and swords, a few elk already impaled on the sharp spear tips that had been lowered to receive the charge. The numbers were great however, and the elk fanatical, a number of Crystal ponies going down as particularly vicious axe-hits penetrated their armour. These fallen ponies, living or dead, were dragged back through the line so fresh guards could take their place.

The cobbled stone became slick with blood from elk and pony alike, the fight raging on with the barrage of magic from the changelings never stopping. It was the might of the elk hammer against the anvil of the Crystal ponies, energy and strength against hard armour and desperation.

Nigel, shifting from foot to foot, could only watch on as his soldiers fought and died. He itched to do something, the din of battle agitating his nerves and causing twitches to course through him. Strategy on the other hand was calm and collected, the Captain yelling out orders and encouragement from behind the line.

Both Emperor and Captain winced as an injured mare was pulled past them by two guards, the soldier bleeding from a nasty gash in her chest were an elk had scored a vicious blow.

The only condolence was that her cries of pain meant that she was still alive.

Time flew by as weapons smashed together, the Crystal Guards gaining ground despite their losses. Their advanced armour, deadly weapons, formation and changeling support helped them reap a terrible toll on the lightly armoured but bulky elk. Changelings armoured in full steel plate darted down from rooftops to strike from behind and the flanks, having exhausted their magic from repeated casting.

Their hardened armour and flight meant that they suffered little losses from the elk, only one changeling soldier being caught in the antlers of an elk he had just stabbed in the back with a short sword. Thankfully for the changeling, the elk threw up his antlers which sent him flying back to his own lines instead of the enemy’s, the soldier colliding with a building and crumpling to the ground.
Further and further the Crystal guards pushed, soon forcing the Elk out of the city itself.

“Hold your ground!” Strategy called out, him and Nigel having advanced with their troops. They stood amongst the bodies of slain elk, hooves and feet stained red with gore. A few dead Crystal Guards remained where they had died, removing them a lower priority than pushing the invaders back.

The ponies halted at the edge of the buildings, keen to keep the protective walls to protect their flanks. A few more halberd thrusts and a space was cleared, the first and second ranks lowering any remaining halberds to present a solid wall of points once again. The remaining elk that had charged numbered at four hundred, a further fifty back at the hills. Roughly two hundred and fifty had fallen in the first charge, the remaining faulting as they once again were faced spear tips.

Another wave of green bolts started to hammer them again, Private Swift’s armour having been reloaded by her three helpers. Faced with the failed charge, and the renewed magical barrage, the elk turned and retreated at the bellowed order of the Chief. The Crystal Guards let out a weary cheer as the enemy withdrew, many of the guards injured with cuts and bruises. A number of them collapsed, having spent all their energy fighting off the elk.

“Get the wounded back and tended to!” Strategy ordered, fresh troops from the back moving to plug any gaps in the line. Guards with all manner of injuries were ferried back to the city center, medical workers already running out to meet them. Nigel didn’t feel sorrow, only cold rage as a dead guard was transported back past him. The stallion’s armour had failed to protect his eye, a blade from an elk antler still embedded deep in it.

Instead of regret, Chalmers focused on ensuring that all of the Elk died for killing his subjects. Turning around, he looked towards the abandoned ballista, the crew having left to join the fight.

“Someone get on those weapons!” he ordered, a detachment of guards hurrying to prepare the machines for firing. Having all of the guards trained in their use paid off, the weapons soon ready to fire again. “Fire at will, kill as many as possible!”

An officer moved to the front of the machines, the pony standing upon a wooden spotting platform to see over the heads of her fellow soldiers.

“Aim at the hill, fire when ready!”

At the mare’s command, five thumps echoed out in quick succession and another group of fire bolts flew over towards the Elk. All fell short of the hill, missing the commanders and magic users but landing in the middle of the retreating army.

More Elk fell as the arcane fire burnt off their skin and boiled their blood, their light armour no match for the enchanted munitions.

Bellows of pain from hit survivors filled the air and lowered the morale of the rest of the Elk, all of them making a mad dash further back in an attempt to escape the range of the ballista.

“Switch to standard shots!” the artillery leader ordered as she raised a hoof and pointed at the Elk, the crew members loading in the standard bolts that looked like oversized arrows. A few crossbow bolts harried the fleeing army, but all fell short with the Elk out of their range. Particularly brave changelings flew ahead and chased them, the soldiers firing whatever magic they had left in an attempt to keep the Elk away as far as possible.

The pursuing changelings fell back as iron bolts flew past them, only two of the shots making the required distance. They pierced Elk and kept on going, taking out another seven of the creatures.

“Cease fire!” Nigel yelled, having been observing the battle.

“Cease fire!” the female officer echoed, the artillery crew loading in fresh shots but not moving to fire. Chalmers gave them a thumbs up, the crew getting the gist of the gesture.

“Keep alert, but grab some rest while you can!” Nigel shouted, having to raise his voice to make himself heard over the cries and sobs of his wounded troops. A group of guards who had been left in the city rushed up the road carrying water and food, beginning a forward stockpile in preparation for a siege.

A standoff was what they were going to get.

The Elk had discovered that they were out of the range of the artillery and were forming up at the bellows of their leaders, the fight far from over. Both sides took the chance to grab some rest, the Crystal pony line holding strong.

“Make sure none split off,” Strategy ordered to five changelings, the steel-clad beings nodding and flying off to take up positions with views of the entire enemy force. The Captain took a few deep breaths before heading back towards Nigel, Strategy aiming to discuss their next moves with the ruler.

On the way he passed guards being treated by medical ponies, mares and stallions alike sporting bleeding cuts and shattered bones. He noted three unicorns amongst the normal doctors, the magical equines evidently adept in healing spells as they dulled pain and stopped bleeding. Strategy grimaced as he passed a growing pile of sheet-covered bodies, thankfully only numbered at twenty-one and not two-hundred.

The time for mourning would be for later, right now he had to focus on the battle.

“They’ve retreated sir,” Strategy informed, slipping back into formal addresses with Emperor Chalmers. He noted that the Emperor still hadn’t put on plants, the blood covered form of Chalmers quite horrifying to look at in its current state of wear. The Emperor’s stomach wound made his own stomach churn, raw flesh slowly knitting together as he watched. Strategy briefly wondered how much damage the Emperor was able to take, and if he still felt pain despite the healing.

“Good work Captain,” Chalmers complemented as he gazed out towards the enemy. “It doesn’t look like they’ve given up yet, and even if they did I would still like to chase them down. Strategy’s mind flashed back to his dead soldiers covered with sheets, the stallion narrowing his eyes.

“I share that wish sir; I have no issues with punishing every single one of them for what they’ve done.” Chalmers let out a humorless chuckle, Strategy noticing a slight wince as Nigel placed a hand on his stomach wound.

“Oh trust me Strategy, if I didn’t have a hole in my chest I’d be marching towards them right now,” Chalmers glanced to the front ranks, the soldiers still standing up while breathing heavily. “The troops need a break though.” Strategy took the hint, slightly proud despite the circumstances at the Emperor letting him have most of the control.

“Stallions, mares,” troops looked at him as Strategy spoke. “Take a breather, keep on guard but rest up!” Soldiers sat down thankfully, halberds still pointing out and their owners ready to get up in seconds. Food and water was beginning to be passed around, bread filling stomachs while water quenched thirsts and cleaned wounds. Medics also continued on their rounds, disinfecting and treating wounds as best as they could.

“Pull up a seat,” Chalmers offered to Strategy, the human moving over to a bench and placing his sword on his lap. Strategy took a last glance and the defense and found it satisfactory, the Captain joining his Emperor and sitting down like he was.

“Well, were alive,” Strategy breathed out, earning a smile from Nigel.

“We are indeed,” Chalmers replied as he waved to passing troops. Both Captain and Emperor offered a sympathetic smile to a wounded mare, the guard limping along with the aid of a medic. Her left foreleg greave was smashed in, the hardened crystal alloy having constricted the limb and created small cuts. She returned it with a tired smile, wincing as she and her helper hobbled back towards the medical area behind the Ballista.

“Are you okay sir?” Strategy asked as he nodded towards Nigel’s stomach. “Do you need medical assistance?” He was waved off by the Emperor, Nigel breathing out heavily as he leaned back on the bench.

“No, save it for those worse off than me,” Chalmers ordered with a wave. “I’ll live, it’s not that bad and I’m okay for now.” Strategy nodded, turning back to stare sternly at the gathered Elk army just on the horizon.

“I just know he’s not okay,” Reflection muttered to herself as she hurried down the stairs, the changeling aiming to head out and check on Nigel. She had stayed in bed and had promised to not leave it, but then she had heard explosions and screams. She had fought with herself, trying to decide between easing her fears or following Nigel’s wish for her to stay in the castle.

Her fear had won in the end, Reflection throwing off the bed covers and rushing out to find him.

“Reflection?” the changeling stopped at the foot of the stairs, Shining Armour following her down from his room. “What’s going on?”

“The Empire’s under attack,” Reflection answered before turning around. “I’m sorry, but Nigel’s gone to help fight and I need to go see that he’s okay. Please stay in the castle.” Shining didn’t get time to protest before Reflection hurried off, the changeling quickly heading towards the front doors.

She missed the worried look on Shining’s face at the mention of Nigel fighting, the unicorn’s horn lighting up as he prepared to send a message back to Celestia.

Reflection took the shortest route she knew, passing thorough the empty kitchen. She paused, spotting half a wheel of cheese wrapped in paper. Thinking that he would appreciate the gesture, Reflection used her magic to grab it off the counter, placing it one her back and nestling it between her wings to hold it there.

Her gift secured, Reflection galloped out of the kitchen into the throne room.

She burst out into a hive of activity, frightened ponies everywhere. It was packed, citizens sitting down on rugs and blankets while armed guards watched the doors with alert gazes. Reflection pushed through the crowd, a few ponies making way for her but most were too caught up in their own terror. Reflection didn’t mind, it was understandable after all.

She spotted changelings mixed in with ponies, no divide at all between the two races. They shared rugs and water, even jokes and conversation in attempts to lighten the mood and ease the fear.

The guards at the door didn’t stop her from leaving, as soon as she exited the castle she saw why.

The courtyard was filled with ponies and changelings, Reflection wondering if the entire city was here. She once again moved through the crowd, her sights set on the road that was covered with guards ferrying supplies to the north.

“Ma’am, stop.”

Reflection froze at the command, a young guardstallion approaching her with a sword holstered at his side.

“I need to see the Emperor,” Reflection explained, opting to get straight to the point. The explosions and sounds of battle had stopped, the changeling anxiously shifting from hoof to hoof. Her heart dropped as the guard shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but orders are to keep all civilians safe at the castle. That includes advisors as well.” Reflection gazed at the guard with wide eyes, the stallion frowning at her attempt.

“Please let me through, I just want to see if he’s okay and then I’ll come right back.” The guard seemed to weaken, the stallion wincing and shaking his head.

“I can’t let you do that, even with your position. I can’t let you get hurt.” Reflection came up with a devious tactic, the guard spluttering as she continued to walk towards the battle.

“And by stopping me, you risk hurting me,” she informed as the guard hurried after her. “So you might as well just let me pass.”

“Ma’am!” the guard shouted as he chased after Reflection, the stallion quickly over taking her. Reflection went to sidestep him but the guard held out a hoof. “Look, I can’t let you go and I will arrest you if needed.” He didn’t seem that confident in his own threat. “However, I’ll let you go on two conditions.” the guard continued with a sigh.

“What?” Reflection asked, keen to get away and visit Nigel.

“You come with me to the armorer so you get a suit of armour and then I escort you to the Emperor.” The guard straightened, appearing to be resolute in his decision.

“A suit of armour?” Reflection stammered, wondering if her choice to visit the Emperor was a good idea. The guard nodded.

“It’s that or nothing. I don’t want to find out what the Emperor would do to me if you get hurt, or worse.” The guard tilted his head back towards the castle. “You could always turn back, the Emperor will be okay.” Reflection actually considered the option of returning to safety, but her need won out.

“I really need to see that he’s okay myself,” she muttered, the guard nodding with understanding. Reflection looked back at him, meeting his emerald eyes. “Where’s this armory?” The guard pointed in the opposite direction, to the south. “You’re not serious?” Reflection questioned. “That will take too long.”

“It that or nothing,” the guard replied, Reflection sighing as she turned around.

“Fine, hurry up though,” she groaned before breaking into a brisk trot, aiming to keep the cheese on her back. The guard cursed, having hoped that the changeling would have returned to the castle, but he followed her and matched her pace. Hopefully the fighting would be over before the changeling even left the armory.

“Here they come again!”

Nigel awoke with a start, cursing at himself for falling asleep. He stood up from the bench, wincing as a wave of pain shot up his body. He glanced around, guards taking up positions while nurses and medics ran back to the city with any wounded that had yet to be moved.

“Fire!”

Once again the thump of the ballistas sounded, Nigel following the path of the bolts. He gripped his sword in his right hand and held his left hand on his gut, before walking up to the front. As the first bolts hit the enemy and frontlines braced for the charge, Chalmers walked all the way up to the soldiers. He spotted Strategy just behind the second rank, the Captain having drawn his sword while yelling orders to the troops.

“Changelings, ready!”

At the order, the changelings stationed on the buildings lowered their horns, fewer in number than the first time thanks to magical fatigue and battle wounds. Nigel scanned the rooftops, searching for Private Shift while he moved to stand beside Strategy. He didn’t spot her, the Emperor furrowing his eyes as he assumed that she was out of action.

It was a shame; the firepower of a single suit was a blessing to the outnumbered forces.

“You shouldn’t be here Emperor,” Strategy advised between orders, his voice sounding strained. “Not with that wound.”

“What sort of ruler and soldier would I be if I stand by and watch my troops die when I can help? Plenty of ponies and changelings have far worse wounds than mine.” Nigel knew that this wasn’t particularly true, however now was not the time to debate his presence. Strategy obviously reached the same conclusion, the Captain reluctantly focusing back on the approaching army.

The Elk’s retreat meant that they had to cross even more distance than the first charge, meaning that once again they would have to brave the ballista bolts and crossbow bolts. More elk fell, however they kept on coming, yelling defiant bellows and prayers as they ran across the field. Nigel wondered just what factors created their religion, the elk seeming to be very fanatical.

When the elk got to halfway, the changelings fired magic to contribute to the death toll. The number of bolts were few and it wasn’t long before the changelings stopped shooting and started to fall back as planned. They landed behind him, the fifty-seven soldiers drawing their backup blades in case any of the elk broke through or an opportunity to flank them was presented.

“Here we go!” Strategy called out as the elk closed in and lowered their antlers once more. Guards braced their halberds, preparing to receive the deadly charge. Nigel frowned as he peered forward. There seemed to be a gap in the middle of the charging elk, some of them hanging back.

He scanned the enemy lines, a flash of yellow catching his eye. His eyes widened as he spotted an elk in a grey robe at the back, his antlers glowing yellow while crossbow bolts bounced off a barely visible bubble shield.

“Clear the center, incoming!” Nigel yelled out, but his warning was too late. The guards were set up and braced, the bolt of energy that the elk mage fired taking the ponies unawares. A wave of heat washed over the guards in the center, thirty of them collapsing to the ground with ear-piercing screams as the magic burnt any exposed surface. A hole was punched in the line, the elk in the center surging forward to form a wedge.

“Fuck no,” Nigel muttered, steeling himself as he rushed to plug the gap. All of the other ponies were shaken by the attack on their comrades, the main line thinning as soldiers rushed to replace their wounded comrades.

“Emperor!” Strategy called out, having recovered from the shock of the arcane attack. As Nigel stepped over the body of a whimpering mare, Strategy rushed beside him and winced. There was no time for talk, the elk almost upon them. Changelings moved up from the back, dragging away the injured while some gathered around the Emperor and Captain while preparing for the charge.

“This is it!” Nigel called out over the cries of wounded troops. “One last defense is all I ask! This is make or break, your citizens and loved ones depend on it!” With those words battle was joined once more, the clash of metal ringing out again. Changelings and ponies were pushed back, a few being battered by antlers but most of the armour held. Elk were spitted upon halberd point, hampering the charge of their surviving fellows.

Nigel used his sword to block the antlers belonging to a bull that charged him, the axe blades looking a lot more dangerous now that he didn’t even have a bathrobe for protection. He was pushed back with the force of the hit, even with his artificially enhanced strength and height advantage. The elk was powerful, Nigel going for his number one tactic when fighting a more powerful opponent.

Fight dirty.

Nigel pulled back his left hand, slick with his own blood from the still healing wound, and flicked it towards the elk.

The bull bellowed as the blood blinded him, allowing Nigel to kick up with a foot. The blow lifted the bull’s head, allowing Nigel to remove his sword from the lock with the antlers and bring it down upon the enemy’s head.

The enchanted blade cut clean through the skull, the bull toppling down at Chalmers’ feet as elk-brains stained the ground. Nigel glanced backwards, the guards injured in the attack being flown away by spare changeling soldiers once they were dragged clear. As cold as it sounded, Nigel considered the injured soldiers to be lucky. He’d rather them be in pain with treatable wounds that looked to him to be non-life-threatening, then for them to be dead.

The reminder of the elk mage brought his vision back to the front, the slumped body of the recently killed bull blocking other elk from attacking him easily. Nigel narrowed his eyes at the mage, preparing to march forward and kill everything in his path on his quest for vengeance.

As it turned out, his efforts were not needed.

A bolt, fired from one of the ballista, soared over the armies and flew towards the mage. Nigel watched as the munition annihilated the bubble shield and splatted the mage, an explosive burst of magic roaring out as the elk was turned to giblets.

The yellow wave of magic consumed a huge swath of elk who had been around the mage, taking a terrible toll on them. While the explosion was bad for the elk, the screams of the dying as their flesh was burnt off their bones was a far deadlier result.

Elk at the front wavered, thinking that they were attacked from behind as well. Crystal guards and changelings pressed the advantage, moving past dead and dying comrades to hammer the elk. Captain Strategy pulled his sword from the chest of a dead elk, joining Chalmers as they moved with their troops.

“Don’t let up, even for a second!” Strategy ordered, stepping over a fallen guard who didn’t seem to be breathing. Slowly the elk were pushed back, the ballista firing all the while.

The battle finally ended with a gargled scream that cut off suddenly, coming from the hills containing the elk commanders. Bulls raised their heads and paled at the anguished bellows, the survivors running in a full retreat back to their lines.

“We just killed someone important!” Nigel yelled out, more to encourage his troops than to update them. “We’ve got them now! Kill them all!” Crystal guards and changelings surged forward with a final burst of energy, overcome with bloodlust and keen to avenge their fallen friends with the death of elk. Ballista bolts continued to rain from the sky, the crews ensuring that the deadly bolts landed far ahead of their own troops.

Hundreds of elk were slaughtered, the changelings taking most of the kills as they were able to fly and strike from above. Chalmers and Strategy were at the forefront the entire time, both earning considerable tallies.

They were halfway across the field, leaving a trail of dead elk behind, when two bright flashes lit up the night sky.

Changelings retreated back from the glows and elk ran off to the sides, everyone shielding their eyes from the flashes. The ballista stopped firing, the crews unable to see what was happening.

Nigel blinked his eyes, clearing away the spots as his vision returned.

Standing in the middle of the field, with horrified expressions, were hundreds of Equestrian Royal Guards, Princesses Luna and Celestia. Both Royal ponies were armoured in metal armour, Celestia’s golden while Luna’s was a deep purple. Both appeared sickened by the carnage, the air still filled with the cries of the wounded.

“Halt!” Nigel yelled, his troops stopping beside him and warily pointing their weapons at the Equestrians. The Crystal ponies, changelings and human stood off against the newcomers, unsure if they were here to help or to hinder. Luna recovered from her shock first, the Princess slowly approaching Nigel with a determined look.

“Emperor Chalmers,” she addressed, wincing as she saw his wound and his blood covered form. Luna halted fifty metres ahead of him, careful to not set off the Crystal guards. “We have come to lend you aid in defending your city.” While Luna scanned over the battlefield, Celestia walked up beside her sister.

Nigel noticed that Celestia was far more shaken than Luna, the three hundred Equestrian guards also seeming unsure of themselves with a few even vomiting at the sight of so many broken bodies.

“Luna is correct,” Celestia added with her ears folding back. “Shining Armour sent a message that the Empire was under attack. We teleported here with reenforcements, and more of our guards are on their way.” She also grimaced as she saw his wound. “Are you okay?”

“Why does everyone ask that?” Nigel muttered with a glance at Strategy. The Captain seemed preoccupied, Nigel guessing that he was just concerned with the unannounced arrival of Equestrian troops. “I’m fine,” he answered before gesturing with his sword, both alicorns following the bloodstained blade while their guards formed a perimeter around them. “As for the support, I thank you for the assistance but we’ve got this covered. Troops, advance!”

Nigel led his troops to continue pursuing the Elk, the guards passing their Equestrian counterparts with one purpose on their minds. The Elk would be hunted down or driven away for good today so that the Empire would never have to deal with them again.

Luna couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The Emperor was naked, Luna now able to see why he wore so many clothes, and was leading his troops to continue attacking a retreating enemy. A part of her could understand the reasoning, but it was still a stomach-churning prospect. His uncaring attitude to it didn’t help either, Luna could see that the Emperor was out for blood and his guards were equally as rabid.

“I can’t let him do it Luna,” Celestia muttered while they and their guards watched the Crystal pony soldiers chase the Elk with slaughter on their minds. “It’s wrong.”

“What are you going to do?” Luna asked, Celestia not answering. Without a word Celestia took to the sky, Luna stepping back in shock. “Sister!” she yelled, grimacing before also taking flight while their unicorn guards galloped to catch up to the two rulers. Luna knew that the Emperor was overcome by battle-lust, Luna having felt it many years ago. She chased Celestia, the older alicorn landing in front of the Crystal Empire army and spreading her wings out.

“Stop!” Celestia pleaded, Luna landing beside her as the Emperor halted in front of them with his army at his side.

“Let us do what we need to,” he demanded, his voice unusually harsh. Luna looked towards Celestia, who shook her head and stared at the Emperor sadly.

“I can’t let you,” Celestia replied, Luna catching the sorrow in her sister’s voice. “They are retreating, and if you kill them then you will be just as bad as them.” Both Equestrians glanced at the Emperor as their guards came up from behind.

“They threatened to kill my subjects and they have killed and wounded my soldiers!” The Emperor spat, genuine rage in his voice. Luna felt a twinge of fear, the blood-covered ruler’s hate almost tangible. “If killing them all prevents that from ever happening again then it’s a decision that I’m happy to make!” The Emperor continued on, brushing Celestia’s wing aside after she attempted to block his path.

“What about your guards?” Celestia tried, the crystal ponies and changelings making to follow their Emperor. “You’re asking them to commit a terrible thing!”

“No I’m not!” Chalmers yelled back. “Soldiers, stay and watch the Equestrians. I’ll finish the rest off myself.” Luna glanced around at the battle-weary ponies and changelings before looking back at Celestia, her sister shaking her head and muttering to herself.

“I’m sorry I have to do this, but you must be stopped.”

Luna’s eyes widened as Celestia finished talking to herself, the alicorn once again taking off. What was her sister going to do?

Luna made a snap decision and followed Celestia, the crystal ponies and changelings not stopping them. Even if they tried, the Princesses were too fast. Celestia landed in front of Nigel again, this time however her face was set in a stony gaze.

“Emperor Chalmers!” Celestia said with her voice raised and her horn lowered at the approaching human. “Stop this madness, or I will have to stop you!” Luna hurriedly landed next to Celestia and stared at her in disbelief.

“Sister, what are you doing!?” she demanded, Celestia shooting her an apologetic look before returning her attention to the closing human.

“He’s lost it Luna, we can’t let a creature like him act like this.” Luna was gobsmacked at Celestia’s words. “If we don’t stop him now, it may be someone else getting slaughtered tomorrow. It may even be Equestria.”

“He’d never attack us!” Luna defended with uncertainty. “He’s just defending his subjects!”

“He’s committing genocide, Luna!” Celestia shouted, Nigel stopping in front of the two siblings. “That is never okay! I have to stop him,” Celestia looked at the ground. “And you have to help me stop him, with the same spell we used all those centuries ago.” Luna’s eyes widened at the mention of the banishment spell, a spell possible worse than what Celestia had used on her.

“So that’s how it is then?” Chalmers questioned while raising his sword. “You come to my Empire in the middle of a war and think you know what is right and what is wrong? Step aside and let me take my revenge for my soldiers, or I’ll go through you.” Celestia stood her ground and spread her wings, her sadness being replaced with defiance.

“If that is the path you wish to take, then so be it.” Celestia informed while aiming her horn at him. “This is not about vengeance or deciding what is right or wrong, if you continue then you’ll be a threat to the safety of this world and in turn my own subjects. I beg of you, please don’t make me do this,” Luna’s hopes soared as for a brief second the Emperor paused, however his next words killed that hope stone dead.

“And what are you going to do about it?” Chalmers asked as he started to walk again. “Kill me? Then you’d be just as bad, no, worse than me.” Luna swallowed a lump in her throat, Celestia muttering beneath her breath before her horn lit up yellow.

The Human’s advance was stopped as a yellow beam shot out and froze him in place, Celestia straining with the raw power while the entire area glowed yellow. Yells arose from the Crystal Empire troops, the sound of Equestrian stun spells being casted while Celestia stared at the paralyzed Emperor.

“You’re right, I won’t kill you,” Celestia told him sadly, the human’s eyes filled with wrath. “There is only one other option for you that I can give, and I am sorry for it.” Luna jolted as Celestia turned to her and called her name. “Luna! Help me finish the spell!”

Luna was torn, everything about this felt wrong. She didn’t know who to support, the Emperor or her own sister. Both were doing the wrong thing in her eyes, and the thought of forcing another being into banishment after her own experience was disgusting to her. A yell snapped her out of her thoughts, a few Crystal ponies breaking out of the Equestrian cordon. Luna guessed that the only reason that they had been subdued so easily was because of their exhaustion, the small amount of soldiers quickly pounced on by unicorns with stun spells at the ready.

“Luna! Hurry!” Celestia’s desperate cry forced Luna to look back at her, the flow of magic from her horn weakening. It was an indication of the power of the spell they were attempting, Luna having to choose between helping Celestia banish the Emperor or letting the spell fail. With the amount of power Celestia was putting in, she would be an easy target for the enraged Emperor. Luna had seen his dream, she knew that he would kill Celestia without a second thought.

Luna chose Celestia, grimacing as she pointed her horn at Chalmers. She felt the power course through her horn, in her mind she was weaving the required arcane ritual. With a final, silent apology, Luna unleashed her own magic. Blue mixed with yellow, the night sky crackling as a great rent was torn in the ground below the human. A wave of heat burst up from the wound in the earth and the Emperor was dropped into it, the tear sealing as soon as he was gone.

“No, Emperor!”

Luna panted while Celestia collapsed, a lone soldier shrugging off a stun spell as he rushed towards the spot that his ruler had been in a moment before. He was limping, one foreleg dead from a successful stun, and he hobbled towards Celestia with anger and sorrow in his eyes. Four unicorns broke off from the other crystal ponies to chase him, Celestia getting up and shaking her head just as he was tackled to the ground.

“What did you do!?” The soldier yelled, an officer if his armour was anything to go off. Luna walked over in a daze while Celestia approached the struggling pony.

“Your Emperor has been imprisoned in Tartarus,” she informed him with a shaky voice. “He was too dangerous, the human that you knew as Emperor Chalmers turned into a monster. I saw utter hate in his eyes, hate that leads to the death of innocents.”

“He’d never harm us!” the officer yelled. “The Elk attacked us! They killed my troops! I would gladly follow him in his mission for revenge so you better go ahead and banish me to Tartarus as well!” Celestia sighed wearily, approaching the thrashing pony and using her wings to lift off his helmet.

“Your loyalty is just, but you need to see that he is a danger. I’m sorry, I truly am, but the Crystal Empire will be better off without a maniac in charge again.”

The officer stopped struggling, his face curling up in a snarl.

“He’s nothing like Sombra! How dare you even compare Nigel to him! He wasn’t just my Emperor, he was my friend! You know nothing about him!” Celestia glanced to Luna, Luna gazing down at the officer sadly.

“I know enough,” Celestia somberly stated. “I did what I thought was right, and I will stick by it. The Crystal Empire will continue to recover, without Emperor Chalmers.” As she said this, Equestrian Pegasi began to land, the extra guards easily helping the unicorns detain all of the changelings and crystal ponies on the field. The officer glared up at Celestia, Luna watching as her sister nodded her head towards the unicorns pinning the pony down. A spark of a stun spell and the officer fell limp, Celestia turning towards a unicorn officer approaching her.

“Gather the troops, subdue all the Crystal guards and then secure the city. Captain Shining Armour and Princess Cadence are already in the city so we must act quickly.”

“And the changelings?” the officer asked, the stallion saluting the Princess.

“Treat them exactly the same as the ponies,” Celestia ordered. The guard nodded and left to pass along the orders. Luna hesitantly walked up to Celestia and put a wing over her sister’s armoured back. “I owe him that much,” Celestia muttered, Luna looking up as pegasi descended upon the Crystal Castle.

Reflection rushed out of the armory after a long wait, her guard following behind. She stopped when she got outside, shifting around in her new armour. It was uncomfortable, the helmet not meant to contain a mane and she just wasn’t used to the feel of metal covering her entire body. Still, it would be worth it if she was able to see Nigel. Reflection glanced back at Rough Cut, the stallion carefully balancing the wheel of cheese on his back.

“Why’s it so quiet?” he asked, looking around while his hoof went towards his sword. Reflection froze, now that he mentioned it there was no sound of battle, nor was there any movement either. Slowly, the changeling approached the gate that opened up to the street, carefully poking her armoured head out to glance around.

There was no one on the street, Reflection getting the feeling that something was seriously wrong. They hadn’t lost the battle, had they? She didn’t think so, after all she would have expected the victors to make a lot of noise looting the city. A trotting sounded out behind her, Rough Cut peering out with her.

“I think we better see what happened,” Reflection suggested, moving put from the armory with the utmost care. Rough Cut followed, the guard scanning the surrounding area for any sign of danger.

Reflection headed towards the castle, hoping to find someone who could tell her what was happening. She used her limited knowledge of the city and stuck to the back streets, the pair continuing to close on the castle. Reflection swore that she saw a pony in the sky, but that was impossible as the Crystal Empire didn’t have pegasi and it certainly didn’t look like a changeling.

The thought lingered at the back of her mind as they reached the end of an alley, both of them peeking out to see what was happening.
Refection had to blink her eyes to check that what she was seeing was real.

Equestrian guards surrounded the courtyard, pegasi patrolling the skies while unicorns and earth ponies watched over the Crystal ponies and changelings all gathered. It looked to Reflection like the entire population of the Crystal Empire was herded into the courtyard, all of them guarded by hundreds of Equestrian guards.

She had no clue as to what was happening, she thought that the Equestrians were a peaceful race. Another thought came to the front of her mind, a much more pressing one to her.

Where was Nigel? Surely he would have stopped any Equestrian attack or at least was working to resolve what the problem was. It could have all just been a big misunderstanding, or maybe the Equestrians had just helped them repel the attack.

Reflection tried to justify just one of the positive answers, but the amount of Equestrians and glares coming from the surrendered Crystal Guards who were still awake shattered that attempt. It was an invasion, and from the looks of it they had lost. Evidently Rough Cut had also come to the same conclusion.

“Ma’am,” he hissed, keeping his voice low while Reflection continued to stare at the courtyard. “Considering that we’re not imprisoned like the others, I’d say the Equestrians don’t know about the armory. We have to go back and warn the blacksmiths, we need to hide any plans and gems and then escape the city to the caves. The military made a stockpile of supplies in the largest one just in case this happened, we have to go now.”

“I can’t, you go back,” Reflection answered softly. “I have to know if he’s alright and I’ll only slow you down.” Rough Cut placed a hoof on her shoulder, the guard keeping an alert watch over the Equestrians.

“There is no time,” Rough Cut informed. “The Emperor would want you to be safe. Now come on.” Reflection turned her head back and shook it, her helmet rattling slightly.

“I’m sorry… I just can’t. I have to know.” Rough Cut sighed, and placed the wheel of cheese on the ground. He knew that he couldn’t persuade her otherwise and time was of the essence.

“Stay safe Ma’am, don’t do anything foolish.” With that he left, leaving Reflection to stare out at the castle. The changeling continued to scan the crowd, hoping to spot Nigel somewhere within the mass of worried ponies and changelings. Her search was in vain, Reflection about to give up before the doors of the main balcony opened.

Out stepped Celesta, Luna, Shining and Cadence. Reflection waited for Nigel to walk out with them, but he didn’t. Instead, Celestia raised her wings in the air to gain the crowd’s attention.

“Citizens of the Crystal Empire!” Celestia announced, her voice audible to all while pegasi guards patrolled the sky above the castle. “I’m sure you all want to know what is happening, and I am afraid that I bring bad news.”

“Where’s the Emperor!?” A stallion yelled out from the crowd, concerned murmurs going around. “Is what the guards are saying true? Did you betray him and kill him!?” Reflection felt woozy on her hooves, her world spent spinning.

‘It can’t be true,’ she pleaded in her mind. ‘He can’t be dead, Celestia wouldn’t just kill him.’

“I did not kill him,” Celestia answered while guards moved closer to the crowd. Reflection breathed a sigh of relief, her mind steadying at the Princess’s answer. “He was overcome with rage at the invading Elk, and he sought to kill them all. I had to take measures to stop that, already so many have died-“

“They attacked us!” a guardmare yelled out, one of her Equestrian counterparts stunning her with a spell when she started to advance on the castle. The stunning caused angry reactions through the crowd, order only being kept when unicorns lit up their horns in warning. Celestia continued on as if the interruption didn’t happen, the princess staring off at nothing in particular.

“I did the only thing I could to stop the death,” Celestia continued emotionlessly. “He has been imprisoned forever in Tartarus.”

Reflection froze up, her mind ceasing to function as Celestia’s last sentence repeated itself in her head. She missed cries of despair and anger coming up from the crowd, she missed the cries of ‘Traitor’, and ‘Tyrant’, directed at Celestia. She also missed the Crystal Heart ceasing to function, the sorrow of the crystal ponies causing it to die out. She didn’t notice when snow started to fall in the Empire, the protective magic dome failing with the Heart. Reflection also didn’t realise when the ambient love filling the air disappeared.

She stood stock still, even as the crowd began to fight the Equestrian guards, swiftly getting stunned for the attempt. More pegasi and unicorns rushed into the square, fighting to keep control while Celestia pleaded to the citizens to stop.

Reflection slowly regained control of her mind and body, a hot rage flaring to life as she comprehended just what Celestia had done, what the Princess had just taken from her forever.

An armoured hoof took a step forward out of the alley, steel clattering on cobble stone as Reflection steadily advanced towards the castle. The Equestrians were too occupied with the rioting citizens to stop her, Reflection making it all the way until she was in front of the balcony. She looked up.

“Why!? Couldn’t you have just talked to him!?”

A confused Celestia met her gaze before a weight came down upon Reflection’s back. She collapsed to the ground, the two Equestrian guards on top of her removing her helmet so they could stun her if she fought them. Reflection struggled madly, one of the unicorns preparing a spell.

“Wait, don’t stun her,” Celestia ordered, Reflection looking up in time to see the Princess fly down to land in front of her. Reflection increased her attempts to break free and attack Celestia. The two stallions holding her down however had experience and size on their side, Reflection kicking her limbs and not much else.

“I’ll kill you!” Reflection threatened, Celestia approaching with her eyes filled with sorrow. Cadence and Luna joined Celestia, even Cadence gazing sadly at the struggling changeling.

“I know you want to,” Celestia stated, stopping right before Reflection. “But please, listen to what I have to say.” In reply, Reflection spat at the Princess, missing her and receiving a magical force clasping her muzzle shut for the effort. “Miss Reflection, I know Emperor Chalmers meant a lot to you, but I had to do what I did for a good reason. He was out of control, possessed even by his need for revenge. Revenge drives many ponies down dark paths with no return, he had already gone too far.”

The crystal ponies had all stopped fighting the guards to listen, the only sounds being Celestia talking and steel rattling against the ground as Reflection fought.

“I tried to talk with him,” Celestia answered with her head drooping. “I pleaded with him to reconsider his course of action, to let the surviving Elk live.” She raised her head, meeting Reflection’s anguished eyes. “He didn’t listen, so I had to act for the good of everypony. I truly wish it had ended differently but it was not to be. Please, understand that I only did what was right, he was far from the creature that you loved.” Celestia used her wings to cup Reflection around the face, stroking the chitin with the feathers and drying up the tears that had started to fall.

“Guards,” Celestia continued as the changeling’s tear flow increased. “Remove the spell from her mouth.” The unicorns complied, the glow fading to allow Reflection free use of her mouth. Celestia felt an increasing amount of guilt well up as Reflection wept openly, the entire crowd and guards silent as the crying continued.

“Please, Reflection,” Celestia asked as she kept up her attempts to sooth the changeling. “All changelings will still be allowed to live in the Crystal Empire, it’s what Nigel would have-“

“Don’t you dare use his name!” Reflection interrupted Celestia with the angry yell, sinking her fangs into the alicorn’s left wing. She tasted blood, Celestia drawing her wings back as guards surrounded the injured princess. Celestia looked at her wing in shock, Luna and Cadence rushing over while drops of blood hit the cold ground.

“You bit me…” Celestia muttered in shock, Reflection spitting out a glob of red salvia.

“You disgust me!” she replied through a sob. “I hate you, I hate you and all of your ponies!” Celestia flinched, Reflection’s words far more hurtful than her bite. The guards on top of her had heard enough, Reflection blacking out as a stun spell was applied directly to her head.

At a nudge from Luna, Celestia looked back up. The two guards were dragging the unconscious changeling towards the castle, an officer barking about a cell in the dungeons. Celestia turned to the citizens of the Crystal Empire, her next words not going to be what the ponies and changelings would like to hear.

“With the Emperor gone,” Celestia said to the crowd, ignoring the pained throbbing in her wing and the hate-filled glares. “Princess Cadence and Shining Armour will be placed in charge of the Empire. Cadence is the rightful ruler, and it is her destiny to rule now that the Emperor is imprisoned.” Boos were thrown out by the crowd, Cadence wincing as insults and heckles were directed at her.
“To keep order, some of the Royal Guard will stay behind and keep the peace!” Celestia bellowed with her voice raised so she could be heard over the crowd. “I ask all of you to cooperate so your Empire can recover quickly! We want to help you, not hurt you!”

“If you want to help, then bring our Emperor back and go back to where you came from!” Celestia sighed at the mare’s angry shout, the same sentiment repeated all throughout the crowd. The rate of falling snow increased, a chill wind picking up as guards started to stun the crowd again.

“Your Majesty,” stated a unicorn officer with a bow. “I suggest we retreat inside the castle until the crowd calms down. Excuse me for saying it but your presence is only inciting them.” Celestia nodded her head, the guard’s words making sense. She turned and moved to the main castle doors, Luna and Cadence following her with a squad of guards shielding them from the angry crowd.

“Luna,” Celestia asked, Reflection’s sorrow and tears weighing on her conscience. “Did I do it? Did I did the right thing?”

“You did what you thought was right at the time,” Luna replied, the evasive answer doing nothing to ease Celestia’s concerns.
After entering the castle, Celestia gave one final look towards the angry and grief-stricken crowd, before the doors shut and cut off their demands for the return of their Emperor.

Author's Note

Betrayed!

I bet that was a sucker punch out of no-where.

It may not seem like it, but I can understand why Celestia would react like she did. After all, it was not the most stress-free of situations that she had been in.

Also, Nigel pretty much got sent straight to Hell, not passing go and not collection $200. It will be interesting to see how Reflection copes...

The End... Or is It?

The End... Or is It?

“The last cell on the left, the crystal’s in a bowl on the bench.” Sparkling Scroll nodded at the Equestrian guard’s directions, the Crystal Castle dungeon silent save for the occasional clinking of metal when the two unicorns stationed there shifted on their hooves.

Sparkling began to walk down the cold corridor, passing rows and rows of empty cells made of hardened crystal.

It had been a month since Equestria had taken control of the Crystal Empire, a month spent with harsh winter winds and Royal Guards keeping an eye on everyday life. Princess Cadence had at first tried to rule leniently, but after a plot to overthrow her was discovered security had been tightened. Princess Celestia had assigned one-hundred of her Royal Guard to keep order, and all of the Crystal Empire’s weapons and armour had been locked up rather than exploited. The head blacksmith and his assistants had escaped the city, Equestrian search parties giving up after a week.

As Sparkling neared the last cell, the one containing Reflection, she laid eyes upon a glowing gem sitting in a crystal bowl placed opposite the cell on a bench. She picked up the bowl with her teeth and carried it over towards the cell, placing it in the slot in the door.

“Reflection,” Sparkling called, a shape at the back of the cell moving. Sparkling sat down on her rump, brushing her dull mane out of her eyes. Reflection had been refusing to eat, the Royal Guard having tried almost everything to get her to use a crystal. With the Crystal Heart powerless, the many changelings of the Empire who were not with pony lovers had to resort to using the dwindling supply of gems.

During the invasion, the unicorn gem makers had also fled, leaving the Equestrians with zero understanding of the many spells and enchantments woven into the few gems that they had captured. Rumors had been circulating that the gem supply was almost exhausted, and many citizens were concerned with what the Equestrians would do with the changelings if all the gems ran out.

“Sparkling?” a hoarse voice replied from the shadowy darkness. “What are you doing down here?” Sparkling winced at the sight of Reflection, the changeling dragging herself towards the cell bars. Her mane and tail were dull, almost gray, and her chitin had lost its previous sheen. Her eyes were sunken and her body bony, the tired eyes themselves devoid of life.

As soon as she had been let of the dungeon after the initial invasion, Reflection had attacked Cadence and had earned herself three months imprisonment. Shining Armour had protested the harsh sentence, but the attack had reignited the rift between Cadence and Reflection. Cadence was the Princess, so she had the final say. It didn’t help that Reflection had told her that as soon as she was released then she would be coming for Cadence.

“They wanted me to get you to eat,” Sparkling informed, pushing the bowl through the bars with one hoof while reaching out with the other . Her attempt at a smile faded as Refection didn’t move, the changeling staring at the Crystal with a sick look on her face.

“Take it away,” Reflection asked, also ignoring Sparkling’s offered hoof as she knew that it would feed her as well. “I don’t feel hungry.”

“Reflection, please,” Sparkling begged. “Starving yourself to death won’t bring him back, you don’t think that you’re the only one who hates it? Both me and Strategy are living together in a small house, and after he was arrested for the plot the Equestrians won’t let us out of their sight. Everyone misses him, and the changelings need you. Nigel would have wanted you to go on.”

“I can’t,” Reflection replied with a slight sniffle. “I’m already dead inside, and other changelings need this crystal more than me.”

Reflection pushed the bowl back to Sparkling, taking care not to touch the life-giving crystal. “There’s no point wasting it on me, with any luck it won’t be too long now. Thanks for the visit Sparkling, but I just want to be left alone.”

Sparkling watched on as Reflection returned to the darkened corner, the changeling curling up in a ball next to a mattress and grey blanket. It hurt Sparkling deeply to hear that from her friend, Reflection giving up was the last thing that she had expected to happen.

“Don’t say that,” Sparkling tried, receiving no answer from Reflection. “Reflection? Talk to me.”

Nothing, the only thing that Sparkling heard was the sound of quiet sobbing. Sighing, she got up and grabbed the bowl, balancing it on her back this time. With a final glance towards her defeated friend, Sparkling trudged along back to the two guards.

“She didn’t use it?” one asked, Sparkling avoiding his eyes.

“No, she doesn’t want to eat.” The second unicorn rolled his eyes and adjusted his helmet.

“I say we go in with four guards and hold her down. A fifth comes in and makes her grab the crystal. That way, she gets fed and doesn’t die. I still don’t know why Captain Armour is so adamant on keeping her alive. If she wants to die then why are we stopping her?”

Sparkling didn’t answer, the guard muttering before taking the bowl from her with his magic.

“Didn’t they find her necklace in the Emperor’s room or something?” the first guard asked. “The one with his own love in a gem? Why not give her that?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” the second unicorn snorted. “Give her the one reminder of her lover that she’ll never see again so that she can eat it.” The first unicorn turned his head to glare at his comrade.

“No need to be such a mule about it, it’s better than your ideas.”

“I’ve got to go,” Sparkling spoke up, while waiting for the unicorns to stop arguing and open the door. “Let me know if you try to feed her again.”

“That’s up to Captain Shining,” the second guard informed her. Sparkling nodded, the unicorns opening the door and gesturing for her to go through. Sparkling looked back towards the rows of cells, before she left the dreary dungeon and the heavy door shut behind her.

‘I hope Reflection doesn’t mean what she said,’ Sparkling prayed, however she knew that the changeling was sincere in her morbid wish. ‘We all miss him.’

“Ha ah! You can’t catch me Zebu!”

Zassy ran away from her older brother, the zebra filly nimbly zig-zaging around wagons and carts.

“Watch it you two!” a mare lectured from her hut, the two children running through the village with little care for their surroundings. Zassy shook her head in an attempt to clear her long black mane from her eyes, narrowly avoiding running into the well that was in the center of the small village.

“Zassy!” Zebu called out with glee, the ten year old hot on the tail of his sister. “I’ve almost got you!” Zassy spared a glance behind her, seeing a colt with blue eyes and a white mane, her brother almost upon her. She squealed and increased her pace, her small body weaving around the legs of Zebra mares and stallions all going about their afternoon business.

“Naughty youngsters!” an elderly stallion called out, fighting to stop a basket on his back filled with vegetables from spilling after Zebu had grazed his hind leg. The two merely laughed, too caught up in their own enjoyment to care.

“Got you!” Zebu cried, tackling Zassy to the dusty ground.

“Ah!” Zassy shouted, trying to get free but her brother had her pinned. Adults watching the two laughed and shook their heads, Zebu getting up but keeping a hoof planted on Zassy’s back.

“Say it! Say, ‘you caught me Zebu, you are the fastest’ and I’ll let you go!” Zassy spluttered, spitting out some dirt that had gotten in her mouth before grinning at her brother.

“Never! I’d want the monsters of the underworld come and eat me for dinner before I let you win!” Zebu’s and the watching adult’s laughter at her reply was cut off by a rumbling, villagers scrambling to secure baskets and pots.

Both siblings scrambled back, their backs hitting the mud-brick well behind them as a geyser of dirt exploded up into the air. Zebu embraced his sister protectively when a wave of heat burst up from the newly formed hole in the ground. As dirt rained down upon the village, zebras screaming about the wrath of the gods, terrifying sounds came out of the hole. It hurt to listen to, multiple voices screaming or cackling manically.

Zebu and Zassy were unable to look away, the red glow coming out of the hole mesmerizing to look at. They were frozen with fear, both of them regretting not listening to their mother about being out in the village so late.

Their heartbeats increased when a pale, hairless claw with five fingers slammed down onto the ground from the hole. It was joined by a second, both zebra foals shivering as a large form pulled itself up from the rent in the earth.

They were unable to look away from the menacing figure as it got to two feet, the biped standing up far taller than even the largest stallion. His face and entire body was covered in soot and dirt, what seemed to be dirty, hard red skin covering him like a cloak. In his hand was a menacing sword, as long as a pony and covered with a coating of fresh black blood.

“Take him!” a rasping voice called out from the hole, a voice that chilled the spines of all that heard it. “Take him and never send him here again!” With a sucking sound the hole closed as if nothing had happened, leaving the biped standing on the spot. Villagers were unable to look away, Zassy and Zebu moving their heads up slowly to look at the monster’s face. They saw two eyes burning with anger, the creature’s mouth curled in a snarl.

They flinched back as it raised its sword and free claw to the sky, the dirt rain having stopped after covering everything with a fine layer of destroyed ground.

“When there’s no more room in Hell,” the Monster roared, shaking his sword in the air. “Nigel M Chalmers shall walk the Earth once more!”

“I didn’t mean it!” Zassy said as she started to cry, the monster remaining still with his eyes gazing hatefully at the sun setting in the horizon.

There were scores to settle, and not even the demons of the Underworld could keep him from achieving the revenge that he desired with all of his might.

The End... for now.

Author's Note

Now with a sequel: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

Hope it makes up for that cliffhanger ending.

Love and Tolerance

The Sergeant returned, a mass of black insectoid equines being herded by multiple Crystal Guards into the Throne room. The unknown Equines all appeared to possess holes in their legs, a jagged horn, blue fly-like wings, solid blue orbs as eyes and instead of fur they appeared to be covered in a type of chitin. The largest of the equines was slightly shorter than a Crystal pony and they all appeared to be quite thin, although if this was because of starvation or was natural Nigel couldn’t tell. The Guard sergeant had been correct with his numbers, twenty five adults and ten small ones, all of them huddled together in the centre of the room.

“The captives, as you requested Emperor,” the sergeant saluted before moving towards the side, the twenty Crystal Guards keeping a close eye on the newcomers. The multiple black creatures all huddled together on the floor fearfully, except for one which was standing facing Nigel with a scowl on its face. This creature was different as its eyes looked normal, well; normal compared to his subjects, with irises the colour of lime. The creature’s head was not bare like its fellows; a moss green mane flowed around its head with a matching tail. Nigel also noticed that it seemed to be slightly taller, almost rivalling the height of his Guard Sergeant.

Nigel leaned back in his throne, crossing his fingers in front of him

“So tell me creature,” Nigel began, directing his question towards the black equine that was scowling at him “care to tell me why you and your companions were caught attempting to steal our Gem?”

The creature glared back at him, fury in its eyes “Because we need it more than you do Monster!”

As the creature called him ‘monster’ the guard sergeant moved to strike it with an armoured hoof.

“Stay it Sergeant,” the guard followed the order, moving back to where he once was, gazing hatefully at the creature that had dared insult his ruler. The creature noticed this and sneered.

“It looks like you’ve got yourself a few pets Monster, how did you train them so well?” Nigel could see that the Guard Sergeant was trying his hardest to restrain himself from violence.

“Simple,” Nigel replied, making sure to draw the creature’s attention to the rug at his feet, its face paling slightly, “all you have to do is walk into the palace, kill the former Tyrant and then make a rug out of his skin, works wonders when it comes to loyalty.”

The creature forced its gaze away from Somb-rug and back to the Emperor, a little bit of fear invading its glare.

“Now that you know that, how about we start acting a little more civil, hmm?” Nigel suggested, a slight smile on his face, amused by the creature’s fiery temperament. “I’ll start things off, I am Emperor Chalmers, the new ruler of this Empire and to whom I have the utmost pleasure of speaking with?”

The creature once again scowled at him “My name is Clear Reflection.”

“Good, see? We’re already making some progress; you really should work on your social skills,” this elected another glare from the creature.

“Okay then Clear Reflection next question, what are you?”

The creature seemed surprised that the Emperor didn’t know what it was “You really don’t know?”

“If I did then I wouldn’t have asked the question, would I?”

Reflection shuffled from hoof to hoof, looking down at the ground as if she was ashamed “We’re called Changelings.”

“I assume you can alter your appearance in some way then?” Nigel curiously asked.

“We… can take the forms of ponies, anything bigger and the magic field fails.”

This bit of information caused Nigel some alarm, what if they could take the forms of the Crystal ponies “Give me a demonstration then, change into that noble over there,” Nigel pointed towards a noblemare standing towards the side of the room with the rest of the nobility, the ponies having moved out of the way of the prisoners.

Reflection glanced over towards the chosen mare, “I can’t” she mumbled, “We can’t duplicate the effect that causes these ponies’ to look like they do, and even if we could we don’t have enough energy left to transform.” Reflection looked up at the Emperor with pleading eyes, “if we don’t get more energy soon, we’ll starve to death.”

Nigel looked over towards the rest of the changelings huddled together one the floor, four of the adults forming a group around the young ones. Nigel didn’t really care if they starved; after all, they did try to steal an object that his subjects relied upon, but he had to admit that the ability to change their form could come in handy when it came to matters of intelligence gathering, especially against this ‘Equestria’ he had been hearing about. Nigel leaned forward a little bit more, his interest having risen.

“Tell me Reflection, what does your species feed on, in particular why do you need the Crystal Heart?”

“We… we feed on positive emotions, the strongest of which is love,” Reflection once again stared at the floor, afraid of how the Emperor would react. “That’s why we needed the Heart, it seems to be a large un-ending source of love and joy.”

Nigel was no expert on magical love-crystals, but he was fairly certain that the Gem appeared to be powered by the emotions of the ones surrounding it and that it didn’t function as an independent energy source. His theory did however provide him with a plan

“I’m willing to make a deal with you Reflection,” at this the changeling in question sat down, hope set in her features, “if you and your fellows,” the other changelings were all looking at the Emperor, “submit to my rule, work for the good of the Empire and obey our laws then I’ll grant you citizen ship, enabling you to live within the city and in proximity to the heart.”

Reflection looked upon the Emperor in disbelief, a look which was mirrored by her kin behind her. They had attempted to steal the ‘Crystal Heart’, from the sounds of it very important to the ponies of this Empire and the Emperor was willing to let them become citizens? Reflection looked behind her, the rest of the changelings staring at her expectantly with hope in their eyes. Reflection considered the offer, protection, shelter and food repaid for in labour and loyalty. She faced the Emperor, the biped observing her as she gave a sigh and bowed before him.

“I accept your offer… my Lord.”

_________________________________________________________________________

The Changelings had been incorporated into the Empire swiftly and smoothly, being granted guest quarters in the Palace until suitable dwellings could be constructed. Nigel had given a public speech explaining to his citizens the circumstances and biology of the newcomers, aided greatly by Reflection whenever a question emerged that the Emperor couldn’t answer. The Crystal ponies had at first been wary regarding the Changelings’ diet but when the Emperor explained that they could feed off the passive energies of the Crystal Heart the crowds’ fears were reassured after all, many reasoned, these changelings were far less imposing than their Emperor himself. The address had to be cut off however, as night had fallen so the Emperor arranged the entirety of the next day to serve as a question and answer session, where any citizen could come to the palace and talk with a changeling, Reflection and five others volunteering for this.

The next morning arrived and the outside of the Palace was packed, ponies from all over the city lining up for the chance to speak to a changeling. Nigel was sitting on his throne observing the room, his guards letting in six ponies at a time, one for each changeling. Whenever ponies entered the room and looked towards the Emperor the Somb-rug caused shivers of fear, although it did also have the effect of cementing the fact that he was never coming back into the minds of the ponies.

The rug was soon forgotten however once ponies sighted the changelings, the majority massively excited about the opportunity to speak to a creature of a different species. The changelings had at first been nervous about the session but as it went on they became more and more comfortable.

Nigel had spent most of his time listening in to the many conversations around him with Sparkling taking notes beside him, her mood having improved greatly overnight, until a diamond-coated stallion walked up to the throne. Captain Strategy moved to intercept the inbound pony but was stopped with a wave of the Emperor’s hand, Sparkling pausing in her notes to look towards the newcomer

“Excuse me, Emperor Chalmers sir,” the stallion began, his pearl mane covering one eye, “but I was wondering, and well, what are you?”

Nigel was pleasantly surprised at the question “I’ve been waiting for someone to ask that…” the Emperor trailed off, the stallion interpreting his meaning.

“Clear Cut, My Lord.”

“Pleasure to meet you Clear Cut, to answer your question I’m going to say Human, the scientific name of which is Homo sapiens.”

“Forgive me for asking Sir it’s just that since we were gone for so long we haven’t met any other species, except for you and the Changelings.” Clear Cut glanced over towards the Changeling he had left, another pony having taken his place.

“Speaking of the Changelings,” Nigel said, “What do you think of them?”

“I’ve only spoken to one so far My Lord,” Clear Cut turned back to face Nigel, “but he seemed to be fairly nice, I think that they only tried to steal the Heart because they were hungry and from what he told me they were too afraid to ask for help from you because of how everybody else treats them.”

Nigel was quite impressed with his subject’s open mind.

“That seems rather sound Clear Cut, may I ask what occupation you busy yourself with?”

“I own a cheese store My Lord,” Nigel’s smile got wider, “although I will soon run out of stock, only a small amount of cows were brought back with us.”

Nigel was aware of the supply issues, luckily a large area of farmland had survived the Empire’s return and following bad weather and he had received reports that it would be ready for re-planting soon. A native berry, dubbed ‘Crystal berries’ by the citizens had proven to be populous, the berry growing in caves, the city surrounds littered with said caves. A large storehouse was also present in the Palace and it was found that it was fully stocked, all the items within as fresh as the day they were placed in there thanks to a large crystal loaded with a preservation spell. Nigel was beginning to think that these crystals could be quite valuable to the UIP, the possibility of replicating their effects quite interesting.

“I know that Clear Cut, I’m currently working on solutions to those problems, in the meantime” Nigel turned towards Sparkling, the mare ready to follow his orders “if you would please assist Ms Sparkling Scroll over here with writing up an order for some cheese for the palace, it would be most profitable for you.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Cadence, Shining Armour and their four guards crested a snow bank and set eyes upon the city, shock growing on the face of Cadence.

“But… how?” She questioned, the sight of the city, which was sunny and colourful under a transparent dome not what she was expecting “Why would Sombra have activated the Crystal Heart?”

Shining was confused, he had been told very little about the city by Celesta and Cadence, only knowing that Sombra usurped the throne, hid the ‘Crystal Heart’ and enslaved the population before being banished by the Princesses, the Empire vanishing with him.

“Princess Cadence, wait!”

Shining was jolted out of his thoughts by the shout of one of the guards to find that his wife was currently flying full speed towards the dome.

“Great, welcome to married life Shining,” he muttered under his breath

“Should we go after her Captain?” the guard Sergeant inquired, looking at the pink blur rapidly speeding away.

“No, stay with me, we’ll follow on hoof, Cadence should be able to take care of any trouble herself” with those words Shining and the guards took off, galloping across the snowy ground towards the city.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Cadence landed in the midst of a busy market, the Crystal Ponies occupying it staring at the intruding Alicorn in puzzlement. Cadence was also confused, why were all of these ponies ambling about happily, where was King Sombra?

“Excuse me,” she asked a Crystal pony mare in-front of her, a young silver colt standing next to the mare staring at the Princess in awe. “Where is king Sombra?”

“He’s on the floor of the Palace; Emperor Chalmers turned him into a rug!” The colt happily answered

“A rug, he turned Sombra into a rug," Cadence's tone was one of Disbelief, "this unicorn Emperor Chalmers, what spell did he use to turn Sombra into a rug?” Cadence questioned the mare.

“He’s not a unicorn, he’s a human and he didn’t use magic,” the colt spoke up again.

“Then how did he defeat Sombra and turn him into a rug?” Cadence was completely lost at this point.

“Well… he,” the mare began uncomfortably, “kind of smashed his head with a table leg, and then to turn him into a rug I believe he said he used… a sharp knife.”

Cadence blanched, ‘this Emperor must be truly evil, possibly worse than Sombra!’

The fact that the Crystal ponies seemed quite content with their lives was lost on the pink Princess, Cadence preparing to take off to fly to the Palace.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

It had been an interesting day for Muddle the Changeling so far. He had been one of the volunteers who talked to the changelings’ new Crystal Pony neighbours in the morning and he had spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the city examining all of the new sights. It had felt a little weird not being disguised while in the midst of so many ponies, all of which either treated him just like one of them or asked him questions. He didn’t mind this, so far all of the ponies he had spoken to had been really nice to him and he was thankful that their Human Emperor had let the changelings stay despite what they tried to do.

Muddle was already feeling a lot better, the air in the city was filled with positive emotions and not having to feed off anyone was a huge relief. He had always felt a little guilty with the way that he often had deceived ponies to extract their love but here in the Empire there was no longer a need for that.

He was currently talking to the owner of a arts store in the main market of the city, Muddle had always secretly enjoyed painting but had been afraid of being ridiculed by his fellow changelings, his race not putting much emphasis on personal creativity. He hoped that with their new home he would finally be able to enjoy his hobby without fear of reprisal, a goal he was one step closer to with the conversation he was in.

Vibrant Opal, the mare who owned this art store, was very keen to talk to a fellow budding painter and had energetically discussed with him all of the different types of paint she liked to use. Muddle had become slightly confused however when he started to pick up on small waves of love coming from the mare, waves of love that were directed at him.

“So Muddle,” Vibrant continued, “I was wondering what sort of paintings you like the most.”

“Oh, I think I like water-colours the most, although I never really got much chance to paint before,” Muddle’s head drooped a bit as he said this, “I don’t think many of the other changelings would understand it.”

“Well, I was thinking, Muddle,” the changeling raised his head at the sound of Vibrant’s voice, the mare having a slight blush on her Sapphire cheeks, “would you maybe, if your free, like to… like to come over and do some painting at my house tonight?”

Muddle was stunned, did Vibrant, a Crystal pony, just invite him, an un-disguised changeling over to her house to paint with her? His face turned a soft shade of green.

“I,” he swallowed a sudden lump that had appeared in his throat, “would like that a lot.”

Vibrant blushed even harder at his reply “I’ll see you around seven then? I live at Thirty-Six Topaz Street, don’t worry about bringing anything, I already have lots of paints and brushes at my house.”

“That sounds great, I’ll see you tonight,” Muddle said, staring at Vibrant’s golden eyes for a few seconds more before leaving the shop, his heart beating in his chest. He stood in the street, going over the prior conversation in his head before a group of ponies rushed past him, stopping to look through a gap of two stands. Muddle walked over to join them, trying to see what all the commotion was about.

As soon as he got to the gap and looked out he saw the reason of the disturbance and his heart nearly stopped. Standing in the middle of a clear area was Princess Cadence, the Princess who’s wedding his former Hive had ruined, the Princess who was currently staring right at him. Both parties continued to stare at each other in disbelieve until Princess Cadence’s expression morphed into a hateful glare.

“CHANGELING!” She yelled, and Muddle turned around and began to run as fast as he could in the opposite direction while screaming like a nymph, the sound of a furious Princess flying after him growing closer.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel was sitting on his throne, absolutely bored out of his skull, the day court having finished leaving only himself, a few guards, a servant baring a platter of cheese, Sparkling who was snoozing on her cushion and Reflection, Nigel having appointed her the minister for changeling affairs, essentially a liaison between the Changelings, Crystal ponies and himself. Reflection was resting on a cushion on the opposite side of the throne to Sparkling, having worn herself out from fielding all of the questions from the nobility that day.

‘Dear God I’m so bloody bored,’ thought Nigel as he counted the amount gems set into the ceiling above his head, ‘I just wish something interesting wou-‘

“Emperor Sir!” Nigel’s thoughts were interrupted by his Guard Captain rushing into the room

‘Ask and ye shall receive.’

“What is it Captain?” Nigel replied, lowering his gaze to the guard

“A pony from Equestria has arrived in the city your Lordship, she claims to be a Princess as well as the rightful ruler of the Empire,” Captain Sapphire answered as he saluted.

‘Wow, I’ve been Emperor for only four days and already there’s some loony trying to claim the Throne, they work fast on this planet’ thought Nigel before asking his Captain a question.

“That’s fine Captain but where is she? I would have expected her to head straight to the Palace.”

The Captain stepped back nervously, fearing that the news he was about to deliver would cause his Emperor to become violent “She was arrested my Lord” this prompted the Emperor to raise his eyebrows in interest; the Captain continued “She… assaulted a changeling in the market without reason Sir. Thankfully his injuries are only minor; a few guards were patrolling the area and were able to halt the attack before she could do any major damage, he was still hospitalised though.”

The Emperor’s face turned stony “Captain, fetch this ‘Princess’ and bring her here,” the Captain flinched at the icy undercurrent in the Emperor’s voice.

“I wish to have a little… chat with her.”