The Rise of Passion

"She did WHAT?!" Cozy's jaw dropped to the floor. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"She made me the Interim Regent of the Crystal Empire," smirked Starlight, opening her suitcase. "And Trixie's going to be my assistant."

"Starlight, it's no question that you're my most loyal follower. Bringing me back was your idea. What am I supposed to do without you?"

"There's still Gallus," offered Starlight. "Though I may need him from time to time to keep up appearances. And then Stellar Flare can be brought in soon, too, and she should be chipping away at Sunburst as we speak." She dumped a bunch of clothing items into the suitcase she'd previously opened. "And it's not like I'm going to be there forever. Just until Twilight finds a real regent."

"But you're crucial to the plan," growled Cozy through gritted teeth. "We need you! We don't have any other powerful unicorns, and I have my doubts about Sunburst joining us. I don't think he has it in him."

"He will," argued Starlight. "We just have to give him no choice in the matter. The world is changing. Those in power now will not be for long. He has a place in the new world order. He'll see soon enough what the smart path is."

"Great," groaned Cozy. "While you and Trixie are off ruling the empire and coaxing him to our way of thinking, and Gallus is off doing the dirty work, I have to stay here and feed the prisoners."

"Oh, don't be like that. We'll just have to make some changes to the plan, that's all. Simple, small changes. We're still ahead of the curve, here.

"And what if Twilight's just luring you into a trap?"

"She had guards pinning us down when she came in," chuckled Starlight. "If she wanted us taken down, she had the means and opportunity. The fact that she didn't means she has no motive to do so. She doesn't know what happened. Trust me, I'm working on it."

Starlight took a deep breath as the train slowed on approach to the Crystal Empire. She and Trixie had opted to come with minimal equipment their first time, to start setting up. If they showed up with too much stuff, it would indicate that they knew they'd be here for a while. Enough stuff for a week was just the right amount.

They stepped off the train to find that there was a pair of guards waiting for them. "Trixie Lulamoon and Starlight Glimmer," they saluted. "We are here to escort you to the palace. Please, come with us."

"Lead the way," Starlight nodded.

One of the guards turned and started toward the palace. Trixie and Starlight followed him as a pair, and the other guard followed behind them. All of the guards they passed on the street seemed to be on edge, which was understandable.

"Starlight! Starlight!"

As they came up to the palace entrance, they heard Sunburst's voice as he galloped up to them. With how fast he was running at the new regent and how tense the guards were, half a dozen descended on him immediately and tackled him before Starlight could stop them.

"Let him up," she ordered, and they complied, taking a step back, but keeping their guard up. "I'm a little busy right now, Sunburst."

"This is important," huffed Sunburst, having just had the wind knocked out of him. "It's about Flurry Heart!"

Starlight took a deep breath and turned to one of the guards. "Take him to one of the conference rooms. I'll talk to him after I settle in. It seems like he knows something that I don't."

"Yes ma'am," saluted a guard, grabbing Sunburst by the shoulder. "This way, sir."

The remaining guards escorted Starlight up to the room she'd be staying in; one of the fourth floor suites. It wasn't Cadance's or Flurry's room, but one of the unused guest suites.

"Can you believe it?" asked Trixie, flopping down on the bed. "We're ruling over the Crystal Empire!"

"Just on a temporary basis," shushed Starlight, gesturing to the guard at the door subtly. "As soon as we find out what happened to Cadance and Flurry and Shining Armor, we'll be headed back home. Hopefully soon."

"Oh, yeah," chuckled Trixie. "Still, in the meantime, this is going to be awesome!"

They proceeded to unpack and store their belongings in the provided wardrobes. This only took a few minutes, and after they were done, a guard arrived to escort them to where Sunburst had been taken.

He wasn't remaining calm. He had been arguing with the guard about how his information was important and demanding to speak to either Starlight or somepony of authority, and had been hoofcuffed to the table as a result. Gallus had been left to watch over him, and was still in his uniform.

"You look tired," commented Starlight on seeing Gallus.

"I was prepping all of yesterday to go on night shift, and five minutes before I was supposed to go to bed, the alert went out that the princesses were missing, and I was called back to action," he answered. "If you look bright and bubbly after that, you have to tell me what your secret is."

"A nap," nodded Starlight. "I'll see that things quiet down around here."

"Quiet down?!" interjected Sunburst. "Flurry Heart is missing! We need to go on high alert! Scramble the guard and look for her!"

Starlight held up her hoof. "I know. That's why I'm here."

"To look for them?"

"That, and to keep the place in order in their absence," nodded Starlight. "Somepony has to keep this place running."

"How'd you know they were gone? It only happened last night."

"Twilight told me." She sat down and placed a hoof on his. "Is that all you know?"

"Y-yeah..."

She sighed. "Look, I'm putting together an investigative team. Do you wan--"

"Yes!" he interrupted. "I will lead your investigative team to victory! I will find out what happened to Flurry!"

There was a brief pause as Starlight waited for him to finish. "And her parents?"

He shrunk down. "Oh, right, them too. Cadance and Shining. Yeah, we'll look for them, too."

Starlight nodded. "How's your mother, by the way?"

He lowered his head and blushed. "She's good..."