No Strings Attached

Chapters

Arrival
New Home
It's My First Day
Family Ties
New Disturbances
To Punish or Not to Punish?
An Alternative Approach
Settling Down
Preparations
Discovering Fashion
Never Alone
New Day
Caving In
Enough String to Hang Them With
Taking Out the Trash
Do It Yourself
Saving Rather than Killing

Arrival

“Hmm? Where exactly am I?”

The owner of the voice raised itself off of the snowy ground, the tall biped shaking its head to clear the drowsiness from its mind. The biped was tall and lean, standing ten feet tall and dressed in very bright clothing, flaunting his appearance for any that might be around. He wore a white shirt with red stripes, a green belt and orange pants with white stripes. He also wore a bright pink coat of feathers with purple tinted glasses. The biped rubbed the sleep from its eyes, pushing the glasses above its eyes, before scratching behind one of its ears, messing up its blond hair in the process. When it was fully awake, the biped scanned its surroundings, the snowy wasteland definitely not the sort of hell he thought he would end up in.

He was Donquixote Doflamingo, the “Heavenly Demon”, one of the seven warlords of the sea, the infamous Joker who ruled the underworld, a pirate with a bounty of 340,000,000 beli and a former Celestial Dragon. His habitual smile no longer present on his face, he tried to recall his final moments before he had awoken here. As he recalled his memories, he slowly began to snarl over the whole debacle. He thought he had everything under control. There was simply no way that a pair of brats could actually defeat him and ruin all of his plans, but that was exactly what had happened to him. Law and Strawhat Luffy had landed on his kingdom of Dressrosa in the hopes of destroying the SMILE factory and while he was sure he and his family could easily crush them, the rookies had defied all of the odds and succeeded, forcing him and his family to flee in defeat. Not long after his escape, he and his family were pursued by Kaido, one of the four emperors because he had managed to find out that he couldn’t produce anymore SAD. He was proud to say that he and his family had cost Kaido a fair amount of losses for hunting him down, but he knew that he was only helping Law and Strawhat by giving the chance they needed to take Kaido down themselves. Doflamingo snarled, veins quickly appearing as his anger threatened to overwhelm him. In the end, Kaido had come for him and his crew himself and they had unfortunately been wiped out by him. He could remember the innumerable wounds he suffered at his hands as he met his end, but his anger slowly receded as he realized that the wounds he had before his death were no longer there.

He checked his entire body and confirmed that there weren’t even any scars on him anymore. Was he truly alive? If so, how? Doflamingo frowned as he took in his surroundings. He noticed a large hill of snow near him, shielding him from the constant blizzard around him, the cold not bothering him in the slightest. He stared at the hill until he made a sudden swipe of his hand at it, five near invisible strings shooting out from his fingertips, aimed at the hill of snow as it was promptly sliced five times horizontally. Eyebrow raised, he stared at his hand until he slowly began to smile. Apparently, his ability had not left him, even though he knew that upon death, a devil fruit user’s power would be reborn as its original fruit somewhere in the world afterwards. Doflamingo began to laugh, a slow chuckle as it slowly rose in volume as his laughter echoed across the frozen landscape.

Apparently luck was still on his side. He may have lost everything due to unfortunate chance, but he still had his life and powers and he would make great use of it all in order to get his revenge on everyone that had ever crossed him. His laughter died down, he smiled softly as he began to think.

‘fufufufu! I will get my revenge on those brats! Even if I have to do it all on my own! Now, I need to find out where exactly am I before doing anything else. I need to find some sort of civilization in this wasteland.’

Doflamingo scanned 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. Doflamingo leaned forward and squinted, trying to bring the elusive object into focus. He saw a tall tower that seemed to shine in this dark, desolate place and nodded to himself.

“Guess it’s as good a place as any to go to. Fufufu, guess it’s time to meet the inhabitants of this island.”

With a flourish of his hand, he shot a piece of string at the closest cloud and launched himself high into the air. The jump took him 50 feet up into the air, as he relished the sensation of floating high up in the sky once more, and began to propel himself toward the tower. His flight was essentially swinging through the air and launching himself as far as he could, before attaching another string to the nearest cloud, and repeating the process. The sky path was clear as it led him to the tower and possible city it held. The constant snow and clouds in the air making him think he was on some winter island. With a big smile, Doflamingo was eager to start his journey anew. He may have experienced a major setback, but he was determined to start fresh and take out his frustrations on the luckless humans of the unsuspecting city.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Doflamingo had made great time flying towards the structure, the sun barely visible in the sky due to the clouds shrouding the land in shadow. He looked towards the spire, the shaft of what appeared to be crystal reaching high into the sky.

He glided down and landed on a small snowy ridge. He stopped, taking in the sight arrayed before him. The spire 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 in the snow.

Doflamingo decided to walk towards the city, deciding to hide his abilities from the residents that may have been living in the crystalline city. 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, the buildings around him at first looking like they were empty, however upon closer inspection, Doflamingo 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.

That was something that puzzled him. He didn’t think they were fishman or any other sentient beings he knew of for he could see that the eyes staring at him in fear from the buildings were too big, almost comical despite the situation. His anger gave way to curiosity, and he decided to refrain from causing a scene by destroying anything.

‘If the beings living here aren’t human, yet still have sapience, then maybe it would be good to show them that I’m not a threat.’ He smiled, fully knowing that he could toy around with the lives of these beings in any way he saw fit. Maybe he would treat them like his former subjects in Dressrosa, with kindness and only punish those that would actually defy him.

‘fufufu. Before that, I should find out who’s in charge and ‘persuade’ him or her to hand over control to me.’ Chuckling to himself, he continued to walk towards the large tower in the center of this little city.

Doflamingo reached the base of the citadel, four long legs holding it off the ground. There were no guards or sentries to block his way as he entered via a door set into one of the tower legs, as he ascended 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. Doflamingo began to ascend, muttering to himself. “I wonder if anything in this palace can provide me a challenge. I doubt it though. I’ll have to figure out the rest after I see exactly what I’m dealing with here.”

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. The smile on his face dimmed a little as he could hear multiple sobs, 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. His smile grew after realizing what the situation was like behind those doors.

“Well, it looks like I can play the hero here while violently killing the fool laughing like a madman. Fufufufufu, I hope he’ll beg me for his life… ” Doflamingo chuckled 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 green 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 white shirt with red stripes, a green belt and orange pants with white stripes. He also wore a bright pink coat of feathers with purple tinted glasses.

“Sorry to interrupt,” the figure announced, “but I was wondering who was in charge here so I can kill them.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Doflamingo 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 armor 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 pony, blood flowing from a cut to its head with color of the vital fluid matching its crimson mane. It was attached to the throne via a chain, along with five other ponies that were currently gazing at him in terror and Doflamingo 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?”

Doflamingo only chuckled, his smile growing wider at the black horse’s insult.

“I’ll have you know Horsey, I’m quite the catch for any female of any species, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m still going to kill you.”

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

At the word ‘slaves’ Doflamingo’s brow furrowed, he may have employed slaves himself, but they were usually enemies or the citizens who decided to speak out against him. He never enslaved anyone who followed him loyally though. Also, it appeared that the sapient life on this planet were ponies, as strange and humorous as that was, he could tell that the majority of these ponies were not completely like the filthy humans of the old world. He wasn’t sure why that was exactly, but he could tell they were an innocent race, with the exception of the so called ruler in front of him. At the moment, he decided to play the hero in this, to be adored by these strange creatures after killing this arrogant fool who dared to face him. “Fufufufu. So, you're King Sombra, huh? Well I don’t really care because you are NOTHING compared to me. So why don’t you stand still so I can kill you in front of your so called subjects!”

Sombra’s glare intensified, he didn’t think that some ugly biped would have the audacity to challenge him, but he was determined to make an example of the foolish being.

“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!”

“Heh heh heh. Pretty big talk for a coward who is too full of himself to do anything.” Doflamingo taunted with a laugh.

That was it; Sombra could take no more; despicable, slave-driving tyrants had an immense amount of pride and arrogance to go with their egos. “DIE YOU IGNORANT FOAL!”

Sombra’s horn became wreathed in black smoke before a black spike of crystal shot from the tip, aiming to strike at Doflamingo’s heart. However, the spike was dodged with an almost contemptuous ease by Doflamingo, his smile growing bigger at the display. The surrounding ponies gasped, the creature had managed to avoid death from the most powerful and evil unicorn tyrant in history. Sombra stood in shock at how his attack failed to hit its target and with a roar, Sombra unleashed a hail of black crystals at the biped, eager to turn it into a pin cushion for daring to challenge him. Doflamingo held his coat in his right hand and swung his arm over himself to guard against the barrage as his coat covered his form. The spikes collided with their target, each one embedding itself into its mark and propelled Doflamingo towards one of the crystal pillars until his body slammed into it. His form slumped a little on the pillar as he sat there unmoving. The crystal ponies gasped and cringed in fear as the tyrant had made his first kill upon returning from his exile. Sombra turned around triumphantly, facing the ponies chained to his crystal throne.

“SEE WHAT HAPPENED SLAVES! SEE WHAT BECOMES OF THOSE WHO DISOBEY YOUR MIGHTY KING!”

The downed bipedal figure gave a twitch, going un-noticed by the evil King, Sombra being too preoccupied with his monologue. The feathered coat also began to fade back into its pink color after having just changed to a jet black color, which had occurred just before the spikes hit the biped. This little detail was also ignored by the arrogant king.

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

The biped picked itself up, the black crystals still sticking to its coat as it rose to its full, intimidating height, the unsettling grin still plastered on its face as it slowly crept up behind the king.

“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 despite the assault he had just inflicted upon it, his crystals imbedded in the pink feathers, seemingly unaffected by his crystal spikes.

“BUT HOW!?” Bellowed Sombra, incredibly confused as he saw his attack strike his target. The biped’s smile grew until it spread across its face, displaying its teeth for all the ponies to see. It swiftly lifted its foot high into the air and promptly brought it down on Sombra’s head, pushing the unicorn down onto the ground without enough force to send a web of cracks around the floor.

The ponies around stared with slack jawed expressions, as Sombra coughed up blood, immobilized by the biped’s foot. Doflamingo raised his foot again and began stomping at Sombra’s body, each impact making the ponies wince and the king to cry out in pain. Doflamingo drew his foot back and kicked Sombra high into the air and with a wave of his hand and quick positioning of his fingers, he managed to suspend the pony in midair with his strings, invisible to practically all but himself.

“fufufu. You are quite pathetic, you know that. You should have at least tried to follow through with your attacks and actually make sure to finish me off, but you never had a chance against me anyway.” Doflamingo laughed while Sombra slowly opened his eyes to stare hatefully at the biped.

“YOU INSOLENT WRETCH! RELEASE ME AT ONCE!” Sombra screamed in rage unable to move at all. He tried to focus his magic to set himself free, but something was preventing him from accessing his magic.

“Nonono…We can’t have you escaping your punishment now…” Doflamingo smiled at the king. “After all, I want to see if you can beg for your life.” Doflamingo swiped his right hand in the air, aiming his strings at the unicorn. “Pentachromatic Strings!” Instantly, five wounds appeared across Sombra’s body, his screams echoing across the throne room as the five cuts began to bleed freely as the drops fell to the floor.

“How does that feel? I will grant you a swift death if you beg me for your life.” Smiling widely, Doflamingo swiped at Sombra again with his left hand, inflicting more wounds across the king’s body. The king could only glare hatefully at him, not saying a word. Still smiling, Doflamingo raised a single finger pointed at Sombra’s forehead.

“If you can’t even beg for your wretched life, I’ll just end it all now for you. Bullet String” answered the biped, before a force suddenly shot out from the biped’s claw and impacted with Sombra’s face, aimed right between the eyes as the projectile burst from the back of the king’s head, blood gushing out as the light slowly dimmed away from the king’s eyes. Doflamingo released the strings holding the king aloft and let the body fall to the ground, a pool of blood slowly forming underneath the corpse.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sparkling Scroll watched through the stream of blood flowing down her head to the floor as the strange biped stood tall as it looked down at Sombra.

“This is why you never turn your back on an enemy unless you make sure they’re dead.” Doflamingo smiled down at the pathetic tyrant, dead before him after a simple shot of string. He chuckled to himself. “That’s what you get for being a villain with a complex. Still, I should have made your death as slow as possible, maybe torture you a bit more so you could beg me for your wretched life. Oh well…” He gazed upon the group of ponies that were all chained up, their expressions conveying pure terror over what they just witnessed. ‘Guess they’re in shock…Oh well, too bad for them, but this empire is mine now. The first step to a second chance at life!’

“So,” the blood-stained King-slayer began, “I’m your new emperor. Let’s try to get along with one another.”

Sparkling 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 the clouds, shining light into the bleak throne room.

New Home

As soon as Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo in fright, the person in question prodding the King’s corpse with his foot. Doflamingo stopped poking the King and began to stomp on it instead, all of the ponies wincing and shaking in fear after each impact, the smile constantly on Doflamingo’s face only adding to their terror. Abruptly, he stopped 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. Doflamingo sighed in comfort, too 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, where are you going?! You could be a little more grateful that I saved all of you!” He yelled out after them, the ponies already long gone.

Doflamingo sighed. ‘And here I thought these ponies would be happy that I killed that bastard. Talk about ungrateful.’ He chuckled to himself, his whole situation a grand example of surrealism.

He was supposed to be a feared pirate and former Celestial Dragon, caring little for human life and doing whatever he pleased. Still, these weren’t humans, but sapient ponies and he found them to be adorable in a way. He certainly felt no urge to harm these ponies unless they deserved it in some way, so he began to tap his fingers on the throne and swing his feet, thinking of ways to rules his new empire. He chuckled again at his situation and sighed. ‘Forget it. This new life is so much better than my previous one.’ He thought of his family, his childhood and how it was all taken away from him. His whole goal in life was to destroy the world the Celestial Dragons had created, but here he was devoid of a purpose. He could try conquering this new world and uniting it all in under his rule, but what would be the point? Eventually he would die again, but to old age this time around as he doubted there was anything in this world that had the power to kill him. He reflected that at least he didn’t have to survive without any of the normal comforts the rich and powerful needed. After all, this empire was his now and he doubted any of the citizens could do anything to stop him. While sitting around on his new throne, one of his bare feet suddenly made contact with a soft furry object, and Doflamingo looked down to the bottom of the throne.

Lying down, Doflamingo 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. Not to mention that he was starting to get soft around these blasted ponies.

“To think that an Emperor has to do the work of servants and butlers, now where the hell am I going to find a bandage around here?”

Doflamingo 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.

“That’ll do.” Doflamingo muttered, 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. Doflamingo sat back into his chair, his task complete and continued to think about the possible do’s and don’ts of ruling his new empire.

‘Too bad I can’t really take my anger out on any of them. It would certainly kill time if they came back with an angry mob to kill me.’ He began to laugh, deciding that being a completely different person from his past life would be an interesting change for himself. Being the good guy in this world might be more satisfying than he realizes.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 surroundings 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 realizing 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 tortured and killed the King with its strange magic. She shuddered as she remembered the brutal act of violence, the biped 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 at a face with an almost manic grin plastered onto its face with sunglasses covering its eyes.

“Oh? Awake are we?” Questioned the biped as it continued to smile at Sparkling Scroll 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.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Doflamingo kept staring at the mare, the pony in question having passed out; no doubt because of his unusual appearance coupled together with what she saw him do to the former king.

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

“Hmm, I should get something to eat. I haven’t eaten yet.” lamented Doflamingo, rising from his chair, stepping over the prone form of the mare before striding out the main door, seeking a source of nourishment.

“There’s got to be something to eat around here somewhere. If I don’t find something soon, I’ll have to start taking my anger out on my new palace.”

After a long time of food-less searching, Doflamingo stumbled upon the palace kitchens, large Crystal stoves accompanied by Crystal benches covered with spoons made out of, spoiler alert, Crystal.

“If my entire palace is made out of crystals, then I’ll have to make sure to prevent any thieves from coming in here and chiseling away at the walls for a quick beli, that is, unless of course these ponies’ notions of value and economy are the same as ours.”

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

“Ah-ha!” Doflamingo exclaimed as he noticed a door with the label ‘Pantry’ on it, no doubt this would be where 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 smile spread across his face at the sight before him.

“AH, FINALLY!”

The pantry was filled with various foods, from fruits to vegetables, to dairy and bread products. While there was unfortunately no meat present, which made sense since his new subjects were herbivores, he could make do with everything else..

“fufufu, It’s been a while since I’ve had to prepare my own food. ” said Doflamingo as he carefully selected the ingredients for his much deserved meal.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sparkling awoke to the sound of munching and the clang of utensils being used. She picked herself off the floor, the pain in her head having diminished to a dull throb, pulsing in time with her heart. She swiveled around to face the noise, the monstrous biped from before was sitting right behind her, a plate filled with a variety of foods resting on its right leg as it continued to apply a fork to pick at the food to eat. The biped stopped the consumption of its meal and looked right at her, at least she thought it was looking at her. She couldn’t be sure because of the shades it wore. Nevertheless, it caused her body to freeze and her mind to blank as its gaze focused on her.

“Oh, you’re up again,” the biped observed, casually plopping a piece of lettuce 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’m quite a sight to behold,” the biped looked down at itself, large spots of blood still prevalent on its garments, “but really, fainting? I’m not going to start killing you ponies unless you’re foolish enough to attack me like King Moron over there,” Sparkling glanced at the corpse before turning back round, “but nevertheless, I am not going to be like your previous ruler, despite the display of violence I just demonstrated to you ponies. Would you like something to eat?”

The sudden change of subject snapped Sparkling out of her daze and she noticed that the biped was holding out its plate of food to her with 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 picked up a loaf of bread and took a bite from it.

“Suit yourself; means more for me anyway,” The biped continued to eat, although Sparkling had a feeling that it was still watching her through its shades.

“So, do you have a job or do were just an unfortunate civilian who ended being a slave until you were freed from your life of servitude by a supposed monster that killed your ruler?” the biped’s grin grew, displaying all of its teeth again.

“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 any 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 tortured and killed the most feared pony in the empire with strange magic?

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

“fufufu, my name is Donquixote Doflamingo; since you’ll be working for me as my assistant I don’t expect you to call me Emperor all the time.”

“Okay… Doflamingo,” Sparkling felt weird saying the name, having expected the creature be named something more… evil. His name was long, like it was a royal name, but part of it referring to him as a flamingo kind of made it funny when trying to compare him to one. After all, she thought, that coat of pink feathers he’s wearing kind of suits his name. 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. The memory of Doflamingo happily fighting, torturing and killing the king came back to Sparkling’s mind, but she reasoned that he would only be like that if somepony was foalish enough to actually fight him for any reason. Sparkling began to exit the Throne Room before realizing that she didn’t remember where she lived.

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

“Yes my little assistant, what can your Emperor do for you?” Doflamingo chuckled, obviously enjoying his new title.

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

Doflamingo leaned back into his 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.”

“Thank you Sir,” she replied, surprised by Doflamingo’s generosity before she left the throne room in search of a bed.

Doflamingo watched the mare disappear, only to realize that he had forgotten to ask her name.

“Hmph, 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.

“I’ll use a nice, sharp knife this time. I don’t feel like wasting my powers on him anymore.”

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Northern Wastes

Hours later

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

Shining Armor 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,” Doflamingo moaned in pleasure as he dug his feet into his new rug. After removing his shoes, he could feel 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 thrown aside to be washed later and used as a fancy napkin for future meals. The silver crown and the silver armor were piled up in a back corner, Doflamingo planning to have them 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.

It's My First Day

Sparkling Scroll awoke in a 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 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, few shafts of sunlight were 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 that appeared to be made out of the skin of Sombra was Doflamingo, the biped’s head resting on his shoulder, the shades he wore still covering his eyes which made it look like he was looking down in thought. Sparkling advanced toward the sleeping Emperor, making sure to keep her distance from the morbid floor rug.

“Um, good morning Sir…”

Doflamingo slowly stirred, lifting his head to gaze at her.

“What? Hmm. Seems I’ve forgotten to find a bed again eh?” said Doflamingo with a chuckle.

Sparkling couldn’t help but giggle at the biped’s lame joke, Doflamingo pushing his shades upward an open palm to wake himself up and rub the sleepiness from his eyes. Doflamingo stared down at the giggling mare, noting the drastic change from the nervous wreck he had encountered just yesterday.

“You seem chipper 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, I got enough of that back 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, is it alright if I address you as Sparkling while we’re in an informal setting?”

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

“Good, well then Sparkling, what do we do now? I would ask my predecessor but,” Doflamingo glanced down at the Sombra rug, “I think he’s too busy lying down on the job.”

Sparkling didn’t know what disturbed her more, the fact that Doflamingo had just made a joke 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 Doflamingo,” 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 Doflamingo, “I’m fine as it is.”

“Well Doflamingo,” 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 color of the cloth. “They might scare any subjects who wish for your guidance.”

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

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

“I disagree, it serves as proof that Sombra will no longer threaten the ponies here ever again,” answered Doflamingo, digging his heels into the rug, “and while it’s soft and comfortable, it’s also useful in deterring any who would be foolish enough to take the throne from me.”

“I see…” 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,” Doflamingo scratched his chin as he recalled this.

While he was lost in thought, Sparkling decided to ask some of the questions on her mind, hoping the Emperor would be forth coming with answers.

“Um, Doflamingo…” the aforementioned human stopped stroking his chin to stare down at Sparkling. “I wanted to ask you about what kind of magic did you use to defeat Sombra? I don’t know very much about magic, but yours seems especially different from anything that I’ve heard of.”

Doflamingo smiled at the question. “Well Sparkling, the power I used against Sombra wasn't magic, but strings.”

Sparkling stared dumbfounded at the Emperor. Strings!?! How could strings even be considered magic, let alone a weapon to defeat the tyrant King?!?

“Bu-but Sir!!! That just makes no sense! Strings are just lines of thread! How could you use such a thing to defeat Sombra! You can’t call strings a form of magic!”

Doflamingo only smiled as Sparkling yelled. He witnessed himself that magic was a real possibility in this world and while it had many potential uses, he didn’t know much about it himself. In contrast, his power wasn’t magic at all, but was enough to fool anyone who didn’t know the full details of his power. He debated whether to tell Sparkling Scroll more and decided that he should. After all, she would be very important to him in getting his empire back up and running and telling about the basics of his power wouldn’t hurt him in any way, but just to be safe…

“Well Sparkling, that would be because it isn’t really magic as you know it.” Doflamingo answered while Sparkling Scroll listened intently. “I received the power to produce strings from anywhere on my body after eating what’s called a devil fruit back in my world. A devil fruit’s powers are different depending on what fruit is eaten, and the Ito-Ito fruit I ate allowed me to become a string man.” Sparkling nodded, slowly understanding and growing more excited about learning more about the Emperor’s past.

“Now, as for how I used these strings to defeat Sombra…” Doflamingo continued. “The strings themselves are near invisible, incredibly strong and durable. The thinness of the string allows me to cut objects, which you might remember that Sombra was receiving cuts to his body with mere swipes from my hands.” Sparkling nodded, recalling the fight in greater detail. “Also, while Sombra was suspended up in the air, I was actually holding him there with my strings and just kept cutting him. While strings may not seem like much Sparkling, they still have their uses.”

Sparkling nodded and thought about what the Emperor said. He was truly powerful indeed if he could defeat the most powerful and evil dark-magic based unicorn with just some strings. Satisfied about getting the chance to learn more about the Emperor, Doflamingo spoke to her again.

“I have an idea Sparkling,” the mare looked at him quizzically, “you should go around and spread the word that the Empire’s under new my rule instead of Sombra’s.”

Sparkling thought about the idea, it was quite sound and it could work well. She smiled at Doflamingo 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.

Before she was out of sight Doflamingo yelled out to her.

“Oh and Sparkling!” Sparkling turned to at the sound of the Emperor’s voice. “It would be best to tell anyone you meet that I used magic to defeat Sombra. After all, you didn’t believe strings was the correct answer, and neither will anyone believe you if you tell it to them. Okay?”

Sparkling nodded her head at the Emperor’s advice. “Don’t worry sir, I won’t tell anyone the truth. I hardly believe it myself, but I do know that it’s still amazing in a way. All right sir, I’m off.”

“Have a safe trip!” as Sparkling galloped off, Doflamingo chuckled; the mare’s cheery attitude was infectious as it helped to improve his own mood as well. 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.

“Hmm, she’s becoming very useful to me” said Doflamingo as he thought about his assistant.

“If she keeps it up, I might trust her enough to not only be my first friend in this world, but also the first member in my new family…” Doflamingo smiled as things were slowly improving for him.

____________________________________________________________________________________

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 Doflamingo!” 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 Doflamingo won, so that’s why he’s our new ruler.”

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

“With his magic!” replied Sparkling cheerily, perhaps a tad to cheerful considering the subject.

“The new emperor is that strong…” 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 purple tinted glasses, a light blond mane and he wears clothes, oh, and he wears this coat of pink feathers.”

“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, Doflamingo still sitting in his throne, looking down and smiling at Sparkling. Sparkling looked up at her Emperor, preparing for him to burst into disappointment. She began to open her mouth to tell Doflamingo the bad news but he beat her to it.

“You look a little down Sparkling, what’s wrong?” his smile lowered a bit, but it was still on his face.

Sparkling Scroll sighed. “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 as it entered the throne room, before spotting Doflamingo and stopping in its tracks, amazement in its eyes…

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

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

“Don’t worry about the whole bowing thing,” dismissed Doflamingo with a wave of 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 Doflamingo 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, “or anyone ever again.”

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.

“fufufufu, hey kid, you should sit on him; go ahead and play with him. It’s not like he can do anything about it.”

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. Doflamingo was already laughing in delight at the colt’s actions, his laughter only increasing 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 what they were doing in the throne room, Sparkling was looking at the doors, Doflamingo 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’ll be as interesting 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 surely 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 realizing that the King was no longer a threat to anyone.

“Please don’t cry Mommy!” spoke Shining Bauble as he nuzzled her. “Emperor Doflamingo 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, but his face did appear to be displaying a smile, yet it seemed kind and sympathetic to Bright Jewel’s current state. Still sniffling a little, she continued to stare at the biped, a sense of calm filling her, the longer she stared and was slowly cheering up as a result. 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, the smile never leaving his face.

“After all, anything that is foolish enough to face me in a fight wouldn’t be alive for very long...”

Family Ties

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

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

‘fufufu, it’s only natural for my subjects to obey me. I am a born leader after all.’ thought Doflamingo.

“Yes my Lord?” The mare asked.

“First off, what is your name?”

“Bright Jewel, Lord.”

“Alright Bright Jewel,” responded Doflamingo, 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 Doflamingo looked back over towards Shining Bauble, the young colt was back on the Sombra rug resuming his puppet show.

“Good and finally,” Doflamingo leaned forward, placing his fingers together to form a pyramid of evil contemplation, “Do you know how I killed the king there?”

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

“Of course you don’t, I haven’t told you yet now have I.” At this Bright Jewel lifted her head, relieved that there would be no consequences for failing to answer the question.

Doflamingo looked over towards Sparkling; his assistant was still standing over near the doorway “Would you like to know how I did it Bright Jewel?”

Bright Jewel thought for a moment before shaking her head. “No Emperor, I’m simply glad that that monster is finally gone. I don’t need to know how.” Doflamingo chuckled aloud at the mare’s answer.

After a minute, Doflamingo addressed his assistant “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, Doflamingo waving back before slouching back into his chair.

‘Now, let’s see how the populace will react to their new ruler.’ He laughed aloud, eager to see how things would turn out after his first little success at dealing with his subjects.

______________________________________________________________________________________

As Sparkling left Bright Jewel’s 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 Doflamingo, 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 utilization 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 likes to laugh and smile a lot.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________

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 Doflamingo 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 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 Doflamingo of the citizens’ positive reaction to him.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

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

Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo, after all; a happy assistant is a hard-working assistant. He mulled over what she had told him before she left, the fact that the majority of his new citizens seemed to accept his rule. Doflamingo knew that they would. He knew how to appeal to the masses and the trusting and relative innocence of these ponies could easily be exploited for his own ends. However, he saw no point in doing so; these ponies were not humans, similar in some ways, but they were an entirely different species all together. He didn’t want to waste his second chance at life doing what he did in the past. This was a chance to have everything he wanted before his miserable father gave it all up for the pathetic idea of living like all of the other human trash in his old world. At least here, he had the wealth, power and status he deserved, even if it was at a smaller scale compared to being a Celestial Dragon, but he didn’t care, he was just glad that he would not lose everything and be left with nothing again. It may require actual work and a less violent approach than what he was used to, but he would follow through and change his ways and hopefully not have to face any repercussions for past sins.

He was also keen on integrating Sparkling into almost everything he did as Emperor, knowing that if he ever wanted time to himself, he could trust Sparkling to take over for him without worrying about anything going wrong. Doflamingo could tell 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. When he found the right time, he would tell her this and make her an honorary member of his family.

‘Guess all I have to do now is to wait until morning’ thought Doflamingo as he twiddled his thumbs, having little to do at the moment. Doflamingo looked down at his clothed body and sniffed.

‘First things first, take a shower and wash these clothes, then maybe actually find a bed to sleep in this time.’

________________________________________________________________________________________

Sparkling happily bounded into the throne room, today was the big day, the day that Doflamingo would announce himself to the public. Sparkling had already grabbed herself a quick breakfast from the palace kitchens, Doflamingo 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 throne room before realizing that the Emperor wasn’t sitting upon his throne. Wondering where the Emperor could’ve gone, she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Doflamingo; his clothes cleaner and devoid of blood stains as he stared down at her.

“Morning Doflamingo,” Sparkling greeted happily, “I brought you some breakfast!”

‘These ponies are quite unbelievable’ thought Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo,” 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.” Doflamingo 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 will view me, and while I’m personally not against being seen as an all-powerful conqueror,” at this Sparkling giggled, Doflamingo having raised a piece of toast into the air like a sword, “considering the ways of your last ruler I think 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 Doflamingo.” Doflamingo shrugged, taking a bite of his buttered toast.

“Eh, I could probably kill anybody that attempts to anyway; after all I am a pirate who knows how to fight.”

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

“Well, I was. I was also a king of an island kingdom in the past.”

“Wow! You were a king before?” Sparkling exclaimed, Doflamingo nodded. “Um, what is your species exactly Doflamingo? Also, where did you live before coming here?”

“Well Sparkling; my species are called humans and I am fairly sure that I came from another world entirely before coming here.” Doflamingo said with his typical smile.

Sparkling’s jaw was agape at learning this shocking news. “You mean you’re an alien!” shouted Sparkling in excitement. An actual alien had come to save them all from King Sombra! She never thought that was a possibility, but here it was as fact.

Doflamingo chuckled. “Don’t get too excited now Sparkling. Just because I’m technically an alien here doesn’t mean anything.”

Sparkling calmed down and decided to ask the other half of her question. “Then can you tell me how you came here to our planet sir?”

Sparkling then noticed the smile the Emperor had dimmed a bit before Doflamingo gave out a sigh. “To be honest Sparkling, I have no idea how I arrived here. By all rights, I should have died on my own world.”

Sparkling’s expression was shocked and then saddened at the Emperor’s words. How did the emperor die on his world when he was strong enough to take down Sombra so easily? Unable to contain herself, she asked “What happened Doflamingo?”

Doflamingo sighed. “I don’t think you can handle the story Sparkling. I would also prefer to keep it in the past.” Sparkling nodded, the mood turning somber as Sparkling realized she triggered bad memories for the emperor to remember. At that point, Doflamingo spoke up. “Don’t let it get you down Sparkling. The good news is that I didn’t die, and instead got sent here to your world where I saved you all from Sombra.” Sparkling nodded, feeling a little happier considering the circumstances. Doflamingo glanced at the wooden clock on the wall.

“Well, it’s almost nine, we better finish up, only an hour to go before mass chaos,” Doflamingo 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 colors. Sparkling turned towards Doflamingo, 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 Doflamingo?” She questioned, Doflamingo 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 Donquixote Doflamingo!”

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

“Greetings new subjects,” the Emperor’s voice boomed out from the balcony, his commanding tone honed after years of command as a pirate captain and king. “I am Emperor Donquixote Doflamingo, 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.

Doflamingo stared on, his sunglasses blocking out the worst effects of the flash, and he looked upon his subjects, the sight making him question the situation. The wave of energy appeared to have… crystallized 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.

Doflamingo turned towards his assistant, the once dull colored mare was positively sparkling, her crimson mane the color of rubies and her coat was shining like a pearl in the morning light. Sparkling was currently staring at her glittering hooves in shock.

“Sparkling, what just happened?”

“It’s the Crystal Heart Sir!” Sparkling replied, her face morphing into an expression of joy, briefly forgetting Doflamingo’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…”

Doflamingo noticed that Sparkling’s face dropped as she mentioned this, tears filling her eyes as she rushed back into the Palace. Doflamingo 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 the 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.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo turning to find that his assistant had once again left the comfort of the pillow and was looking up at him. Doflamingo 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.”

Doflamingo could understand what the mare was going through, even though his experience was vastly different from hers; he knew what to say to her.

“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?”

Doflamingo sighed once again. “Of course I do, you’ve become a fine young mare and I am immensely pleased with you.” Sparkling sniffled as he continued. “I think this is a good a time as any to tell you that I want to accept you into my family.” Sparkling stared at the emperor in wonder. “I know it’s sudden, but I consider you a friend and truly see you as part of my family.

The mare suddenly flung herself around Doflamingo, embracing him and shoving her head into his chest, Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo 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 armor 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 colored gem set into the middle and segmented crystal plates shielding his back, sides and underbelly. The design of the armor 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 armor.

He walked over towards the throne, his sheathed sword hanging off the side of his armor, the gem studded pommel jutting out near his right foreleg. The gems set in the grip enchanted to allow him to use his armored 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 while 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 rumors currently floating around the city that a few had survived the purge, having hidden in abandoned buildings or with sympathizers, 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.

Doflamingo looked at the pony at the door, armored in what appeared to be crystal. The pony, a stallion judging from its slightly bigger size and bulkier muzzle had a copper-colored coat and a vibrant deep blue mane covered by a helmet, evidently a soldier or guard. Doflamingo held up a finger and pointed to the door, the stallion understanding the meaning behind the gesture and backing out of the room.

Doflamingo refocused 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. ‘At least I can be a family member for her when she needs it. I wouldn’t be much of a father figure though, more like a crazy uncle.’ He chuckled in his head at the thought and with a smile, he then exited the room shutting the door behind him, the armored Stallion waiting for him in the hallway.

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

Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo, feeling some humor despite the situation, his experience as a pirate captain ordering what was the equivalent of a Navy soldier here in this world was ironic.

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

“What is it, soldier?” Doflamingo 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 reinstated so I may reform the Guard?”

“Of course you can Captain,” Doflamingo replied, emphasizing the word ‘Captain’, “how many troops were previously under your command and how quickly do you think you could reassemble 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.”

Doflamingo 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 artifact 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. Doflamingo looked over the side where Sparkling was standing, the mare still upset. Doflamingo gestured towards the cushion at the front of the throne and Sparkling threw herself down upon it, thankfully having stopped crying. Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo settling in for a long day.

_____________________________________________________________________________-

The day had passed surprisingly well, Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo had given Sparkling the rest of the day off and the two mares had spent the afternoon in the town, leaving Doflamingo alone with the multitude of nobles that assailed the court.

Speaking of nobles, Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo 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 armored 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 armor 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.”

Doflamingo was quite intrigued at this development, not only did another intelligent species appear in his Empire, they had come with the intention of entering his domain, but for what possible purpose he would just have to find out for himself.

“Interesting…” Doflamingo 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,” Doflamingo ordered.

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

“Well,” Emperor Doflamingo began, “I think it’s time I see to our new guests.” He grinned at the possible opportunity to flex his powers over these insect creatures.

New Disturbances

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 Doflamingo 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 center 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 Doflamingo with a scowl on its face. This creature was different as its eyes looked normal, well; normal compared to his subjects, with irises the color of lime. The creature’s head was not bare like its fellows; a moss green mane flowed around its head with a matching tail. Doflamingo also noticed that it seemed to be slightly taller, almost rivalling the height of his Guard Sergeant.

Doflamingo leaned back in his throne, crossing his fingers in front of him.

“So tell me creature,” Doflamingo 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 armored hoof.

“Hold 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?” Doflamingo could see that the Guard Sergeant was trying his hardest to restrain himself from violence.

“fufufu, Simple,” Doflamingo 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, it 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 this conversation over again, but more politely hmm?” Doflamingo suggested, a slight smile on his face, amused by the creature’s fiery temperament. “I’ll start things off, I am Emperor Donquixote Doflamingo, the new ruler of this Empire and to whom do I have the utmost pleasure of speaking with?”

The creature once again scowled at him “My name is Clear Reflection.”

“fufu, good, see? We’re already making some progress; you really should work on your social skills,” this elicited 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?” Doflamingo curiously asked.

“We… can take the forms of ponies, anything bigger and the magic field fails.”

This bit of information caused Doflamingo some alarm, what if they could take the forms of the Crystal ponies? It would be difficult to root out these infiltrators without some knowledge of their abilities. Unless of course, he decided to kill random citizens for no reason. A sure-fire recipe for disaster. “Give me a demonstration then, change into that noble over there,” Doflamingo 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.”

Doflamingo looked over towards the rest of the changelings huddled together on the floor, four of the adults forming a group around the young ones. Doflamingo 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 and if he chose to show leniency to these Changelings, he’ll start to gain allies and approval from his citizens over his rule if he could convince them to accept the newcomers. Doflamingo leaned forward a little bit more, his interest having risen as his smile spread across his face, slightly unsettling everyone staring at him.

“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.”

Doflamingo 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 as he laughed aloud, startling all present in the throne room.

“Now that's plain ridiculous..." Reflection glared at him as his smile grew wider. "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 labor 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. Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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 and the Somb-rug beneath his feat, it caused the ponies to shiver in 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.

Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo sir,” the stallion began, his pearl mane covering one eye, “but I was wondering, and well, I wanted to ask what you are?”

Doflamingo was pleasantly surprised at the question “I’ve been waiting for someone else 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,” Doflamingo said, “What do you think of them?”

“I’ve only spoken to one so far My Lord,” Clear Cut turned back to face Doflamingo, “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.”

Doflamingo 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, although I will soon run out of stock, only a small amount of cows were brought back with us.”

Doflamingo 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, which the city was surrounded with and the berries growing in 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. Doflamingo was beginning to grown an interest in these crystals, the whole idea of magic intriguing in itself and he wondered about all of the practical applications he and his empire could benefit from these.

“I know that Clear Cut, I’m currently working on solutions to those problems.”

Doflamingo left it at that as Clear Cut bowed and began walking out of the Throne room. Doflamingo would need to know more about the surrounding territories in order to begin diplomatic relations with them in order to secure needed supplies for his people. He realized that he would have to do everything in a more legitimate manner, but he was earnestly trying to lead an honest life style for himself and making enemies of anyone on this world would set him back into his old ways, even though the temptation of knowing that this world’s inhabitants couldn’t realistically oppose him was a strong one. Nevertheless, he decided that it would involve so much work for himself, work he was familiar with, but still, doing something different from your normal routine provides a nice change of pace in life.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Cadence, Shining Armor 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 colorful 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 Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo, what spell did he use to turn Sombra into a rug?” Cadence questioned the mare.

“He’s not a unicorn, he’s a human, but he does 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 cut him up and shot him with something 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 neighbors 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 an 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-colors 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 you’re 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.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Doflamingo was sitting on his throne, bored with the current state of things, the day court having finished leaving only himself, a few guards, a servant baring a platter of appetizers, Sparkling who was snoozing on her cushion and Reflection, Doflamingo 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.

'Is this what it’s like to have free time on your hands,’ thought Doflamingo as he counted the amount gems set into the ceiling above his head, ‘At least my old life had a level of excitement and freedom to it. Now it sort of feels like I’m marri-‘

“Emperor Sir!” Doflamingo’s thoughts were interrupted by his Guard Captain rushing into the room.

‘-ed. Well at least something happened to stave off my boredom.’

“What is it Captain?” Doflamingo 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.

‘Hmph, I’ve been Emperor for only four days and already there’s some loony trying to claim my Throne. I wonder if she’s strong to actually do it though…’ thought Doflamingo 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 hospitalized though.”

The Emperor’s face turned stony “Captain, fetch this so called ‘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.”

To Punish or Not to Punish?

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 Doflamingo’ 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, it wore a pair of purple tinted sunglasses hiding its eyes and a coat made of pink feathers. 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 little bitch 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’m not doing 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 that you are.”

“Criminal!?” Cadence yelled “I was attempting to save MY Subjects,” Cadence empathized ‘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 for 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…”

Doflamingo had watched Reflection’s initial outburst with much humor, although he made sure to keep a scowl on his face 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 place must be making me soft.’ Doflamingo thought before turning toward the Princess, his mouth 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. Also, you and all your changelings are citizens of my empire and I will protect you all.”

As Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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, however Doflamingo saw it coming and used Armament Haki to actually protect his crotch from the blow. It was entirely unexpected and later on Doflamingo would reflect that no one had tried to strike a blow at his privates before and this was an unintentional accident at best for him.

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 injured in what Reflection knew was a ‘sensitive’ spot was amazing.

Doflamingo decided to forgive the Changeling for her blunder considering the circumstances, since he didn’t feel anything except awkwardness at the assault before turning back to Cadence, the shackled Princess not picking up on what had just happened.

“You’re not helping yourself any further Cadence.” Dofalmingo said, not a trace of pain in his voice. “Where I’m from your actions so far would have netted you a hefty thirty years imprisonment with hard labor, although as a ruler of another country in my homeland I had the authority to summarily execute those who break the law or displease me in any way…” at this statement Cadence’s face paled. “However…” Cadence looked at him with hope.

‘Hmm, I can’t just pardon her. I need to punish her in a way that would humiliate and hopefully teach her a lesson. But first….’ Doflamingo thought before continuing.

“Before I pass out your punishment, I want you to tell me why you hate changelings so much?” said Doflamingo while everyone in the room stared at him in shock.

“But Doflamingo, she doesn’t have a right to say anything after what she did!” Reflection yelled at the Emperor before turning to Cadence with another hate-filled glare.

Cadence glared back, but before she could speak, Doflamingo interrupted her. “Reflection.” The Emperor’s voice was stern, the changeling flinching at his tone and turned to him with sadness in her eyes. “I simply want to understand where her hatred is coming from. I know that the reason you hate her is because she is judging you and all other changelings unfairly, but I want to know what the cause of it is.” Doflamingo turned to Cadence, the princess of love staring at him with a mixture of anger and curiosity. “Now is your chance to defend yourself and maybe lessen your punishment if you can give me a good enough reason.” Said Doflamingo as everyone in the room waited for the princess to speak.

Cadence sighed. “Fine. The reason I hate changelings so much is that they ruined my wedding when I was about to marry my husband Shining Armor. The changelings invaded thanks to their Queen Chrysalis, but we managed to beat her in the end. However, I hate her and all changelings because she kidnapped me, impersonated me, and disguised herself as me so they could succeed!” Cadence had been steadily getting angrier recalling the events of that horrible day and she decided to direct it at the so called Emperor who asked her this.

Doflamingo stared impassively at the princess as she glared at him in anger. Doflamingo turned to Reflection and saw anger in her eyes as well, but also sadness and regret. “Reflection.” The changeling turned toward him. “Do you hate your Queen as well for what she tried to do?”

Cadence did a double take and stared at the changeling. Reflection scowled at the question, but her answer surprised Cadence.

“Of course I hate her! Her stupid plan to take over Canterlot is the reason why we changelings are starving and being banished from Equestria now. We just wanted to continue posing as ponies to get the love we need to survive, but Chrysalis wanted more than that! She ruined everything for us!” Reflection angrily shouted.

Cadence stared the changeling in shock while Doflamingo sported a grin. “I see. I understand your feelings Reflection, but at least now you and your fellows are able to live without needing to hide and take what you need through deception.” Reflection turned to the Emperor and smiled, a few tears being shed from her eyes. Doflamingo turned to Cadence.

“It seems your hatred is justified, but it is directed at the wrong source.” Doflamingo said while Cadence stared at him. “The only changeling you have reason to hate is Chrysalis. All other changelings were simply following her orders and many are not like their queen. Reflection here hates her as well, but she also hates those who constantly judge her for what she is without getting to know her first.” Everyone stared at the emperor in silence, contemplating his words.

“Now then, as for your punishment…” this got the attention of everyone in the room again. “I am going to have you explain exactly what you explained to me to the rest of my subjects and it will be up to them to forgive your actions or not. While you didn’t know changelings were citizens here in my empire, you know now and hopefully you can keep your so called hatred for them reserved for their queen and her alone. I will not tolerate anything more out of you if you continue to display this behavior.” His voice turned cold, causing Cadence to shiver in fear.

The room was quiet at the implication of the Emperor’s sentence. Many of the nobles around the room thought the Emperor was merciful allowing the Equestrian princess to not be punished according to the law. While the guards and Reflection thought the princess was getting off too easily, they realized that Doflamingo essentially warned her not to do anything else during her stay here and her reason for hating changelings was explained and seemed justified. Reflection still didn’t like the princess, but she wanted to follow Doflamingo’s example. If he could forgive her, for everything that she had tried to do to the empire, then she could try to forgive the princess for insulting her. After all, the root cause of the problem was Chrysalis. It was ALL her fault that changelings were captured or banished from Equestria, leaving them lost and with nothing, but Doflamingo gave them everything they could ever need in the Empire and she would thank him for that by trying to reign in her temper.

Cadence sighed “All right. If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it.”

Doflamingo could detect bitterness in her voice and knew that she still hated changelings, but he managed to get his message across that she was acting like a fool and further incidents wouldn’t be tolerated. Doflamingo smiled as he walked out of the throne room and out into the city as he gestured for the guards to bring Cadence along to a populated area where she can explain herself.

___________________________________________________________________________________

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 Armor 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 center 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.

There standing upon the stage was a large biped, announcing something to the crowd of ponies while he saw his wife Cadence was looking down at the ground in shame. The biped had already finished talking and the throng of ponies slowly began to dissipate. Or they would have if they didn’t see the small group of Equestrians that had just arrived.

“Ah look here my subjects! More Equestrians have to come to our beautiful empire! I am glad that my subjects are able to forgive those whose ignorance of our laws have caused the accused to harm one of our own! I can assure you that the princess here had valid reasons, but they were entirely uncalled for! Please disperse while I invite the rest of my guests into the Palace!” The crystal ponies cheered once again before some of the crowd started to disperse.

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 biped in shock, a large amount of crystal ponies having made way for the armed group of ponies as they departed. Shining began to advance on the creature, intending to meet with his wife with the four guards following behind him.

He had barely started to move from his spot before ten armored 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 armor yelled “any further movement will be met with force!”

The crowds’ attention was refocused 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 armor, 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 go to his wife and find out what was going on, 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 armor, the Crystal ponies rushing in to retrieve the dropped weapons, leaving the Equestrians defenseless.

“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 stage.

“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, looking down upon Shining Armor. “Now, Equestrian.” Doflamingo’s face retained a neutral look “I am Emperor Donquixote Doflamingo and I suspect that you are the husband of this princess, is that not correct?”

Shining faced the biped stoically “Yes, she is my wife, and so as Captain Shining Armor of the Solar Guard representing the country of Equestria, I humbly request to be by her side and that you have my apologies 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 experience 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 Armor,” 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.

“As for what she is doing here,” the emperor turned towards Cadence. “She has just finished apologizing to my subjects over the altercation and has experienced the full weight of their disapproval towards her actions.” spoke The Emperor.

Shining looked over towards his wife, Cadence was 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. If she was only subjected to the criticism of the crystal ponies after being forced to apologize for attacking one of the Emperor’s subjects, then this Emperor Doflamingo was obviously nothing like Sombra and was willing to show mercy under the circumstances.

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 thank you for being so lenient towards my wife Emperor and I hope for good relations between our two countries.”

The Emperor looked quite content with Shining’s response “Great, Guards” The twenty-five Crystal guards saluted the Emperor “escort the Four Equestrian guards 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, Cadence 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 guards and his wife, Shining couldn’t help but notice that a large amount of apprehension had begun to form in his stomach regarding the conspiratorial 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.

An Alternative Approach

Shining Armor and Princess Cadence followed Emperor Doflamingo and the Captain into the palace, the unicorn gazing around in awe at the beauty of the surrounding crystals that made up the walls while his wife was simply walking along, not taking in the sights. As the group ascended a magnificent 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 Doflamingo 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 and Cadence 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 while Cadence stared at the rug in dread, the top of Sombra’s head had a hole below his horn and numerous cuts across his body, 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, but I don’t think that really matters anymore.”

Shining had not expected Sombra to be dead; the evil tyrant from what he had been told was a terrifyingly strong magic user, his favored 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 the kind of garbage that needed to be cleaned up, 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 and Cadence 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 Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo 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 didn’t try to help her more in consoling her. He could only console himself that while the punishment was a blow to her personality, she wasn’t going to suffer any physical harm, and maybe it taught her to not to rashly attack the citizens of other empires.

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

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

The Emperor leaned forward in his throne intrigued “Really Captain Armor, 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 an eternity, Princess Cadence staring at her husband curiously. 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 Armor, 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 both 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. Cadence herself was staring back at the Emperor, a little surprised at the sudden topic change and kindness. 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 Armor and Cadence. 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.”

“fufufu. 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 and Cadence, before turning towards Emperor Doflamingo

“I suppose that you make a good point, however I won’t enjoy being in the presence of Equestrians who insult me for-“

“Reflection” The Emperor cut the Changeling off, his voice forceful. “Co-operation requires tolerance on both sides, I’m sure Captain Armor here will refrain from making any… un-needed comments while his wife should know I will not tolerate anymore insults.”

‘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 looked towards his wife, she was glaring at the Changeling before giving a little hmph in irritation. Shining sighed as they all left the throne room, a messenger already on the way to alert the chef.

__________________________________________________________________________

“Although I don't have a specific genre of music that I prefer, the majority of musical styles are all tolerable enough for me.”

Shining nodded as he levitated another spoonful of meringue into his mouth the Crystal berries adorning it showering his mouth with flavor while the Emperor continued to talk. 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, Doflamingo’s stony demeanor 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 Kingdom would not have been as fast to incorporate new creatures.

Shining had been unable to get any information regarding the Emperor’s past, Doflamingo 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 by my name, you’ve proved to be a worthy conversationalist and I enjoy the informality most of the time, after all having everyone constantly calling you ‘Emperor’ and ‘Your Majesty’ all the time gets stale.”

“I second that Doflamingo” 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.”

Doflamingo began to laugh at Shining’s statement, his own spoonful of meringue prepped and ready. Sparkling Scroll, Doflamingo’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 Doflamingo 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 until Cadence decided to vent out her frustrations.

“Shining!” she yelled “Why are we just sitting here and eating instead of trying to convince this so called ‘Emperor’ to relinquish the throne to its rightful heir!?” The alicorn princess glaring daggers at her husband.

Shining was lost for words, staring at his wife in shock, how could Cadence just say something so outrageous in front of the Emperor while he was offering his hospitality to them and had shown mercy to Cadence earlier for breaking the law?

“Actually Cadence, while I question your legitimacy to take my throne away from me,” the Emperor turned to Shining, smiling at him “I still need to hear this deal that Shining mentioned earlier, 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, Doflamingo no doubt having just saved his hide.

Shining shuddered internally, what Doflamingo did to Sombra could not possible compare to what Cadence would have done if the Emperor had not intervened. He knew how emotional she could get and when she was this angry, over a matter that was not so easily solved because of the circumstances, he quickly recalled the idea that he had, glancing over at Cadence who was scowling at the Emperor for ignoring her outburst.

“Well, as I was saying Emperor” Shining decided that continuing to call 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, 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 rumors abounding that the nobility, especially Prince Blueblood have been pushing Princess Celestia to simply execute any Changeling caught.”

Doflamingo’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 proposing 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.”

Doflamingo 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 tempting, I’m sure that we can figure something ou-“

“SHINING, ARE YOU BUCKING INSANE!”

Cadence’s outburst cut off Doflamingo, 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. However, before the changeling touched the princess, she was suddenly frozen in midair, letting out cries of frustration as she tried to get to the Equestrian Princess. However, Reflection remained in place like a fly caught in a spider’s web.

“Reflection…” the coldness of the voice shocked everyone in the room as they all slowly turned toward the Emperor, Reflection unable to because of the force immobilizing her. Doflamingo was raising his hand, a frown on his face as he moved his fingers around and with a sudden pull, dragged Reflection towards him and setting her down onto the ground. A twitch from his finger caused Reflection’s head to slowly gaze upward at the Emperor, fear silencing her as the normally smiling Emperor was now frowning, a vein visible across his forehead.

“Guards.” Doflamingo spoke calmly yet firmly, jolting the guards out of their immobility and for them to gaze back at him, a little fear showing in their otherwise stoic features. “Escort the Equestrians to the edge of the city, and grab their guards along the way. I will meet you there shortly.”

The Crystal guards obeyed without hesitation, shoving Shining and Cadence out of the room, both unable to move on their own after the sudden rage of the Emperor. Doflamingo waited until they had gone and the doors had closed before he took in a deep breath and let out a long sigh before lowering his hand and releasing Reflection from his control.

“Reflection” he stated, the Changeling staring at him fearfully, not realizing that she was free from whatever it was that the Emperor used to restrain her. Doflamingo crouched down in-front of her, Reflection shivering on the spot, with tears in her eyes as she wondered what the Emperor was going to do to her. Two guards had remained in the room, their faces covered in shock because of the scene they had witnessed, Doflamingo faced them.

“You two, leave the room and stand at the entrance. I want you to stop her from leaving the room if she does. Understood?” the guards broke their trance and hurriedly acknowledged his order while Doflamingo turned to address Reflection “As for you, I apologize for having to use my powers on you, but I do NOT want to make any more enemies here in this world. The Empire has yet to recover and I believe the Equestrians will be useful allies in the future. However, your actions may have jeopardized that today. When I’m done with the Equestrians we are going to have a talk about your behavior issues.” Doflamingo turned around and left the room without looking back, leaving behind Reflection, Sparkling and the two guards standing guard at the doorway, the Changeling having sat down, lowering her head in shame.

__________________________________________________________________________________

The Crystal guards shoved Shining and Cadence through the edge of the barrier, the four Pegasi guards merely being allowed to follow through peacefully, 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, “I have pardoned your earlier crime, but now 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. “If you have something to say, then say it.” Cadence fumed as she yelled out angrily “MY AUNTIE WILL HEAR OF YOUR EVIL ‘EMPEROR’ AND WHEN SHE DOES, SHE WILL MAKE SURE THAT THOSE MONSTERS ARE GONE AND YOU ARE-“

Doflamingo made a swiping motion with his hand at the Princess, as if he were about to strike her, but he never made contact with her. Instead, the ground itself was being churned apart, as if cut through by a massive plow as five identical lines appeared and slashed across the ground, forming a line that divided the Emperor and his guards from the Equestrians. Everyone stared in horror at what the Emperor had just accomplished. He had cut apart the ground without any sharp weapons with a mere swipe of his hand! They stared fearfully at the Emperor when he suddenly spoke.

“If you insist on making an enemy of me by insulting my subjects because of your own failings, then I will make sure you live to regret your choice.” Doflamingo paused to stare at the frightened Equestrians. “I have powers you can’t possibly imagine, but I am willing to make friends with you instead of being enemies. I hope you make the wise decision by not trying to oppose me or undermine my rule. You have caused enough trouble here and unless you want to be killed by my hand, you will accept your punishment with what little dignity you have left.”

As Doflamingo finished, he noticed Cadence shivering in fear once again. He had made a point to attack fairly close to her and the line he had drawn had carried his message across quite clearly in his opinion. Doflamingo turned to Shining Armor.

“It was a shame it had to end like this Shining, I would like to let you know that you are still able to visit, and I’m still perceptive towards your offer. Inform your 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 trudging along, the fear and shock still visible on her face as the group began the long journey home. Doflamingo waited until the Equestrians departed before turning to address his guards. “I will be going ahead to the palace using my power. I hope I can trust you to keep what you saw here a secret at your own discretion.” The guards nodded and Doflamingo smiled at them before bending his knees and jumping high into the air. The guards marveled at the Emperor’s physical prowess as their amazement only grew when they saw their Emperor floating in midair before flying off in the direction of the palace without wings. The guard hurriedly galloped off to meet their Emperor while Doflamingo soared through the sky, his strings attaching to clouds and tall buildings alike as he began to head toward the Palace, preparing himself for the confrontation with Reflection.

Settling Down

Reflection was staring down at the hard floor, her misery rising over what happened. She was sure that she had gone too far; no doubt the Emperor would still be incredibly displeased with her behavior. 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 tried to attack 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 Doflamingo 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 tried to attack 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. She was amazed and a little fearful that Doflamingo had used his power again to restrain Reflection. She still couldn’t believe that strings were able to do such things, but Sparkling was sure the strings were magical and could do more than she could imagine. Sparkling got up and moved over towards the sobbing changeling, the two guards gazing at her from the doorway.

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 Doflamingo 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 before she was cut off by the Emperor striding into the room.

____________________________________________________________________________

The flight had improved Doflamingo’s mood a little bit, his anger receding as he approached the palace. Along the way, he could hear yells and shouts from below him and looking down, he saw many of his subjects excitedly pointing up at him and cheering as he flew by. This was the primary reason he felt a little better despite the trouble the Equestrians had brought with them. 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 Armor and the deal he had come up with seemed to be a great idea, however due to Princess actions and the Changeling’s response, the deal might not go through anymore; Princess Cadence would surely attempt to prevent it from succeeding. However, he knew she would be unsuccessful since this Princess Celestia was considered to be a pacifist from what he heard, and he knew he could count on her to agree to the deal.

Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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 realize 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”

“You shouldn’t care about what some stuck-up ponies think, look beside you.” Reflection turned to face Sparkling “You have friends here who care about you, you and every changeling are welcome here, nothing will change that, and I hope you do not disappoint me again.” Reflection merely nodded “I’ll try harder Sir.”

“Good” Doflamingo 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 to see 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 her 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 too much, besides” Vibrant’s cheeks turned red, the mare leaning forwards towards the bed-ridden changeling “you're much more important to me right now.”

‘Is she really going to kiss me!?’ thought 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, well, well, I'm sorry for the interruption, I’ll just come back another time.” the Emperor stated as he realized what he had just walked in on, chuckling at the pairs' embarrassment.

"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 Doflamingo?” 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, that's all.” Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo 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, smiling widely at the looks of admiration he was receiving.

____________________________________________________________________________

“This is a very delicious cake my subject.” Doflamingo took 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.”

“Really? Than it is certainly worthy of praise for anyone to create something so delicious.” another spoonful disappeared “If you are interested in working at the palace as another chef under my employ than I would be far from disappointed.”

This only caused the mare to blush more, prompting Sparkling to sigh in exasperation. 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 cake?

“You’re probably right Sparkling.” Doflamingo said, having finished his slice of cake. “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.

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

“I didn't know she was that desperate for customers.” the trio laughed at the little adult joke, Sparkling giggling loudly while Reflection smiled a little at the joke. Doflamingo's mood was jovial as he contemplated on what other things he needed to do while waiting for the Equestrian's response.

Preparations

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 the 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. She didn’t want to approve of such an action, but what other choice did she have?

“Excuse me Princess, Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor 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 quite shaken up and Captain Armor seems a bit upset, I assume regarding his wife.”

Celestia frowned, what had happened to Cadence? Celestia could think of only Sombra being responsible, but if he was, he would have achieved more against the couple and prevented them from leaving the empire at all. 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 Armor entering the room. Cadence was scowling, yet her eyes held a hint of fear that Celestia couldn’t explain. Shining Armor looked injured, a large purple bruise covering the side of his face almost the size of a hoof. Celestia, upon seeing the pair 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 happened to the both of 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 caused trouble and deserved the banishment. 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 Donquixote Doflamingo 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 nearly killed 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 made you explain yourself in front of his subjects and even pardon you, he could have imprisoned you or even had you executed! And if it weren’t bad enough already, what do you do next? 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 and did nothing to help me! 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! Also, the Emperor demonstrated his powers when he banished you and it would be incredibly foolish to fight him! Also, he never even touched you, he did that as a warning and you're still not even listening to it!”

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 contemplating on whether or not 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 Armor scowled briefly at the mention of the Prince, the two stallions never got along at all.

“Emperor Doflamingo 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 tried to attack 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 to 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 Doflamingo, 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, Doflamingo writing down all he knew about medicine, a fair amount due to the fact that he had been trying to uncover all of the abilities of the Opi-Opi fruit. While his knowledge was limited to humans the Crystal ponies had been learning rather fast, a few doctors already making leaps in the field of medicine.

Doflamingo 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 were 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-armored, due to the fact that the suits of Crystal armor 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.

Doflamingo had gotten used to the idea of magic in this world and while the so called spells the changelings and possibly unicorns could unleash, he knew his abilities were more superior because he had mastered his abilities and had a lot of combat experience from his previous life. However, he was going to make sure that the Crystal Guard would be capable enough to protect the city, despite the utter lack of experience in combat. Doflamingo had a feeling that the time would come when their training would be put to the test.

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 Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo’s relief. The fact that both species were getting along well eliminated many problems he had anticipated when he gave the Changelings citizenship.

Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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 Armor that the surrounding Civilizations had around the same level of advancement.

Doflamingo 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 armor for the changelings and last but not least a plan to surround the city with walls interspersed with mini-fortresses. It was at this moment that Doflamingo began to think about his crew, his family. They had been with him ever since he was labeled as a traitor by the other Celestial Dragons all these years ago and couldn't help but wish that they were here with him, their presence would lighten the work load he currently had immensely while at the same time providing complete protection to this empire. After all, his family executives were all highly formidable and he doubted anything in this world could stop them should they decide to conquer everything. However, he had left that part of him behind and with this second chance, he was actually enjoying himself in this strange world.

Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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 prepared for the next session and the many more which would no-doubt follow.

Discovering Fashion

“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 Doflamingo’ 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 evident 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…”

______________________________________________________________________________

Doflamingo had just finished morning court, a line of nobles and normal citizens alike filing out through the throne room doors. Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo had approved of this measure in the hopes that it would raise happiness in the city, useable entertainment venues a rare sight. He hadn’t had much else to do aside from the usual duties, but he wanted something more interesting to happen to him so he could stretch his muscles for a little bit.

Another petitioner of interest introduced herself as a tailor specializing in formal ware, the mare inquiring as to whether the Emperor would require any new clothes. Doflamingo said that it would be a good idea, considering he was still wearing his original clothing. His only condition was that the mare would make more of the same clothes he was currently wearing and only one piece of formal wear. Doflamingo was glad she agreed, since he preferred casual attire than any stuffy formal wear anyway. He allowed the mare to make any other outfit she desired for him however to make up for it.

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 Doflamingo’s measurements in the throne room, much to the amusement of the gathered ponies. Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo 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…” Doflamingo questioned as he glanced at the soldier’s armor 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;” Doflamingo responded as he stood up from his throne. “lead the way Lieutenant.”

_______________________________________________________________________________

Doflamingo followed the Lieutenant down to the lower levels of the palace, the number 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 Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo. “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?” Doflamingo replied.

“Sergeant Mirage here,” the Captain answered, gesturing towards the changeling as the Sergeant saluted Doflamingo “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 Doflamingo “I was searching my prescribed area as ordered and I found these doors hidden behind an old bookshelf Emperor.” The 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. Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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 another of Sombra’s ideas to hide things where no one will use them.” Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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 colors and sizes from tiny blue sapphires to huge emeralds, easily the size of Doflamingo’s head.

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

Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo reached the end of the room, his mind wrapping around the possibilities that this find created. He smiled to himself as he saw how these enchanted gems would benefit him and his empire.

“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 Doflamingo as he left the small room, Sergeant Mirage closing the door behind them “Organize 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 Doflamingo exited. After the Captain had organized for some guards to watch the vault Doflamingo 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.” Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo giving him a smile and nod 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 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 color 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 Doflamingo 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 too.”

Reflection giggled, her sour mood having disappeared “Sometimes I can’t really tell with him. He smiles too much.”

“Isn’t it always best to have a smile on your face?”

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

“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 they’re not that special and I did have help from my sisters to create them so quickly-“

“Nonsense!” Doflamingo continued “I think they’re great and please, call me Doflamingo, being called Emperor gets tiring every time.”

“Thank you Doflamingo,” replied Shimmering “your suit is out the back and ready to go, I made it in a way that would complement your shades and coat. 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.” Doflamingo 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.”

“You’re married?” inquired Doflamingo.

“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.

“fufufu, good to hear” replied Doflamingo 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 Donquixote Doflamingo!”

At her words Doflamingo stepped out of the room, Sparkling looking upon him with awe while Reflection merely swooned.

Doflamingo was dressed in a black suit with a white sash, golden buttons holding it together. A pink stripe ran down the side of each pant leg and a white emblem of a smiling 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 Doflamingo examined said skulls, white silk having been used instead. He had wanted his pirate symbol to be used for his formal attire to satisfy a sense of nostalgia he had about his previous life.

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

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

“It is rather late, I suppose we better be off” Doflamingo 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 too 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 Doflamingo 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.

Never Alone

“This is excellent pie, remind me to give the cook a raise Sparkling.” Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo having gone back for seconds while Reflection sat to the side of Doflamingo, the changeling declining any solid sustenance. Reflection had spent the entire dinner fidgeting with her front hooves as she stared at the table, Doflamingo seemingly too caught up in his food to notice that anything was amiss, however he was glancing at Reflection while eating, having an idea of what was on the changeling’s mind.

Both of the mares had removed their clothes; however Doflamingo decided to change into the newer set of casual clothing that pretty much looked identical to his original clothes claiming that the familiarity really was improving his mood. The Tailor had offered to make a lot more extra clothing for him, an offer that Doflamingo graciously accepted.

Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo about her feelings.

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

The human turned his head to face Reflection, a warm smile on his face as he gazed at the face of the changeling.

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

“Well, you see Doflamingo,” Reflection started, the changeling shooting a glance at Sparkling, the white mare giving her a smile of encouragement. Reflection turned back towards Doflamingo. “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.” Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo 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.”

Doflamingo smiled down at her, his grin a mask to hide his feelings on what was about to come next.

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

“Doflamingo,” 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 Doflamingo, 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.

Doflamingo sighed. He had thought about what to do when this time came and he decided to go for the other approach he was thinking of instead of going with his first option.

“Thank you soldier, but please inform the messenger to wait a moment. I have to settle things here.” Doflamingo replied.

“As you command Lord!” the mare turning and heading back towards the throne room. Doflamingo gave Reflection his attention once again.

“All right Reflection, please continue what you were going to say to me.”

Doflamingo smiled as the changeling struggled to find the words to say before blurting it all out in a rush.

“IthinkI’minlovewithyouDoflamingo!!!” yelled out the blushing Changeling.

Doflamingo’s smile lowered as he sighed internally. ‘It’s just as I thought. While it’s true a little companionship would be nice since I don’t have anyone of my own species to be with, but is it really all right to do this? If any of these ponies knew what I’ve done in the past, they would see me as a greater monster than Sombra and what then?’ He sighed aloud, Reflection glancing up at him with fear and despair in her eyes while Sparkling looked between the two, afraid that Doflamingo would reject Reflection’s feelings.

“If that is how you feel, then I have to first ask why exactly do you love me? Depending on your reasoning I’ll give you an answer.” Reflection struggled with herself for a moment before sighing and looking up at Doflamingo.

“I’m sorry Doflamingo.” Reflection said softly as she looked into the Emperor’s eyes, or rather his sunglasses. “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 of your old life 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 Doflamingo.

“You treat me like family but I want to be more than 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 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 Doflamingo, the changeling burying her face into his chest. Doflamingo contemplated everything that Reflection had just told her while Sparkling had tears in her eyes after Reflection finished her little speech. He had faced many problems in his violent life time, Doflamingo usually dealing with them with a combination of violence and comedic wit, while mostly forcing his enemies to kill each other but none of that 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.

Doflamingo sighed. “Do you two know anything about me?” the sudden question catching both mares off guard as they shook their heads at him. “Good, because if you did know about my past, you would see that I am a greater monster than Sombra could ever hope to be. I have done many terrible things to my own kind and I eventually paid the price for it.” Doflamingo stared up at the ceiling while the two mares stared at him curiously.

“Reflection, people see you as a monster because of your appearance.” Reflection winced, hurt at suddenly being called a monster by the Emperor while Sparkling glared at him. “However, I am a true monster who kills and ruins lives with a smile on my face.” He smiled widely, recalling the feelings of elation and excitement of seeing others suffer. His demeanor had clearly shown on his face as now Reflection and Sparkling were looking at him terrified until Doflamingo’s smile turned into a slight frown as he stared at Reflection.

“Are you willing to be together with a monster such as myself?”

Doflamingo waited for Reflection’s reply and was pleasantly surprised when the changeling nodded her head.

“I don’t care about any of that Doflamingo. The you that I’ve gotten to know is the one I fell in love with. You told me once that you wanted to change yourself and be a better person and I think you are truly making good on that promise.”

Doflamingo stared at Reflection while she and Sparkling smiled. Suddenly, the Emperor laughed loudly, startling the two mares.

“Fufufufufufu!! You’re quite determined aren’t you?” Doflamingo smiled widely at Reflection who only nodded her head in reply.

“Well then, don’t regret your decision later on. You’re going to be stuck with me for a while and It’s not like there’s anything wrong with trying to find love right?”

The hope in Reflection’s eyes made them sparkle while Sparkling was staring in excitement and anticipation at what the Emperor would say next.

He suddenly 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 Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo, 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 suddenly being held by a pair of hands and set her down on to the floor.

“I think you’ve scared the poor Equestrian messenger waiting for me with that squeal Reflection. Probably thinks my palace is haunted now.” Doflamingo chuckled while Reflection blushed as Sparkling was giggling at what the Emperor said.

“Well, we’ll have to continue this later. I have to see what this Equestrian has to say. Would you two care to join me?” Both mares turned toward each other to share a look before shaking their heads. Doflamingo smiled and chuckled as he got up from his seat and proceeded to head towards the throne room.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

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 armor that the Crystal guards were wearing covered almost their entire bodies, unlike Equestrian armor 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 hinge 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 colors 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 armor. 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 Doflamingo, 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 mouth twitched a bit when the human addressed him. “My refusal is based upon multiple factors.” Emperor Doflamingo sat down on his throne, gazing at the equestrian from behind his sunglasses.

“I decline 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,” Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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 knew all of the problems that would arise once it became public that they were seeing each other. It would reflect badly on himself and his empire by extension because he was together with a changeling. However, he didn’t want to break Reflection’s heart to pieces and he had already told her he would give her a chance, no doubt Sparkling and Reflection were talking about the very subject in an excited manner, like all females tend to do about such things.

He sighed as he got up from his throne and walked back into the dining room, the guards not following him after he told them he would be retiring for the night. When he arrived back at the dining room, he didn’t find Reflection or Sparkling anywhere and chuckled to himself. He had an idea where Reflection would be and he was sure Sparkling retired for the night so it was with much amusement that Doflamingo ascended the stairs towards his royal bedchambers to get some sleep. To his complete lack of surprise, he found Reflection sleeping soundly in his bed, obviously waiting for him to join her. He didn’t realize his little talk with the Equestrian took so long, but decided that Reflection was so full of excitement at being given a chance to date him that she collapsed from exhaustion like a child who had a sugar rush and crash.

Doflamingo crawled into his bed and settled into his covers when Reflection suddenly grabbed him and hugged him tightly like a stuffed animal. Her contented sigh and smile put a similar smile on his own face. He knew he couldn’t end the relationship between Reflection and himself, but if she knew what he did in his past life, she might want to break up with him immediately. If not, then at least he had found a companion that was as loyal to him as any other member of his old family. Doflamingo closed his eyes, with his shades still on his face, and began to drift off to sleep. After all, he was about to get a lot more busy with the things he had to do in the near future.

New Day

Doflamingo awoke to the sound of heavy breathing, a large object resting upon the side of his crumpled clothing. He wiped his face with a hand, the beads of sweat that had gathered during the night clearing away. He wiped his eyes of drowsiness, pushing up his sunglasses to do so. Doflamingo sighed, once again he was dreaming, most likely caused by all of the emotional stress from the night before.

He looked at the source of the deep breathing, Reflection deeply asleep. The changeling had her top half splayed over Doflamingo’s chest, her front hooves digging into the fabric of his shirt. Her back end was lying on the bed side-ways, a hind leg twitching occasionally like a dog as she dreamed. Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo recalling that Reflection had fallen asleep while in his bed, himself slumbering soon after. He attempted to move from under the changeling without waking her; morning court would begin in about two hours. His efforts to escape proved to be futile however, Reflection tightening her grip as she felt him move away. While Doflamingo 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 need to have some breakfast. Then morning court is on after that, I have to observe the creation of some new armor, 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. Doflamingo gave let out a sigh at her question as he got off the bed, much 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. Besides,” he grinned at her. “You’re supposed to be one of my so called advisors. Do you want to take care of all of that in my place?”

“I guess that’s a good point,” the Changeling conceded as she also left the bed, moving towards the bathroom. “and no thanks. 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.” Doflamingo replied as he left her embrace and walked out the door, trying not to focus on the troublesome things he had to do today.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Sparkling munched on her slice of toast as she sat at the dining room table, a smile on her face. She was still excited for Reflection last night, the atmosphere and Doflamingo’s answer doing a number on her emotional levels. Sparkling had trusted him to do the right thing, and she was glad that he didn’t brush aside Reflection’s feelings for him.

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. Doflamingo was always so caring and nice but she knew that by his own admission he was an evil villain that thankfully changed his ways.

Sparkling would call Reflection a close friend, the two mares having bonded during their time spent as advisors. She was happy for her and it really did seem like she was part of the strange family that consisted of her and the Emperor. Sparkling thought about how the Emperor would get when he was fighting something and shuddered. She would feel sorry for anypony, besides Sombra of course, who had the misfortune of angering the Emperor. She just hoped that Doflamingo wouldn’t need to fight at all or otherwise turn evil again. She utterly believed him when he said that he was a greater monster than Sombra could ever hope to be since she witnessed how he had killed the tyrant in the first place and she wished she would never have to see such a terrible thing happen again.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Doflamingo 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 smiled at him, obviously glad that he decided to give Reflection a chance.

“Good Morning Doflamingo,” Sparkling greeted him merrily. Doflamingo smiled back and sat down with his plate, Sparkling merely stared at him, which prompted Doflamingo to respond to her.

“Morning Sparkling.”

“I’m really glad that you’re giving Reflection a chance sir. I mean, after she poured her heart out to you, I was kind of worried that you would reject her.”

Doflamingo decided to vent a little to Sparkling about what he felt over this whole situation. He would still give it a chance, but he wanted to express all of the troubles that would come from such a relationship.

“Don’t praise me so much Sparkling. I may have given Reflection a chance, but there is going to be a lot of challenges to overcome because of it. First of all, 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.” Doflamingo leaned in further towards Sparkling, the mare’s happy look having lessened as Doflamingo had explained his reasons.

“While I didn’t explain all of this to Reflection last night,” Doflamingo continued, “she is already aware of these reasons and still wishes to be with me. Therefore, it’s best to let things take their course and see where this relationship goes.” Doflamingo 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.

“Well, what exactly are you and Reflection going to be doing sir?” she questioned with a confused look on her face. The answer came in the form of a joyful changeling bouncing into the room, Reflection spotting Doflamingo sitting down opposite Sparkling. Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo’s face, her damp-moss mane covering the human’s head with moisture.

“Wha-what?” Sparkling questioned, utterly lost regarding Reflection’s sudden and awkward action. Sparkling looked at the Emperor and changeling taking note of Doflamingo’s ruffled cloths, Reflection’s blissful attitude and the fact how the changeling was suddenly displaying much more affection openly in public. An idea pushed its way to the front of her mind, a fairly uncomfortable image of how Doflamingo and Reflection had spent their time last night.

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

“What do you me…” Doflamingo’s eyes widened as he figured out what Sparkling was alluding to, the human laughing so hard he was wobbling the chair he was sitting in, rocking back and forth while Reflection stared at Sparkling with a puzzled expression.

“No, nothing like that at all,” Doflamingo answered, “I was getting ready for bed when I noticed someone had already made herself comfortable in it. I crawled in and Reflection hugged me all night as we slept. Fufufu my, my Sparkling. I didn’t know you had those kind of thoughts.” Doflamingo laughed again while Sparkling was blushing with embarrassment. Reflection picked up on what Sparkling was insinuating and began to blush as well. Doflamingo suddenly picked up Reflection with his hands, the biped somehow holding up the blushing changeling in the air as he stood up.

“While this has all been shaping up to be a hilarious morning; 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 walked out of the door towards the throne room, leaving two very surprised and embarrassed mares behind.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Emperor Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo, 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 Doflamingo’s feet like a cat. The nobles that had attended morning court had all wished the pair well, Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo’s amusement.

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 Doflamingo as being sixteen to nineteen years of age. The three ponies and changeling bowed before the Emperor, Doflamingo waving a dismissive hand at them.

“Please, don’t worry about the formalities,” Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo. 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 lineage. My wife, Gentle Heart,” the pearl-white mare nodded her head towards Doflamingo “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?”

Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo chuckling at her reaction.

“That’s what it sounds like to me,” Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo and Reflection, the group of four exiting from the room talking lively amongst each other.

“Well, that went better than I expected.” Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo,” Reflection stated as she got up from her spot. Both Doflamingo 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!”

Caving In

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.

Doflamingo 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 into really improve the once barren area. They had even managed to accomplish all that they had with some money to spare, Doflamingo joking to the committee that if there was money left over than they obviously weren’t cut out for government, which was true enough if they were more like humans in terms of greed. Stalls had been set up serving food and drink, Doflamingo 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; Doflamingo 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.

Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo skirted the questions regarding his past life and instead focused on telling the eager listeners all about how he had ruled an island kingdom and retelling how happy the citizens there were. He described how humans and living toys lived in harmony with one another, getting many of the ponies to stare at him in wonder. Of course, he neglected to mention how the toys were made themselves since he didn’t have Sugar with him to take care of any who questioned his current rule, but it wasn’t even necessary in this case. Sparkling had left earlier, two of her friends inviting her to their bench, leaving Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo.

“Sir, Captain Strategy requests your presence immediately!”

Doflamingo 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 clothes.

“Lead the way soldier.” he ordered. The guard stallion galloped off, Doflamingo surprising every pony in the park by launching himself in the air and floating along after the guard, who stopped momentarily to gap at the Emperor before being nudged along with a wave of the Emperor’s hand. His subjects were staring in wonder at him as he laughed, following the guard at a leisurely pace. A demonstration of his power would further cement his position as a powerful and mysterious Emperor. Doflamingo didn’t concern him much with the situation, for the Captain to message him in such a way meant that something important had happened, and that meant it was also going to be very interesting for him as a result.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

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 armor, 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 Doflamingo actually flying after the Private dressed in his usual clothing with a look of determination on his face. The Emperor looked quite majestic, the sight of the ruler of the Empire flying around in the sky cemented the fact that he was a powerful individual who could handle anything. Strategy couldn’t help but admire the way the bipedal ruler was able to maintain his composure while demonstrating his strange powers to his troops. The Private halted as soon as he reached the Captain, both guards saluting as the Emperor floated down in front of them, not a trace of fatigue visible on his features.

“Captain Strategy, report” Emperor Doflamingo 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 armor was capable of warding off the attacks, although they are still shaken from the experience.”

“Understandable,” Emperor Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo stared at the mark 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. Doflamingo bent down over the puddle, beckoning the Captain over.

Strategy lowered his head so that it was level with the Emperor’s, Doflamingo looking like he was studying the green blood on the floor.

“Don’t act alarmed Captain,” Doflamingo 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 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 Doflamingo with spears raised.

Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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 didn’t even come close to him as he effortlessly dodged the attack before the bolt impacted against the ceiling behind the group. Doflamingo looked up towards the ceiling, the smile still firm on his face.

“Fufufu. 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-colored 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 clothing.

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

Doflamingo 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 weren’t acting so un-neighborly. I expected some hospitality instead of receiving energy bolts.” Doflamingo crouched down in front of the two unicorns, the mare beginning to sob while the stallion fixed Doflamingo 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.

Doflamingo let out a chuckle at the stallion’s words. “You think I work for Sombra, now that’s just insulting. I don’t work for that piece of trash.” 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 Doflamingo 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” Doflamingo 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 that Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo 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,” Doflamingo 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.” Doflamingo grinned. “Besides, if I wanted to kill you, I would have just done this.” Suddenly he swiped his hand at the boulder the pair of unicorns were hiding behind, which was promptly sliced to pieces. 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,” Doflamingo 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 to find us?”

“Fufufufu. 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 armor 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.

“Greetings, 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?”

Enough String to Hang Them With

“You killed the king?”

Doflamingo looked towards the golden unicorn stallion that had spoken; the way that the other unicorns were looking at it leading him 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 Doflamingo stopped a few meters away.

Doflamingo 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 colored mane were any indication. The unicorn was roughly the same height as 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 Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo, 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.” Doflamingo peered down at the unicorn, a smile that radiated warmth relaxing the golden unicorn.

“Oh, he did blast me with his magic,” Doflamingo replied as the unicorn looked at him in confusion, “I simply blocked it with my coat.” He gestured to his coat as a patch of it suddenly turned black and glossy, startling the stallion. “As you can see, I can use magic even without a horn. Anyway, I killed the king by cutting him up while I suspended him in midair. I tortured him a little before blasting a little hole through his head.” Doflamingo smiled widely, this eliciting a wince from the Stallion, the fact that the bipedal creature’s smile stayed firm only unsettled the unicorn further.

“You… really did all of that to him?”

“Of course. Afterwards, I skinned him to make a rug,” Doflamingo 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.

“Donquixote Doflamingo, or simply Emperor Doflamingo as of a few weeks ago,” the creature introduced as it held out a dirty 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 for the incident, 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 my 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 get going. I hope you enjoy life under my rule!”

With these words the Emperor disappeared from view into the darkness, laughing the whole way while his guards followed 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!”

Doflamingo watched with great mirth as the head blacksmith, Iron Greaves moved from weapon rack to armor stand. He had made sure Strategy and his guards escorted the Crystal Unicorns to their new home as he flew away, his guards still gasping and staring in awe as he did so. He smirked at how easily impressed these ponies could be as he headed for the smithy. The gleam of polished steel glinted in the light of crystal lighting, the surprisingly upbeat brown-coated pony bouncing around the room. Doflamingo 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 hundreds of years.” Doflamingo commented with a smile, 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 armor designed to fit an equine creature.

“This new armor for changeling troops is also a masterpiece, even if I do say so myself.” Iron shined the armor 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, Doflamingo peering at the cluster of three gems.

“Let me guess,” Doflamingo 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,” Doflamingo replied, “great work on the armor 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’s this about a special project?” Doflamingo asked, the blacksmith bounding towards a side room, the Emperor following close behind.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

“Iron, while I appreciate the gesture, I did not authorize you to make any armor or weapons for myself.”

Iron watched with a crestfallen expression as the Emperor gazed at his new suit of plate armor, the human frowning at this unfortunate misunderstanding. He would have to educate Iron on why this was an unfortunate waste of his time.

“But sir, you should be wearing some form of protection with you from now on and carry a weapon with you. It would impress your subjects and keep you safe since no one wants you to get hurt.” Defended Iron.

“Unfortunately Iron, I have no use for any of that. My powers alone provide me with plenty of offense and defense. For example, in terms of defense,”

Doflamingo suddenly activated his armament haki as the right side of his body glowed as if it were red hot molten metal before flashing away, completely covering the right side of his body with a black, shiny substance, as if the Emperor’s very skin was a type of armor.

“I have the ability to encase any part of my body in an armor that is completely unique to me. Allow me to demonstrate.”

The Emperor took one of the standard swords nearby and held out his hand. He swung down, much to Iron’s horror, upon his own arm and was afraid that he would see a severed limb and blood spraying everywhere when instead the blade actually broke when coming into contact with the Emperor’s new armored form. Iron’s jaw hung down, amazed at how strong the Emperor’s make shift armor was. He also realized that this was part of the Emperor’s magic at work and it was indeed better than anything he could come up with for his ruler.

“I see your point Sir,” Iron answered, “that is truly an impressive defense. I’m ashamed to say I can’t replicate anything like that.”

“Nonsense Iron. You are quite capable in creating protection for my guards. I just needed to demonstrate that I can look after myself just fine.”

Doflamingo continued. “In terms of defense, this armor is near impenetrable and such a hard substance can easily be used for offense.”

To emphasize his point, Doflamingo suddenly bent down and punched the ground with his armored fist. A small crater accompanied by a web of cracks appeared upon impact, the cracks spreading until they nearly reached Iron’s hooves. Iron’s astonishment only grew as the Emperor demonstrated his might and magical prowess.

“So,” Emperor Doflamingo responded, “in terms of accommodating me for battle Iron, while I appreciate the gesture, your work and time can better be spent in improving the gear of my soldiers.”

“Yes Emperor.” Iron answered.

“Now then,” suddenly the black armor the Emperor had slowly vanished, Iron staring in awe as the color disappeared and the Emperor looked the same as he did before activating his armor ability. “Do you wish to see what I can do in terms of offense?” The Emperor asked while Iron Greaves nodded fervently. He had only heard second hoofed accounts of what the Emperor’s magic and attacks were like, many saying that he used strings to defeat Sombra. From what he heard, the strings were sharper than any blade, lift objects up into the air and even allowed the Emperor to fly without wings.

Doflamingo chuckled as he shook his head. “Maybe another time Iron. I’ve already left a small pothole in your smithy and anymore damage will be coming out of the treasury’s pocket.”

Iron seemed disappointed, but he knew the Emperor was right. He had heard how destructive and agile the Emperor could be, the simple demonstration of his natural defense proving that. The Emperor could fully handle himself in a fight and Iron wasn’t too curious to know more about the Emperor’s martial prowess. Doflamingo rubbed his hands together as he strolled past the bewildered blacksmith and over towards a weapon rack at the end of the room. Deciding that the Emperor made his point about his work Iron followed the human.

Doflamingo stopped at the rack and retrieved another 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 a finger over the sword edge, “sometimes cutting your foe with 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 armor and shatter bones. The top possessed a pointed spike that could be thrust between the joints of an opponent’s armor and the weapon also had its own set of gems set into the handle.

“Indeed,” Doflamingo said as he poked the gems, “while I have experience wielding various weapons, my own abilities are more than enough for my enemies.”

Doflamingo didn’t have his pistols on him when he first woke up in this world, which might have been for the best as he didn’t want to upset the balance of power too much by introducing this world’s inhabitants to guns. Bows and arrows would settle for the time being, as he also needed to make sure that his Empire was catching up technologically while still being slightly ahead of any other potential rival countries.

“Well then,” Doflamingo sighed, “as long as we understand each other,” placing the mace back down and returning the sword to the weapons’ rack, 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 ballistae.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

“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, his very being giving off an air of authority and power that demanded respect. The human had no weapons or armor on his person, which confused the private before he thought of the unsettling idea that his Emperor didn’t even need such things for combat. While he had heard of the Emperor’s magical prowess, he didn’t have the opportunity to see his Emperor fight at all.

“Onwards, Guard Private…”

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

“Yes, onwards towards the palace.” the Emperor decreed as he marched off, Sergeant Sharp Point following behind questioning what just happened.

Little did the Emperor know that there was an unforeseen danger that lurked back within his palace.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

“So the gems are-“

“Protected by a force field gem, I know I said I didn’t need the things he made for me but to make up for it al-“

Doflamingo 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,” Doflamingo 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 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 Doflamingo?” Sharp Point stepped a little closer, seeing that the Emperor was looking down at the changeling, seemingly unhurt, which confirmed 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, the changeling recovering from the impact while the human simply stared at the changeling.

Doflamingo had seen Reflection coming at him, not bothering to dodge her sudden assault since he had not been hurt at all by the impact. Doflamingo looked up from his spot on the floor, a pair of angry green eyes glaring down at him.

“Donquixote Doflamingo,” Reflection was not pleased; Doflamingo’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. He smiled at the changeling’s fiery temper.

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

“No I didn’t. 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 Doflamingo’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 any potential changeling hoof attacks.

“So, if you’re done yelling and being paranoid,” Doflamingo asked slowly, “can you get off of me now? I can also handle anything I encounter myself thank you very much.”

Reflection paused as she looked into the Emperor’s eyes, or rather his sunglasses as the human squirmed under the changeling.

“Reflection? Did you hea-“

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 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 Doflamingo 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 giggled, the white mare unable to control her mirth at the situation.

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

“Fufufufu! No, no! That will not be necessary,” Doflamingo 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, sanitary maintenance that’s all.” he finished, Reflection climbing off him as he 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.

‘While a little physical affection from my girlfriend is welcome, the timing of it all leaves a lot to be desired.’ 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 hand towards a door on the other side of the room. Celestia was quite impressed with how the Emperor quickly pulled off 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 Doflamingo simply sat there, his eyes scanning all of the Equestrians from behind his shades while Celestia sipped daintily from a tea cup suspended in her magic field opposite him. On Doflamingo’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 to before.

“So Emperor Doflamingo,” 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.”

“Of course, today alone has been quite a… interesting one.” Doflamingo replied as he tilted his head towards the princess, his habitual smile on his face. 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.

“Fufufu! 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 that you haven’t had a good time in a while.” Celestia spat out the tea she had in her mouth at the Emperor’s reply. She coughed and spluttered as Emperor Doflamingo calmly cleaned the front of his shirt with a napkin to at least get rid of the tea and not the stain. Doflamingo didn’t mind however, it was worth it to beat the Princess at her own game.

“I should have warned you Princess,” Doflamingo 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.”

Doflamingo had been attentive throughout the proceedings, but was still subjected 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. The deal was satisfactory enough for him and he was glad to know that Cadence couldn’t really do anything to stop this from happening. 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 Doflamingo after she was done. Doflamingo 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…”

‘Well at least that’s over with. Fufu, I guess having Reflection as a lover won’t be too bad. After all, I need to have my own fun every now and then. Still, I don’t really care much for all of this talking. Hopefully something happens to liven up this tedious affair.’ Doflamingo 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 the Emperor 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 Doflamingo, 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 Doflamingo halted them with a hand. The Emperor stood up from his chair, grateful for the opportunity to kill these foolish mongrels for having the gall to raid his Empire.

“No, you stay here and guard our guests,” Doflamingo ordered, the soldiers returning to their positions hesitantly.

“Doflamingo,” Reflection asked with dread, “please tell me you’re not going out to fight again.” Doflamingo stopped and turned to face Reflection and Celestia. Reflection was so sensitive and temperamental; leaving her with a bunch of Equestrians was just asking for trouble. While he didn’t want to use his abilities in front of the Equestrians and the Princess, he thought that a little display of power might convince them to not do anything stupid and it would let him watch over them to see what they thought of his methods.

“I go forth to defend my subjects and kingdom,” he proclaimed, “however Reflection, I will also be staying here with our guests. For those who are curious, this is how I’ll do that.”

Without waiting for a reply Doflamingo raised his arms into the air and to everyone’s shock and amazement, thousands of threads suddenly began shooting out of the human’s body. The strings began to come together in the air, bundling together and becoming thinker and more defined as the seconds passed. To everyone’s surprise the strings were forming into something, something that looked surprisingly like the Emperor himself. Indeed, it only took a minute until the strings stopped sprouting from the Emperor’s body to form a perfect clone of the human, which was now promptly up in the air, held there by nothing any of the ponies could see, except to Doflamingo, who still had a few strings attached to the marionette to keep it aloft.

“May I present my doppelganger,” Doflamingo gestured with a hand as the clone floated down onto the ground. “He is known as the Black Knight, a clone of myself created through my power. He will go forth and give out punishment to these so called Diamond Dogs.”

Doflamingo turned to his clone, which surprisingly turned to face him as they both smiled. “You know what to do…” Doflamingo told his double as the clone nodded and chuckled.

“Of course.” The clone replied, shocking the Equestrians and his own subjects alike. The clone began to leave the room, as everyone in the room stared off at it. The real Doflamingo sat back down in his chair and addressed the princess.

“Now then princess Celestia,” the Equestrian princess to stare at him in shock and curiosity as he smiled at her. “Please continue and tell me more about your little ponies.”

Doflamingo didn’t particularly care, but he already figured out that this princess was unused to the type of bloodshed he was used to and had trained his guards in the same manner. These soft-hearted Equestrians would get the wrong idea if they witnessed how he dealt with threats and for now he didn’t want to threaten the alliance he was trying to form with them and that meant keeping them here occupied while he controlled his clone to go and slaughter the idiotic dogs who dared to raid his city.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

The clone of Doflamingo passed Private Sharp Point, who was still in the throne room. The Private had snapped out of his trance when the messenger 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 moving his fingers around in an erratic manner.

“I know Private,” Shadow Doflamingo 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,” Shadow Doflamingo replied as he smiled at the opportunity fate had given him. “I’m going to put the ‘Die’ in ‘Diamond Dog’, and I am going to enjoy doing it.”

The clone’s chuckling left little to Sharp Point’s imagination on what the Emperor would do to the intruders, but he knew that it wasn’t going to be pretty.

Taking Out the Trash

“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 colors 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 a mostly hairless two-legged creature wearing a coat of pink feathers 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 foot.

“Oh, I just came down because I wanted to make sure you had my foot shoved up your ass.” 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 foot.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Doflamingo’s clone smiled as his foot connected with the dog’s armored 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. He had not lost his touch at all when it came to his physical prowess. He could remember slicing off all three towers of his old palace in Dressrosa with a good kick. He barely put that much into his little kick just now to that worthless mutt’s chest too.

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 shoes 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.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Shadow Doflamingo smirked as the injured dog attempted to escape, his foot hit the torso of the animal had done 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 the clone did want to draw this out for as long as possible it knew that it would be more useful elsewhere so it had to make this quick. Striding over towards the wounded canine the clone stopped it by placing a foot in the dog’s matted tail, the creature rotating its head to look up at the Emperor in terror.

“Play dead. Bullet String.” Shadow Doflamingo ordered merrily as he brought his finger to point at the dog’s head, the appendage firing a quick burst of strings in rapid succession, easily piercing the skull of the raider, releasing a foul mix of blood onto the street and leaving several holes adorning the canine’s skull. Taking a moment to observe the corpse, the clone stomped on its head, bursting it open and spilling its contents over the street floor. The clone wondered for a moment how the Equestrians would fare if its capital was in this sort of situation.

‘Eh,’ it shrugged as it walked down the street in search of new prey, ‘I’m sure they’d try making peace with these mutts instead of putting them down like they deserve. Too peace loving to get their own hooves dirty.’

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Reflection was not happy, not one bit.

After Doflamingo had made that clone of his to go fight those Diamond Dogs, she was left in a room surrounded by nobles, guards and to top it all off the Princess of the country that the changelings tried to invade. Even though the real Doflamingo was still there with her, she felt that all of these Equestrians were judging her, condemning her for what she was and she hated it. 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 be 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’s Knight has everything under control and the situation will be resolved peacefully.”

Suddenly, Doflamingo chuckled aloud, all eyes turning to him wondering what he found so funny. Reflection shifted uncomfortably in her seat. ‘Peaceful’ would not be the word she would use, Doflamingo seemed like a compassionate Emperor but if something threatened his subjects Reflection doubted he would talk it out. She knew this for a fact since Doflamingo was even now just laughing at what the princess had said. Prince Blueblood however seemed to have the same concerns, except the Prince decided to voice his.

“I for one think this 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.

‘This stupid prince must have a death wish.’ Reflection thought with disdain as her love was still here as she turned to glance at him.

What she saw made her face pale and caused her to shiver. There was a vein clearly present on Doflamingo’s forehead and she could tell his smile was strained, knowing that his eyes were focusing on the arrogant prince. Blueblood 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. Celestia also stared worriedly at the emperor himself since she could tell that the Emperor was going to do something violent to her so called nephew for what he just said to the ruler of another country.

“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 Doflamingo, “I’m sorry for my nephew’s lapse in manners.” At this Celestia glared at the prince, who actually quailed at his aunt’s stern gaze. “A ruler such as yourself seems to have all of the trouble sorted out and I’m sure the Diamond Dogs will have given in to your knight’s stern demeanor.”

The vein across Doflamingo’s forehead slowly disappeared as he tilted his head towards the princess, said princess feeling like a predator was staring at her like she was some sort of prey. Doflamingo smiled at the princess, unsettling her and pretty much everyone else in the room.

“Tell me Celestia,” Doflamingo replied. “How would you and your guards deal with a raiding party of Diamond Dogs intent on pillaging your capital of its valuables and citizens?”

The princess remained silent, unsure of what answer she could give. True, she would be angry and want to punish the diamond dogs, but she was uncertain of what kind of punishment she, much less the emperor sitting across from her, would give for such actions.

Doflamingo chuckled at the princess’s silence. “Surely the answer is obvious?” he waited for them to answer him, but when none did he sighed.

“These Dogs had the nerve to come here and steal from my citizens and even foalnap them, as you have already told me seems to be a recurring thing for these mutts. They deserve the ultimate penalty and my clone is giving it to them now. They all deserve to die.”

All of the ponies stared at Doflamingo with a mixture of terror and worry. Celestia herself was having doubts about whether to trust the Emperor now that she knew he would use violence to stop a threat. True, the threat of such a large number of diamond dogs attacking a city was an extreme case, but she honestly thought violence shouldn’t be the answer to such a problem. Doflamingo suddenly stood up from his seat to address the princess.

“While I understand that you would prefer a more peaceful solution to this situation, I should remind you that you never answered my question from earlier. What would you do if this happened to your subjects? I would be quite surprised if you didn’t feel any anger or hatred for beings who would willingly use your subjects as slaves and pillage and loot without facing any consequences.” With that said, Doflamingo regarded the princess and nobility from Equestrian, who were at least contemplating his words and were starting to look like they agreed with his decision, the princess especially.

He knew how to manipulate people, or in this case ponies, on getting them to see things from his perspective. No one would want to be subjected to slavery and while he used it in the past, he was trying to be a better person here than he was in his own world. Celestia may seem peaceful and fair minded, but she was a living creature who would get angry like anyone else with the right trigger. Fortunately, the trigger was the same in relation to the situation, if a threat came to her subjects, she wouldn’t just stand there and talk things out. All rational beings have a dark side to them, violence itself was simply a means to an end and he intended for the end to mean a multiple number of things. He needed to get the princess to contemplate his situation and decision, to end the threat to his subjects and to gain an ally of usefulness for the future.

“Now then, I’m going to witness the punishment I am delivering to these dogs. Any of you are welcome to join me if you wish. Sometimes violence is necessary for peace.”

With that, the Emperor stepped out of the room to one of the balconies, Reflection spluttering in shock before deciding to follow after the Emperor. To her surprise, the Princess also left her seat, the large pony moving towards the stairs leading upstairs. The changeling was completely lost, her mind blanking as the Princess followed after her. The Princess and nobility headed upstairs while being escorted by the Crystal Guards. Reflection started to panic as she comprehended what had just happened, the changeling worried at what Doflamingo was thinking when he offered the princess to see him committing violence, even if it was for a very good reason..

‘No no no no no no no no! This is going to go SO WRONG!!!’ she repeated to herself as she followed the Emperor up the stairs while the princess and equestrians trailed after her, fearful of what the Equestrians would witness.

She burst out of the first balcony doors to see Doflamingo with his habitual smile looking down at the center square as she gazed down she gulped at what she was witnessing. Soon after, she was joined by the Equestrians who had expressions of utter horror as they gazed down at the center square, crazed laughter echoing for miles. She found a shell-shocked Princess standing next to her as the group witnessed the bloodstained clone the Emperor had created used its hand to swipe at a Diamond Dog, Reflection swallowed the lump in her throat as she saw the dog split into five horizontal pieces, nothing more than a pile of meat and fur as blood fountained from it like an erupting geyser. The real emperor was chuckling again, startling the terror struck princess and prompting her to gaze at him as he turned his head to look at her evenly.

“fufufu!” Doflamingo’s laugh rang out from the courtyard, “This is the answer to dealing with threats in my kingdom princess.”

________________________________________________________________________________________

“Ah, this is how rulers should solve all of their problems,” Shadow Doflamingo commented happily as it stepped over the Dog’s twitching body. So far its strings 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 human showed up wielding powers to kill them from a distance they were easy pickings, not that they had a chance to begin with.

The Crystal guards had been holding their own as well, the clone 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. Doflamingo’s clone was controlled by the original, who felt a twinge of pride at his soldiers’ loyalty until he spotted, through his clone’s eyes, a dog rooted to the spot staring at the cooling corpse the clone had just finished with. Shadow Doflamingo looked towards his hand as it flicked his fingers in exercise.

“I guess it’s time to do a little interrogation,” the clone flicked its wrist before spreading its palm out wider as strings shot out of the clone’s open palm. For a moment, the strings coalesced, forming the definite shape of steel sword and even taking the appearance of one. The clone of the Emperor advanced towards the paralyzed dog. He stopped in front of the canine, the terrified mutt having pissed itself. The clone and the original both 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 its gaze from the body of its friend towards the hairless creature asking the question.

“Name’s not Rover-“

“Did I tell you to talk idiot!” Shadow Doflamingo yelled as he booted the dog in the knee with his foot, the dog screaming in pain as the shoe shattered his knee. The canine dropped to the ground as he cradled his ruined limb in his large paws. Shadow Doflamingo crouched down, tapping his sword against his thigh.

“You attacked my city so the only thing that you are now is my victim,” Shadow Doflamingo stated in a business-like tone. “Now let me give you a little backstory here,” the clone continued as the dog looked up at the human in fear, “as an infamous pirate, I became privy to some very interesting ways of ‘information gathering’ and let me tell you, victim,” the clone 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,” Shadow Doflamingo 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 Shadow Doflamingo 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 Shadow Doflamingo held the piece of steel in until the corpse stopped twitching. Sighing he pulled the blade from the body and stood up, stabbing the sword into the ground and unraveling the strings it was made from until they formed a pile on the ground. 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, she stopped when the Emperor began to laugh aloud, shocking all of the ponies out of their stupor.

“Fufufufufu! Is that how you scream prince?! Like a little girl! Fufufufu!!!” the emperor laughed at the arrogant prince’s display, said prince not even retorting as he continued to stare down from the balcony at the blood bath happening below.

“Princess Celestia…” the princess’s eyes seemed to turn into pinpricks as she stared at the Emperor. “While I can understand some of your concerns, just know that this is not your beloved peaceful country. This is my country and it is suffering from those who would seek to harm it and my subjects. I only defend what is mine after all. Also, do not be so concerned, I would not try anything on you, your country, or its citizens. We are allies, friends after all.”

Doflamingo smiled, this time a warm, gentle smile that surprised the princess, getting her to smile as well, a little relief overcoming her features. Suddenly, the prince squealed again as all heads turned to this latest sight. To everyone’s surprise except for the Emperor’s the clone was traveling towards them, flying to them without any apparent effort or wings that the princess could see. The clone stopped at the edge of the balcony, still floating in midair without a care in the world, silently regarding the quiet prince, who had slowly edged as far away from the clone as he could.

“How goes everything my knight?” the original Doflamingo asked his clone with obvious amusement.

“Fine, these mutts are so stupid. I’m sure they were expecting a defenseless city to loot from.”

Before the clone could continue its report, a high pitched scream accompanied by the sounds of crying and whimpering reached the balcony, everyone turning at the source of the sound. A trio of diamond dogs had a mare and two little fillies, each dog carrying one of his subjects in one arm and holding a bag of stolen valuables in the other. Celestia actually grew angry at the sight she witnessed and she most definitely wasn’t the only one. All of the ponies, minus the prince, had some measure of shock and anger at the scene, but Doflamingo was now no longer smiling. A vein once again appeared on his forehead as he suddenly raised his right hand, pointing it at the trio of dogs. He flexed the fingers on his right hand and right away the dogs stood in place, as if frozen. While the stupid canines were panicking at what was happening, Doflamingo manipulated the strings to make the dogs set the family down, confusion evident of the mare and foals’ faces.

“These mutts are trying my patience.” Doflamingo turned to his clone. “Kill them.”

The string clone nodded as the Emperor raised his hand up into the air, which caused the three Diamond Dogs to be launched into the air, howling in fear at the sudden motion. The string clone flew towards the dogs, who were now all lined up in the sky as the clone stopped in midair, moving his hand behind him. A burst of strings shot out from the hand, but it was clearly different from the others as the string was more condensed than before and even had a reddish glow to its features.

“Overheat!!!” Shadow Doflamingo cried out as he waved his arm and brought it down in a smooth vertical motion, the red hot whip descending towards the lined up dogs, terror in their eyes as the whip came down on all three of their heads. All three dogs were split in half vertically, their innards burned from the heat of the whip, blood splattering everywhere from the sky.

The ponies stared in horror as Doflamingo released his hold on the bodies and left them to fall to the ground with a splat, far away from the family that he had just saved of course. He ordered his clone to go down and comfort the mare and her foals while instructing them to head for the palace. Doflamingo stared at the Equestrians and smiled at their expressions. They were clearly unused to violence, but they needed to get the message that you can’t always do things the peaceful way. They may have reservations about him and his methods, but that didn’t matter at all because he was sure that the princess would want him as an ally rather than an enemy. He couldn’t imagine any rational being that would consciously oppose him after seeing what he was capable of and he was sure these Equestrians were no exception.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Leaving the courtyard after directing that family towards the palace, Shadow Doflamingo followed the sounds of battle for more dogs to kill.

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,” Shadow Doflamingo said to itself as it stopped walking, “my subjects are shiny, well, most of them…”

“HEEELLLP!”

The piercing scream of a mare re-jolted the clone’s train of thought, the string clone turned towards the source which was also where the sound of fighting was originating from.

“That’s right, I was going to slaughter some more!” It shouted as he flew towards the brawl, howls of dying dogs guiding its way.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Captain Strategy removed his sword from the dog’s chest, his enchanted sword piercing through the crude iron armor 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 armor 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.

“GOT YOU!”

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,” the clone 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 clone Emperor replied, looking towards the 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. Shadow Doflamingo gave the groaning dog a kick as he turned to face the oncoming soldiers.

“Emperor Doflamingo!” one of the guards, a Corporal judging from her armor decals yelled as she halted in front of Shadow Doflamingo 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,” Shadow Doflamingo 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 raised his hand, moving his fingers around until the dog was suddenly floating in the air, and its limbs were bound by a thick rope that appeared out of thin air. The false Emperor 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, despite floating in the air.

“I think…”

______________________________________________________________________________________________

“Are you really leaving already Princess Celestia?” Doflamingo asked in amusement.

“Yes Doflamingo, while I personally don’t approve of violence,” 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 other races have different cultures and I can respect that. Even though Emperor Doflamingo, you are certainly… unique in your mannerisms I can’t deny that you do seem to have the best interest of your subjects in mind 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 Doflamingo’s clone had 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,” Celestia turned to the Emperor with a small smile on her face. “Emperor, it was a terrible shame that our meeting was interrupted by such an occurrence, please know that you are 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.

“I’m back…”

As the string clone entered the Palace dragging an unconscious Diamond Dog, the dog floating in the air with its limb bound together, the clone waved at Celestia, pausing to wipe some sweat from his brow. The sight of two emperors shocked the incoming guards, but they had no time to comment on the fact when the original Doflamingo responded.

“Good work Black Knight.” With that, Doflamingo began to unravel the strings holding his clone together, much to everyone’s amazement as they saw the clone slowly lose form and unravel until it was nothing more than a large pile of strings.

“While it is a shame that you have to leave so soon Princess, it has still been a pleasure to meet you.” The Emperor responded politely with a massive grin on his face. Celestia kept up her mask after everything that she had witnessed. While she was still wary of the Emperor, she found comfort that he had already told her truthfully that we would never harm her or her ponies as he had claimed that they were now allies, if not friends.

“Yes, I do have a country to run after all,” Celestia finished as she forced out a nervous giggle. Doflamingo 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,” Doflamingo 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.

Do It Yourself

Doflamingo 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 hoisted the dog up and onto the table. The table’s size was more than able to hold the canine, Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo 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 clothes, 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 Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo opening the door as he ushered Swiss out.

“I doubt you want to stay and see this, please let the cleaners know 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.

“Good,” a voice replied, a large 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 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 flicked the blade across its fingers, the dexterity of the act conveying 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, “and 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 armor, 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 meters 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 clothes. The soldiers all forgot about the civilian in their midst, awaiting with baited breath the news from the Emperor. Doflamingo took a moment to scan the eager faces of his soldiers before addressing them.

“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. “Wait,” 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, Doflamingo 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!” Doflamingo 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.

Doflamingo 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,” Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo waved a dismissive hand.

“She can stay in the palace until all of the fuss is over,” Doflamingo 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. Doflamingo 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,” Doflamingo reassured, Sparkling giving him a small smile before she trotted over towards the Captain. Doflamingo 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 feel 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. Still, do you really have to go? You could just make another clone to go in your place.” Reflection added with a tinge of hope coloring her words.

“I know that I can, but I need to make sure for myself that these dogs don’t threaten the Empire again.” Doflamingo replied as he crouched down in front of the sitting changeling. “I really appreciate you staying with me and the Equestrians while this was going on. Thinking back about it, I’m proud that you reigned in your temper for those Equestrians since we know they don’t like changelings. While we both wanted to hit that snobby prince we were glaring at before, this deal will only benefit us and the Empire. Don’t worry, I won’t even get a scratch fighting those dogs and I’ll be back before you know it.”

Reflection smiled at Doflamingo, 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. Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo’s chaotic nature was something that she felt drawn to and she knew that he would be fine hunting the dogs in their lair.

“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.” Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo smiling 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 to put down. 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. Doflamingo 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?”

Doflamingo 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’ armor regulated their body temperatures while the changeling had to make do with some ordinary winter clothing worn under his new steel armor.

Doflamingo took a second to admire the changeling’s worn protection, the armor 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 armor 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,” Doflamingo ordered as he flew to the head of the column of guards. He wore nothing other than his normal clothing, weapons he could easily make and his haki was better than any armor available. The group moved out through the barrier, sunny green fields and cobbled paths giving way to a cold snowy landscape. Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo 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 to fly across the sky, his mass of guards following behind him as closely as they could as they too observed the paw prints. Doflamingo 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.

Doflamingo 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.’

Saving Rather than Killing

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, Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo peaked into the tunnel, no guards present in the underground passage-way.

Doflamingo 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, Doflamingo 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 Doflamingo whispered, the addressed mare moving towards him on three legs, a sword attached to her right fore-leg thanks to the gems on her armor. All of the Crystal ponies had practiced moving on three legs while wielding a sword, dramatically increasing their combat abilities. Doflamingo crouched down as she halted next to him, the Emperor 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 and kill something. In the ensuing chaos you and the second team will come in from the flank and secure the prisoners.” The Commander raised his head to glance at the leader of the second flanking team, a Corporal named Star Shard. “Corporal Shard,” the ruby-colored stallion approached, neglecting a salute due to the circumstances. Doflamingo 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 then 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?” Doflamingo lifted a finger and wagged it in front of the Corporal.

“Simple,” he stated in a soft voice with a grin, “I will control some of the dogs to fight each other for a short time. Once you see that, start killing them and I’ll release my hold over them. It will disorient their already dull senses further.” Neither 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.”

________________________________________________________________________________________

Slick 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 how 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 movement 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 how calm he was in spite of the situation. 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 armor, 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 flicked his fingers in a twitchy manner. Sheen noticed that his smile seemed to harden as the Emperor swept his sights over the two cages and their occupants, an eyebrow raising as a medium-sized dog wearing heavy iron armor 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,” Doflamingo 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 fighting to control his merriment.

“Fufufufu! That is quite a pathetic name. Tell me, are you dogs so stupid that several of you have the same name? Maybe some common dog names like Rover or 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 Doflamingo stopped laughing; calling him ugly was a step too far. He maintained a grin on his face as he idly positioned his hands in a kind of stance, a predatory gaze focused on the Beta, but hidden through his shades. 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 Doflamingo took a step forward, all the dogs except for Beta Rotty stepping back away from the human. “My name is Donquixote Doflamingo and I will be your death.” As soon as he said this the Emperor waved his arms slowly, flexing his fingers in a strange manner. What came next surprised everyone in the cavern.

Slowly, the dogs began to raise their weapons, but their faces were in a state of shock and confusion as they tried to struggle, but their bodies were not under their control anymore. Doflamingo had already attached his strings to the majority of the Diamond Dogs in the cave except for the so called leader. While he could control every single dog indefinitely in order to have them kill each other, he felt the need to give his soldiers more combat experience so they could slay the dogs without his interference. After all, their better equipment and training should insure no casualties and he wanted them to get used to killing threats to the Empire.

The dogs were beginning to panic now, some shouting that they couldn’t control their bodies. The leader turned toward his fellow dogs confused, giving Doflamingo the opportunity he wanted as he flicked a finger from his left hand, causing five of the Diamond Dogs that he was controlling to raise their swords and spears. The five dogs rushed their leader, who had a surprised look in his face before he controlled a dog with a spear to shove it at the leader’s head. The spear penetrated through the dog’s skull, running him through and killing him in an instant. Every other dog was terrified at the sudden betrayal that one of their own had caused while Doflamingo proceeded to gleefully control the other four dogs to start chopping the dead dog’s body into pieces in a flurry of blood and tears. The controlled dogs were sobbing at what they were doing, unable to control themselves and not knowing how to make it stop. The other dogs began to shake themselves out of their stupor to try and attack the monster and traitors in a howl of fury.

At this point, Doflamingo began controlling the other dogs he ensnared with his strings, roughly half of them, and started having them attack their fellow comrades, the first five dogs he had controlled joining them after having dispatched their leader.

The dogs were so fixated on fighting their own 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 Opal 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 continued to fight amongst themselves, thanks to Doflamingo’s powers, but some broke free from engaging the controlled dogs, who were constantly shouting pleas to save them from whatever it was that was controlling them, a few surging forward to engage the Emperor while a few others 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. However, a trio of dogs smart enough to skirt around the line almost invaded the protective line.

A burst of green energy popped the head of the dog, showering the area with bone fragments and brains causing the few others that followed him 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 Doflamingo had used the time to continue to inflict minor wounds on the uncontrolled diamond dogs, smiling to himself even as a group of seven dogs charged him, all armed with crude spears and clubs with the majority dressed in iron armor that covered their chests and nothing else. Doflamingo laughed as he made a sweeping motion at the group of dogs with his right hand.

“Pentochromatic strings!” he yelled out as five lines of strings erupted from his fingertips, forming a fence that not only halted the dogs advance, but knocked them back with several slash marks etched across their bodies as they hit the ground, rolling in pain after being cut by something sharp, but invisible.

The speed at which the human moved was amazing, Doflamingo calmly pointing a finger at the fallen dogs. He yelled out, “Bullet Strings!” where rapid shots of strings pierced each dog’s head, putting them down before they could recover from their wounds.

The Emperor was casually using his magic to continue to have the dogs kill each other, no others daring to approach him after he had taken care of the group that charged him so easily with his strange magic.

Over near the prisoners Opal Blitz pulled her sword from the un-armored chest of a raider, the dog having landed a hit on the Sergeant’s armored shoulder with its mace. Her armor 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 armor while due to the enchantments on their swords the Crystal guards were able to cut through the raiders’ armor 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 Doflamingo having picked the small slaver up by the throat after it had foolishly tried to sneak up on him. Using a great strength that Opal Blitz had never seen the Emperor wield before, the Emperor managed to fling the dog over the heads of the remaining combatants, before swiping at the airborne canine with a hand, ripping the dog into little pieces that showered the surviving dogs with gore and viscera. With howls of fright the rest of the dogs, only twelve that were not under the Emperor’s control 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.

The only survivors left were the dogs that the Emperor was still controlling, a majority of them being eliminated by their comrades. The controlled dogs were still sobbing about what they were forced to do before the Emperor suddenly flicked his left hand upward, lifting the remaining dogs into the air with yelps of fright. Doflamingo finally dispatched them after releasing the strings he used to control the dogs before making swiping motions with both of his hands, forming a net of strings that caught the airborne dogs, slicing them up into little chunks and bits. All of the ponies stared in awe and fear at the Emperor, his smile never leaving his face as he ordered for the release of the prisoners before moving away.

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 armored 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 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 Chatter the changeling. She quickly passed the filly to the Corporal, the other mare distracting the child with an 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 armored 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 armor, 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 that the Emperor was covered in blood.

“Sir, are you wounded?!” she exclaimed, the Emperor smiling down at her as he looked over his body before shaking his head.

“It’s nothing Sergeant, I just got too carried away with cutting up those dogs,” Emperor Doflamingo 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 armor that had been removed and packed them away, Doflamingo 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 had witnessed what the Emperor had done to the dogs and stupidly asked if he was wounded during the attack, which of course he wasn't, but she had simply forgotten how deadly the Emperor was in combat. Opal was also 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.