Foreword
Crystal Palace Northeastern Tower, Crystal City
8 January 1007,
Hello! My name is Wise Hearth, and I am the Royal Historian of the Crystal Empire, appointed as such by Princess Mi Amore (Cadenza the Second) herself, after a lengthy career under her great ancestor, Empress Mi Amore (Ambrosia the First) herself.
Almost two years ago, in 1005 ALB (3 AR; After Return), I found out that the current Equestrian perception of the history of the Crystal Empire was, to put it bluntly, bucking wrong. The most important sign of this is that when Equestrian ponies speak about ‘Princess Amore’, they mean Empress Mi Amore (Ambrosia the First), and they talk as if she was the first and only ruler of the Empire before Sombra.
This revelation had me screaming. Not physically, of course, but inside my head I was fuming. This insolence could not stand! And so, I went to Princess Mi Amore (Cadenza the Second), and after a long conversation, she ordered me to compile the history of the Crystal Empire in a way that it would be understandable and accessible by all who read it.
Well now, I have done just that. With sources from the Crystal Palace’s library, including the Imperial Archives, as well as libraries and private collections all over the Empire (and a few beyond), and with assistance from several people. Speaking of, I wish to thank the Royal Magician of Equestria, Star Tower, for providing records from his family’s collection that have never been shown to any outsider, as well as the Royal Magician of the Crystal Empire, Sunburst, for aiding in sorting and collecting all the works.
Furthermore, I wish to thank all the many people who allowed me to view their collections and archives for compiling this story, and an immense thanks goes out to Princesses Celestia and Luna for sharing their own accounts of the Crystal Empire during the Pax Crystalia and the War of Sombra.
Finally, I hope that you will have at least half as much fun reading this as I had making it; if you do, I will consider my mission to be a success.
Kind regards,
Wise Hearth
Author's Note
So, here we go. This is going to be written like an actual book, and it will tell you my full headcanon of the Crystal Empire in the EAW universe. This information will also be used and referenced in both The Crystal Story and Fixing the World, Piece by Piece, so you can use this as a guide for that too. However, the nature of this story means that some things in it might appear before they appear in either of the other stories I mentioned- I will enter in the Author's notes if any particular spoilers appear, but you can read both The Crystal Story and Fixing the World, Piece by Piece, without ever needing to read this, so you can ignore this if you want.
That said, I hope you enjoy this. And please, leave a review! I read all of them.
