The Fall of an Empire (Human AU)

"My warmest welcome, my dear princesses!” A deep voice echoed in the plaza. “On behalf of all of the people from the Crystal Empire, I can say we are overjoyed to receive you in our home! Welcome to our oasis in the snow!” The statement was followed by thundering cheers. There was a huge round of applause and hundreds of flags were waiving in the hands of children and adults alike. Many families had camped last night outside the castle. Everyone wanted to secure the best spot possible to hear the emperor’s words and see the famous southern princesses. For months the capital had been preparing for their visit. On this especial occasion the town buildings, which were made of crystal and polished stone, were glowing with carefully crafted decorations. There was a rumor that the younger princess had been so surprised by the sight, she had compared them to a starry night. The citizens were filled with pride!

The first event that had taken place was a welcoming parade. Ten allegorical chariots with dozens of dancers and acrobats travelled through the main streets of the city. All of the crystal chariots shined, showing the beauty of the mining resources of the area. Each one had a theme that reflected in some way the local lore. Some of them, even had small patches of grass on their platforms and many tiny ewes eating them happily, gaining a big “Awwwww” from the audience. Everybody loved the fluffy creatures.

After the welcoming parade in the morning, even more people had gathered and tried to squish inside the plaza. A young girl that could not be older than 7 years old, had even decided to climb one of the dragon sneeze trees. She could easily blend in with the flowers due to her strawberry blonde hair. Thanks Celestia no guards had seen her yet! She simply was trying to get a better view. On the other side of the plaza, three dazzling figures were saluting from the front balcony of the castle. The person in the left side, was a woman with incredibly white skin. It seemed to be made of white porcelain. However, her most striking feature was her aqua blue hair that had stripes of pink, purple, and green color. It made the young girl think of a pastel colored rainbow or a delicious cake. The citizens were delighted by the regal composure she exuded. It was only befitting of a queen. A mother of a nation. The woman contrasted greatly with her sister that was in the right side of the trio. The second princess had dark blue hair, almost black, and it seemed to sparkle beautifully from the distance. Her skin had a light blue tone and she wore clothes of dark and purple hues. The young woman was waving energetically to the crowd. She glowed with enthusiasm, so the people were happily waiving back at her. In the middle of the women, stood a man of dark skin and raven hair wearing a golden armor that glistened against the sun, just as the rest of the city. “The Crystal Empire it’s flourishing under your rule, King Sombra.” The beautiful white woman answered, allowing the citizens to finally hear her voice. “On behalf of my sister and me, and of course, of all of the citizens of Equestria that we represent, I want to thank everyone present for this warm greeting! Indeed, ladies and gentlemen, it is time we join our people as they’re meant to be!” Among the cheering crowd, the ginger haired girl narrowed her eyes and then gasped. Both women had wings on their back as if they were angels. It was true! The girl began to search for something inside her bag.

“HEY YOU!” A booming voice called from below the dragon sneeze tree. “Get down from there, lady!” The little girl was startled enough to almost fall from the tree. When she regained her balance, she slowly moved a branch so that she could peek from behind the leaves. Perhaps, the man was talking to another girl. Their gaze met. “You have to get down NOW!” A guard from the empire was looking up at her. He was old, with thick white eyebrows above an angry stare. It was clear even with the uniform, that he had a strong body built. He was wearing the violet helmet and crystal armor the girl had seen so many times today. It matched the old man’s own crystal violet skin. The truth is that among the humans in the continent, the people from the Crystal Empire were famously known for their looks. Their skin would normally be a gradient of a cool color like blue, light purple or white, but always shining with a faint glow. One could see polygonal reflections all over their body as if they were one of the minerals often found in their lands. Some people even wonder if they were human at all. And…Oh boy! The old guard was growing impatient. “Our King has explicitly forbidden people from climbing the trees of this area. Remember the injured people from the last parade? You could break your head, too! If you understand, get down!” The girl looked at him for a moment.

“Uh… Ok.” The girl said hesitantly.

“About time!”

“But uh…”

“Is there a problem?” The guard narrowed his eyes. His thick eyebrows were threatening to cover his line of sight.

“Uh… I can’t get down…” The girl smiled nervously at him. The guard sighed.

Five minutes later, an old guard was carrying a little girl in his arms. The guard mumbled an apology to the little girl for his harsh words. He hadn’t noticed how young she was from the ground. He could be rude, he knew it. The little girl didn’t seem to mind and accepted his apology with a bubbly laugh. She was just staring at his crystal sheen armor as if it was a jewel.

“Now kid, where’s your mother?” He asked.

“She is not here anymore.” The girl lowered her eyes.

‘I’ll be dammed’ “Sorry, kiddo. I didn’t mean-”

“Because she went to search for my aunt!” The girl giggled at the shocked face of the old guard. He looked at her for a few seconds with a blank expression. Then, his wrinkles crooked with a smile and he chuckled.

“Heh. You got me, kiddo.” His own daughter used to pull pranks like that a lot when she was younger. He had to admit that he missed those days. The girl seemed delighted that he had laughed as well. She told him her mother was going to come back soon and that their meeting point was actually the dragon sneeze tree she had climbed. The old man grumbled about how irresponsible that woman had been. He needed to be back on his post but it was simply impossible to leave a kid alone. He would have to wait for the woman. It shouldn’t take too long- A slap sound interrupted his train of thoughts.

And the pain that followed made his nostrils flare with anger.

“How dare you!? You little-” The girl giggled innocently. “Mr. Sparky your skin is so hard! It feels like a rock!” She was looking back at him with admiration. The old guard grimaced. What was wrong with her? Plus, his skin was as hard as anyone else’s. Wait.

“Kiddo… You aren’t crystalfolk!” He raised his white eyebrows. How could he haven't realized it before?
“Nuh-uh.” The girl shook her head making her curls bounce a bit.

‘I must be going senile’. He thought to himself worried.

“So who is that, Mr. Sparky?” The girl pointed to the balcony from where the three rulers were waving to the crowd. The younger princess seemed to be talking.

“Those two woman are the rulers of the Kingdom of Equestria, our southern ally. I have never seen one of those equestrian princesses before. Let me tell you, kiddo, I still can’t believe they have wings! They say… It means they are immortal or something.” He rolled his eyes. “But that is gibberish for sure.”

“No silly!” The girl grabbed his face with her little hands, and make his face turn towards the center of the trio. “I meant him! Who is he?!” The man realized who she was asking about.

He shifted his gaze back to the child with a puzzled expression. “Little one, don’t tell me you don’t know.” The girl shook her head with energy. What did this child’s mother was teaching her?! That’s what he wanted to know! When he sees that woman... On the meantime, there wasn’t going to be a kid left this ignorant. Not on his watch!

“That man is the Soldier-King." The little girl tilted her head but the man was no longer looking at her but directly towards the balcony. "He is the Restorer. The Fearless one and Just. The Saver of the Crystal Empire. He is none other than His Majesty, King Sombra!” The guard violet eyes’ sparkled with fiery passion.

“But why he doesn’t look like you?” The girl asked without letting go of his crystal cheeks. “How can he be the king?” The old guard looked at her surprised. He was itching to meet her mother. “He is not crystalfolk since his family wasn’t originally from the Crystal Empire, they moved here looking for a better life. But that doesn’t matter, he’s one of us!"

"One of you?" the girl asked.

"Yes, kid. You see ten years ago… Before you were born, an ancient evil creature appeared in our lands. It killed the previous royal family and secured the royal castle and its treasures. It seemed to suck out the life of our crops and we were truly in despair. One morning, we saw how Sombra leaded a group of heroes to the creature’s dent.”

The girl gasped. The old guard nodded solemnly. “They defeated it and saved us all.” The old man eyes sparkled. “He freed us! How could he not be fit to be our king? And now he rules with justice and kindness. Look, do you see the golden armor he’s wearing?” The little girl nodded with a lot energy. King Sombra’s armor gleamed brighter than regular gold, it looked a little like... “Crystal. It’s an armor casted with crystal defensive magic. It was our gift for him when he was crowned. Only the best smiths worked on it.” The old guard looked at the little girl clearly satisfied by his explanation.

“Well what do you think, kiddo? King Sombra is the best, isn’t he? Those southern princesses will learn a thing or two from him! That’s to be sure!” He chuckled.

“The princesses are great, too!” The girl defended them making a pout. “Huh? Are you from Equestria?”
“Nu-uh” The girl shook her head making her short hair bounce again. “But my mommy taught me a song about them. And I love it!” She smiled widely and she began to sing and clap.

“Sun, little Sun,

You keep me warm!

Be a good boy and let Celestia run!

Sun, little Sun,

You give me food!

Be a nice boy and let Celestia rule!

‘Ugh’ This was the part he didn’t like about kids, they could go on forever with their songs and games. And he certainly wasn’t interested in a “song” about those princesses. When was the mother going to appear?

“Moon, little moon,

Don’t let monsters roam!

Be a good girl and let Luna come!

Guard, little guard,

Don’t go to sleep,

Look at me in the eye

and listen me a bit.

Guard, little guard,

You told me things,

Be a great boy and do a thing for me!”

The girl was silent for a moment and then smiled adorably to the guard that had her in his arms.

“Thanks Mr. Sparky!”

“What... for, child?” He furrowed his eyebrows, making a scowl. He felt weird and very... angry?

The girl giggled and then adjusted the strap of her bag. She rummaged inside of it and took out a thick book with a cover made of black leather. It had a symbol of a silver alicorn with ruby eyes. He looked at the book. Alicorns drawings were normally a symbol of blessings and goodwill, but this one...

“Oh~ For the information. I wanted to confirm a few things about the Emperor. Since you are his first commander, I will take your word!” The girl gently traced with her fingers the alicorn symbol in the book and then touched the old man’s forehead. He didn’t speak another word. She lean in as if to kiss his cheek and whispered a few words.

His eyes flickered between their normal violet and green.

Finally, the old guard gently put the ginger haired girl in the ground, and left the spot without giving her a second glance.

He disappeared in the crowd with the black book under his arm.