Cadance and the Art of Diplomacy (Season 2)

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The Crystal Empire, once a fairytale told to fillies and colts before bed, has returned.

A nation reborn does not make a nation ready to thrive, however, and the restored Empire found itself cut off from the rest of Equestrian society by the violent conditions in the frozen north. With a stagnant economy and technology outdated by a thousand years, the Empire had to find a way to open diplomatic negotiations with nations near and far lest it fade back into obscurity.

Two young lovers, now the rulers of an entire nation, found themselves as the recipients of this great burden. The Crystal Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the Alicorn of Love, and her husband, Shining Armor, bravely stood up to the task for the good of their ponies, each ready to give their heart, mind, BODY, and soul to the fledgling Empire.

The couple’s first challenge would come from across the Celestial Sea—the Griffon Empire of Griffonstone, another player looking to gain footing on the world’s stage after a lengthy absence, arrived asking for assistance. Once a proud nation that stood as a bastion of power on the opposite side of the world, Griffonstone had fallen into decline after the death of the great King Grover. Now, however, after a timely visit by a pair of former Element of Harmony bearers, the griffon kingdom was ready to rejoin the ever-fluctuating fields of diplomacy.

The First Lady of Griffonstone, Greta Sharpclaw, sent her Ambassador of Friendship, Gilda, to strike a deal with the crystal ponies. The terms were simple; Griffonstone would buy excess stone from the Empire’s vast crystal mines in order to rebuild their nation. After a bout of intense negotiations that proved both the Ambassador and the Crystal Princess to be CUNNING LINGUISTS of diplomacy, Cadance was able to convince Gilda that, for the good of both nations, the Crystal Empire would supply the stone in exchange for volunteer fliers from Griffonstone. Griffons, with their thicker coats and larger wingspans, could transport goods through the violent storms that constantly plagued the north, opening up trade routes once thought to be impossible. This would lead to a private, ONE-ON-FIVE MEETING between Cadance and the first group of volunteers, who would go on to become the first permanent griffon residents of the Empire—as well as the personal flight team for the royal couple.

It wouldn’t be long after this meeting of pony and griffon that the next challenge would present itself, and this time it would come from a place much closer to home. Just to the north of the Empire, within the glittering peaks of the Crystal Mountains, came a pack of diamond dogs driven from their underground homes by the suddenly aggressive creatures of the north. Cadance found herself stuck in a conundrum where, on one hoof, she wanted to help the pack settle within the Empire but, on the other, was unable to do so due to the limited land held within the magical barrier shielding the city from harm.

After a heated meeting with the pack’s alpha, Snow, and his wife, Roxy, Cadance successfully TIED THE KNOT of friendship between the two species and hashed out a plan. The diamond dogs would move into parts of the crystal mines that had already been cleared, giving them room to grow a special plant known amongst their pack as the darkgem vine. These vine-like plants were grown underground using mashed-up gemstones and served many purposes within diamond dog society. Thus the previously useless land underneath the Empire was used to grow a plant with applications ranging from food to medicine, and with the diamond dog’s expert diggers at their side more land quickly became available for the crystal pony’s new canine compatriots.

The day the diamond dogs moved into the Empire would become known as The Day of the Diamond Dog, or D-3 for short. After GETTING TO KNOW MORE OF SNOW'S PACK during the celebration, Cadance would strengthen the capabilities of her Crystal Guards with the diamond dog’s knowledge of hoof-to-hoof combat. She even wound up hiring the first non-pony lieutenant ever in Equestrian society from the fiercely loyal pack—a position in charge of protecting the royal family that was only one step down from captain of the guard. With a bolstered military and a strengthened economy, it seemed as if nothing could stop the Empire's rise back into prosperity….

But then, like a dark, seething thundercloud marching across the barren, snow-covered fields of the frozen north, the Crystal Empire’s biggest challenge would come knocking on its door. Chrysalis and her hive of love-deprived changelings, the very same group that had nearly taken over Canterlot during the royal couple's wedding, came seeking asylum. Distrust ran rampant between the two groups but, after pleading her case, Chrysalis got her wish—a private meeting where she hoped to convince the ponies whose wedding she had crashed into trusting her.

Distrust turned to intrigue turned to compassion as an EXCHANGE OF LOVE brought with it a better understanding between the two races. Chrysalis’s hive was permitted to move into the unused dungeons beneath the Crystal Castle, the former torture-chambers of the evil King Sombra transforming overnight into a new home for the Empire’s latest allies. A rush of technological and scientific advances swept across the land as the crystal ponies got their first look at a species that, much like the shield that protected their city from harm, lived off of love. This, in turn, led to the invention of large, love-based “batteries” that strengthened the energy inside the Crystal Heart, causing the bubble around the Empire to expand outwards and reclaim land once buried underneath thick sheets of ice and snow. Even the changeling’s abilities of transformation did not go to waste as the Empire opened a new, information-gathering wing of their guard, allowing them to find and eliminate threats to the city before they could become a problem.

These meetings, as well as a large GROUP DIPLOMACY SESSION between the royal couple, Chrysalis, and Gilda, would lead the Crystal Empire into a new golden age of prosperity. Its economy thrived, its ponies grew happy, and its melting pot of species made the Empire one of the cultural hotspots of the world. But as the Empire’s treasuries grew, so too did its presence on the world’s stage, its bustling economy acting as a beacon to draw new nations towards its borders. Nations that, for better or for worse, look towards its glittering lands with envy growing in their hearts….