Chapter 39: The Crystal Empire Arc

Part One

Endymion stood on the deck of the Black Pearl. The privateer ship had proven itself multiple times, and he didn’t doubt the crew nor the captain. Part of him questioned what would happen when they arrived in the Crystal Empire itself. He was officially a royal in two places, the first was Equestria itself. He was glad to be his mother’s son, happy to be part of her family, and certainly happy to be among the ruling class of the great nation, but if he was to be honest he didn’t hold much stock on being a royal.

Most of the days spent as a royal were ensuring that he did little to bring shame to the line, or to upset the nobility. That wasn’t to say that he couldn’t have fun, but letting his hair down, while in Canterlot, was frowned upon. It was one of the reasons he was more than happy to leave and go to Ponyville. Once there he was able to be himself. He was able to prove himself, and he was able to go on adventures. In a way he was living the life his mother had lived before she had established Equestria to the nation it was.

In a way he was going to do the same for the Shetland Isles. He wanted them to be prosperous, but more than that he wanted the ponies there to retain their drive and independence. He saw several of the royal guards standing off, helping with the ship, and he noticed that one of the Pegasus guards was keeping an eye out on the horizon. He watched as the grizzled guard paid attention to where they were going, and paying specific attention to the world around them.

“Something bothering you Slip?”

Slip Stream, the head of the day guard for the Shetland Isles nodded, “Aye, It does sur. Ah caught sight o' an unknown ship, aff th' bow, 'n' ah hawp it tae be outlaws.”

He looked toward where Slip Stream had indicated, and he too noticed the outline. The ship looked to be gryphon in design, or at least it did from what he could see. Slowly the top of it began to break through the clouds, and what he could see the true shape of it. The ship was dark brown, the figurehead was of a gryphon hen. Her wings spread wide, her claws extended, and her beak opened in an angry squawk.

For all rights and purposes it looked as if it belonged on a ship meant for war. And Endymion knew that ship just from the figurehead alone. His mother had talked about it, the Night Huntress, the one ship that had been the backbone of Iron Claw the Gory’s forces. The same ship that had tested Equestria’s borders, time and time again, until finally Iron Claw himself succumbed to deadly disease that had driven him quite insane.

The ship, according to his mother, had been shot down, stranded on a mountain top where it had been abandoned. Yet, here it was, and the evidence of patches done to it stood out to him. He prepared, ready to deal with someone that had raised a powerful ship, and watched as gryphon hen made her way toward the side of the ship.

“Oi! Sparrow, ya fuckface!” she shouted, her voice tight and angry, “Ah come for what’s due!”

Endymion stood, uncertain of what she could be meaning before she pointed her sword, and he heard the roar of ancient canons. Canons that likely had been preserved in the ship, and they went wide, missing the Pearl by yards.

“Next ones won’t miss!” she shouted, “Now, prepare to be boarded and give me my pay!”

Slip Stream looked ready to defend, and Endymion himself was glad to have someone so ready to stand against a potential enemy. Then again he knew that all of his royal guard would be like that. Stella would be the same, although in many ways she was almost an older sister. He could see her preparing as well, licking her lips in anticipation. There was little doubt in her mind that she would get to go to battle with honest to Luna pirates! It would be a red letter day for her to openly battle those that would dare attempt to harm those she swore to protect.

Endymion himself wondered if this would devolve into a fight, or if the good captain had other plans. In truth he had a feeling that Sparrow would likely deal with it head on. Or rather he felt that the good captain would attempt to handle it without the loss of property or life. He listened, waiting for Captain Sparrow to appear, and after a moment he saw not the captain, but his bride.

She staggered toward the side of the ship, her nostrils flaring, and her horn lit up with a spell that was already charged. She opened her mouth, and he realized that she had cast a very impressive spell on her voice.

“Awright ye glaikit boot! ye interrupted mah getting a mighty braw dicking! noo, tak' yer saggy dumb bahookie 'n' git oot o' 'ere!”

“Oi, what did you say you fuckin’ slag?!”

“Wha urr ye cawin a pumpin' a munter ye no nice bahookie a munter!?”

The gryphon hen bristled at that, her eyes widened, a sort of stiffness took her, “Oi! I’mma gonna beat your ass!”

“Come ower 'ere 'n' ah will beat yer bahookie up 'n' doon this ship!”

The gryphon hen didn’t wait. Her wings stretched out, and she took off. Endymion studied her, the whitish head with green highlights, the way her beak seemed to be made for cracking hard shells, and she moved toward the Pearl with murder in her eyes. She landed, her wings still stiff.

“Come ‘ere!”

Before she took another step Slip Stream and Stella were on her. She was tied up, bound, and finally Captain Sparrow came out holding a sheet around himself.

“Celaeno, Long time,” he said, “So, still going on about the ship?”

Being bound didn’t break Celaeno’s anger. If anything she was far more angry than she had been when she landed. The ropes binding her stretched, popped, but held. She clicked her beak angrily at Captain Sparrow, her eyes staring daggers at him the entire time. She huffed angrily, but she couldn’t move her talons to work on the ropes, and both Slip Stream and Stella had done well in ensuring that she tied in such a way that she was unable bite on the rope with her beak.

She was, for all rights and purposes, very trapped. Her eyes didn’t venture from Captain Sparrow, and at no time did she take in how many crewmembers, royal guards, or others on the ship. She looked only at Sparrow, and that was more than enough for Endymion to realize that this was incredibly personal. That kind of obsession was reserved for either of two polar opposite emotions. Love and Hate were the only emotions he could think of that would cause someone to obsess over someone the way she was over Captain Sparrow.

“Ain’t ‘bout the ship!” she screeched, her voice tight with anger, “It’s ‘bout what ya did ya fuckface!”

He stood there, uncertain of what was going on with her, “What are you carrying on about?”

She growled, “I was a fuckin’ virgin ya twit!”

Everything began to fall into place and Endymion could see exactly how this had gotten so bad. Captain Celaeno had been a virgin, both she and Sparrow had been more or less shipwrecked, and it was obvious that things happened between them. What Endymion knew of Sparrow was that he wasn’t a stallion that took to normal conventions. He didn’t behave with the moral dignity that one would expect from a ship’s captain. Oh, he was honorable, but he acted in such a way that it was difficult on how to measure him.

Whatever it was that Captain Celaeno had believed was between them didn’t register to Sparrow. He didn’t see them together, and he didn’t see them as more than what they had been when it came to their relationship on the ship. Endymion understood the reasoning for her anger, and he empathized with her. She had believed there was a connection, given something to Sparrow, and later learned that the connection she believed was there didn’t exist at all. Part of him wanted to talk to her, see if he could get her to calm down, and let her explain what had happened.

The problem was he was certain that she wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. He could see that she was upset, and it was likely that she was going to stay upset for the foreseeable future. She wanted some kind of resolution, something that would make sense of what had happened between her and Captina Sparrow, but Endymion understood that was not going to happen. He was lucky enough that he had been able to connect with Pinkie and Twilight on a deep level. He was even luckier that they hadn’t simply used him and went on about their business.

He empathized with her because he understood what she was going through, but he also understood that what she was doing now could put herself, and them, into danger. That was something that couldn’t be accepted. There was a time and place for what she was going through. As much as he wanted to help and settle things he could see that getting involved wouldn’t lead to any kind of situation that would be a good one.

For most individuals that would be enough to make them pause, stop their current thought process and reframe from getting further involved in what was obviously a lost cause. The issue was that Endymion wasn’t normal. his emotional mind quickly tied up his logical one, tossed it into a closet, locked it, and proceeded to near Captain Celaeno.

“Captain Celaeno, would you mind if we talk?”

She glared at him, the anger of a thousand burning stars present in her eyes, “What?!”

He swallowed down every response and instead gave a warm smile, “I understand that you’re fairly angry at Captain Sparrow, and I can understand why,” he said his voice calm and smooth, “But we are on an important mission. I know that doesn’t matter to you, in the slightest, but allow me to say that what we’re doing, and where we are going, holds precedence over our actions.”

She breathed in, “He needs ta pay for what he did.”

He knelt down so that they were eye level, “And he should, but not now,” he replied, “I believe at the very least he owes you an explanation of why he took off and left you.”

She visibly relaxed, “Yeah, he does,” she replied, her voice less angry, “Between my ship, and everything else…”

He touched her cheek, “I get it,” he replied, “I really do.”

She breathed in, “I want to follow,” she said, her voice stern offering no further negotiation, “you could use another ship, and my crew are talented at what we do.”

He nodded, and then he looked up to see his mother. Luna smiled, nodding approvingly at his resolution, and she moved toward Captain Celaeno.

“Then, as one of the diarchs, mare of moon, and mover of the stars, I hereby hire you and your crew in our endeavors.”

The gryphon hen balked slightly at the sight of the Lunar Princess. Her eyes bulged a bit, and then she swallowed, “We humbly accept, your highness.”

Luna flared her magic, and ropes binding Captain Celaeno untied themselves from her. She stood, her talons no longer bound, and she looked toward Sparrow. There was a moment, a brief one, where it was obvious to anyone that she considered diving toward him. Instead she bowed, flared her wings, and flew back toward her own ship.

“Well done my son,” Luna said as she stood near him, “You turned a possible problem into a potential friend.”

He grinned, “I could see why she was upset, and I thought that what she really needed was a friendly ear.”

She smiled, “Some say that the path from inner turmoil begins with a friendly ear,” she replied, “I am surprised that you remembered the words of your archery instructor.”

He grinned, “Wood Splinter was a fantastic teacher,” he replied his voice wistful, “I do wonder how he is doing.”

“Quite well,” the sound of Shining Armor’s voice carried, “He’s going to be coming to Crystal Empire.”

Endymion turned toward his brother-in-law and watched as he walked over, “We’ve requested the best archery and hoofjitsu teacher,” he replied as he neared them, “We were informed that Wood Splinter is the best of the best. I thought that it would be a great idea to have him teach our guards.”

Endymion nodded. He couldn’t disagree. Although he didn’t use the bow much he was fairly good at using one. He owed most of that to Wood Splinter. He also owed being able to evade certain holds thanks to him as well. He did wish that he would have trained harder in hoofjitsu, but then again there was no reason for him not to learn more. Once everything was over with King Sombra, and Twilight set up a Rune Portal, he could in theory travel to the Crystal Empire at any moment and sit in with the guards.

It was as good of an option as he could think of. The benefits of learning it, and becoming proficient at it certainly outweighed the cons of it. Yes, it would take time, and that was the main reason he hadn’t wanted to learn it very much when he was younger. He had wanted some free time to himself, and although he wanted some extra time to be with his wives he understood the reason for needing to expand his knowledge of fighting.

It would be foolish to leave everything to the guard and army. Not to mention it would look good for him as a Prince to be able to defend his ponies from attack as well. The decision was simple enough. Of course he needed to practice his magic, but that was where a thought was coming in. He could learn enchantments, better ones, and use those on arrows. In addition if he got better at hoofjitsu then he could potentially learn to enchant gloves and shoes. Both of which could end up doing more damage to those he was fighting.

It certainly seemed like a grand idea. If nothing else it would help him feel a bit more measured up to what he believed was expected of royalty. His own measurements came from the example that his mother, and aunt Celestia, had set years before he arrived. In truth some of it was even set by Jolie himself. Granted, he had done what Jolie had done, and he had stopped, with help, a great and terrible blight on the ponies of the Shetland Isles.

He felt as if he had done a great thing, and he felt more than justified in the actions that he had done. But there was so much ground between himself and his mother. It wasn’t that he wanted to one up her. That certainly wasn’t the issue. Instead he wanted to measure up to her accomplishments. It was a foalish dream, and he understood that it was, but at the same time it was one that believed could potentially be reachable.

Looking out he saw the open ocean, the sky was clear, and he felt a little open. They’d been attacked outside of the safety of the spell that protected the Shetland Isles. An attack that had nearly cripled the Pearl, but instead they had managed to make it to the Isles, and there they were able to repair, recoup, and learn more about themselves. Part of him wondered if there would be more attacks. Of course they did have the added benefit of potential allies flying beside them.

If the Gryphons would assist them in a battle then perhaps it would be possible for them to make it through more or less unscathed. Part of him hoped that would be the case. That they would be able to make it all of the way to where they were going without issue. Still, he had learned, from a young colt, that the best laid plans didn’t always go with what actually happened. There was a very real part of him that believed that they could end up in a situation that would require them to be exceptionally flexible.

He had already decided that they wouldn’t be leaving their new allies to twist in the wind. If it came to fighting again they would stand with the Gryphons. The hope that it would strengthen their alliance. Perhaps, if everything went well today, he could potentially sit down to a treaty between the Shetland Isles and the Gryphons themselves. That was an idea worth having. An alliance between them would hopefully be something that would only gain strength in the future.

At the same time he wondered how things would work out if there was an alliance. Wherever it was that they made port would likely need a Rune Portal. At that thought he realized exactly how revolutionized what Twilight had done would become. Travel would no longer potentially take weeks or months, but could be done in seconds. The only time that they would need to take extended trips would either be for the novelty of it, or to establish a Rune Portal there.

It made him realize that the world would become much smaller. It could be possible for foals from either the Shetland Isles, or Equestria itself, to take field trips to the Crystal Empire. At the same time it would be simple to travel to exotic places to get spices and ingredients once thought to be reserved for the wealthy. Business would boom, and the world would become connected. There was every potential that it could turn around and bite them, and he wasn’t naive enough to believe that it wouldn’t happen.

But at the same time it would grant ponies far more opportunities than they had ever had before. That was something he was excited for. He wanted to see things become more affordable for everypony, not just those with more bits than sense. He knew that it would level the playing field between the wealthy and the common pony. That was a good thing, and he believed it was a good thing. At the same time he worried about how the wealthy, nobility, and elitists would react.

Nobles like Fancy Pants would be in full support, and he knew that. He had absolutely no doubt in his mind that nobles like him would want to see this kind of change, because it would strengthen the common pony. But there were nobles out there who felt as if the common pony was nothing more than means to an end. That they existed simply to be used like cattle. Their lives focused around the amount of bits that they used in businesses that were owned by the wealthy, nobility, and elitists.

He looked at his mother, and he did not envy the battle she had to look forward to. This wouldn’t be a battle between an ancient evil which was intent on destroying everything, but rather it would be a battle on the house of commons floor. The lawmakers there would demand that certain things came to pass. Some of those things would be that fixed rates be applied to all incoming goods from exotic places.

They would explain that high tariffs needed to be in place, as did expensive transporting taxes, all of which they would likely paint as keeping the influx of government funding. He could see them explaining that by not doing this they would be forcing the government to enact new tax laws, laws that would likely bankrupt the common pony. Of course such laws would never be passed, he knew that, but it would be a scare tactic he was certain they would try.

Ultimately, they would all but explain that if they weren’t able to do this then the crown would be forced to do something that should have been done the entire time. The crown would tax the nobility, the wealthy, and the elitists based on their actual worth and not merely a small percentage. He still didn’t know how that got passed, but he could only believe that the one possibility was that it likely happened sometime after his mother had to banish his Aunt Celestia.

She was not a mare with a heart of stone. She loved deeply, and she would have hurt badly after banishing her sister. It was likely that she may have been far more receptive to ideas and suggestions that she would have never been receptive to before. It would have been a time for them to get all sorts of laws passed that she would have never signed off on before. It would have been dirty, underhanded, and the sort of thing that he could see the nobility doing.

As he considered this a form stepped onto the deck of the step. Her wings folded behind her, and it was something she was still getting used to. Still, she walked toward Endymion, and she could see how lost in thought he was. It was always interesting to see him lost to the moment, and to watch the way he considered things. Slowly she neared him and took his arm. He seemed to snap out of it, and a light smile crossed his face as he wrapped his arm around her.

She clung to his side, happy to have him holding her, and looked at the world around them.

“Bit for your thoughts?”

He smiled, “I was thinking about how your Rune Portal was going to change everything. Imports and Exports would become far simpler, so would travel, and it would give the common pony a level of power they never had before.”

She smiled, “I know,” she replied her voice sounding proud, “But there’s more, isn’t there?”

He nodded, “There’s a lot of nobility that will fight against this. They’ll see it as a way to reduce their power and influence.”

She sighed, “I know,” she replied, a twinge of sadness in her voice, “My parents wouldn’t I know that, but then there are ponies like Gleaming Bit that would see this as a threat.”

He nodded, “Oh, I know. Having something available that could get a pony to the hospital in seconds, and not cost them a fortune would be the worst possible thing.”

She grinned, “It would destroy an entire section of his medical companies. The Ambulance section would simply be dismantled,” she said before scratching her chin, “Well, a few of them would still be needed. Places where a pony might be a mile or two from a Rune Portal, but nothing like they are used now.”

He nodded, “There will be a massive battle on the house of commons’ floor you know,” he replied, “And the outcome of it will be the welfare of every single pony in Equestria.”

Luna laughed, “Yes my son, that is true,” she said as they looked at her, “But those nobles don’t realize that I’ve been fighting a similar battle for several centuries. They will come with their lawyers, their demands, their lobbyists, and I will destroy all of their champions. Their lawyers will fall, their lobbyists will find themselves unable to gain support, and the nobility themselves will have to contend with making their demands in person.”

She grinned, “I dare not say that it will be easy. Some of their lawyers are as cunning as any enemy I’ve faced,” she replied, “There are a few that have access to some of the oldest laws, and who attempt to use them as a way to retain their power.”

She sighed, “Ultimately it may come to pass that I have to destroy the old laws in order to save Equestria herself,” she laymented, “And if I do then I will do so with a joyful heart. For I am certain that even Princess Platinum herself would rather have those stuffy old laws destroyed rather than see ponies she cared for harmed.”

Luna leaned back against the railing of the Pearl. She knew that Endymion knew of the old laws, specifically of the ones that were most common in the courts. Still, there were entire volumes of laws that he had never seen. Laws that she remembered, that she knew Celestia remembered, but were kept under careful watch of the Baron Sackworm. Sackworm herself was an ancient unicorn, declaring that her line was placed into the position of keeping the ancient laws by Princess Platinum herself.

Luna could say that Sackworm’s ancestor truly had been placed in that position by Princess Platinum, but then her ancestor wasn’t the power hungry, and greedy, pony that Sackworm was. Her ancestor, Sweet Bug, had been a caring pony. She had been a commoner, and it was her very devotion to other ponies that made Princess Platinum choose her to keep the old laws. She was not to keep them from all other ponies, but she was instead to share them openly.

Sweet Bug had done that, her son Wormwood had done the same, and the next four generations had done much the same. Each sharing the information with those around them, It wasn’t until Sackworm’s great grandmare that the ancient laws were held back. The fact that so much money had been made off of the sweat of lower ponies, and the illegal foalnapping done on the Shetland Isles had made her great grand mare one of the wealthiest of the lower nobles.

She decided to keep the information of the laws, the fact that taking the poor uneducated foals from the Shetlands was illegal, that the common ponies were only to pay a flat tax and were entitled to complete returns on any extra paid, and lastly that no nobility were to have vested business interests in any organization, or business, that was used by the government. Those that knew of these laws naturally were allowed to use them, and the number of common ponies that knew had grown less and less.

A few of the oldest ponies alive had knowledge about those laws. She was certain that Granny Smith and Golden Delicious of Ponyville knew, and she was quite certain that Grandpear of Vanhoover also knew. So, it stood to reason that they had passed that knowledge down, but then again there was no guarantee. Eventually those laws would be forgotten, and when they were there would be nothing left to stand in the way of the nobility gaining more power.

To destroy the interpretation of the laws was what she planned on doing. To undo what so many selfish ponies had done was her plan. She had let footholds take place that should have never taken place, and it had happened when she was weak. It happened when she banished her sister. Her emotional weakness had given them the chance to change the direction of the laws to their favor.

She looked at her son, her new daughter-in-law, and she saw hope for a brighter future. Endymion would be a wonderful prince and ruler. He would govern fairly, and she knew that. Twilight was brilliant, and to be honest she had taught her much about government. She cared for Celestia, but she had doubts that her sister would have taught Twilight the ins and outs of how to run the government.

Her sister was many things, but someone that understood the need for others to step in and rule wasn’t one of them. At least, she hadn’t been before she was banished. She shared her rule with her, but her ideas of ruling were along the lines that some were more fit to lead than others. Instead Luna had given Twilight the arsenal that she needed to ensure that the fledgling country they had founded would prosper.

In a thousand years she had no doubts that it would be a wonderful place. In a thousand years she believed that the isles could easily stand on the same level as Equestria herself. It was a sobering and wonderful feeling to know that there would be another power, another player, and she longed for it. Of course the battle in the courts would have to wait until she returned. When she did her armor would be her royal robes, her sword would be her pen, and her shield would be the very knowledge of the ancient laws.

She would face champions with similar armor, similar swords, and similar shields. Yet, she knew that their shields would be weaker at points, their swords would only go so far without their shields, and their armor would not stop the blows that would lay them low. In the end it would be up to the nobility to do the right thing. Some would, and she knew that they would gladly. Others would rally against it, determined to fight to the last pony.

Those houses would be torn down, their wealth burned and scattered to the winds, and their mighty shield of blood nobility dashed upon the rocks. The power given to the nobility, by their ancestors, could be removed. The power was given by the founders of Equestria, and in some cases Celestia and herself, and it could be taken away. General Hurricane, Princess Platinum, and Chancellor Puddinghead had transferred their power over to both herself and Celestia.

It was obvious that they, in the Founder’s stead, could remove any and all power given. She hadn’t done it out of respect for the ancestors she knew. Some of which had been dear friends. Dear friends that would bend their spoiled, and entitled, descendants over their knees and beat them until they could no longer walk. They would be appalled at what their family lines were willing to do in order to maintain the illusion of power.

She shook her head, and looked again at her son. He was looking over the railing, at the ocean, and she had to admire it as well. She didn’t get to travel often enough, and most often it was because of situations like this. Either attempting to form an alliance, or going as a diplomat in an attempt to stall a dark power from forming. In Sombra’s case she would appeal to his better nature.

She hoped that some of her dear friend was still in there. That he would see reason, and that he would understand what needed to happen. Part of her wanted to take him back with them. Yes, she cared for him, and she enjoyed when he practically rutted her into the ground, but she knew that his heart belonged to his beloved. She knew that he truly had eyes only for Rose Quartz. She was glad that they had a chance to help her dear friend, and she feared that her other daughter-in-law’s place in this would be dangerous.

She considered Pinkie Pie for a moment, and she sighed. Pinkie Pie was truly the spitting image of Rose Quartz. She was the same shade of pink, her body the same measurements, and her voice was exceptionally close. For Sombra it may appear that his beloved Rose Quartz was once again alive. She didn’t want to put Pinkie Pie in such a position, but it could come to pass that her very presence could potentially calm Sombra.