Her Empire

A sudden jolt in my spine snapped me back to consciousness.  The jolt was the product of the armoured transport vehicle hitting a rut in the dirt road.  I blinked tiredly a couple of times, the blurriness slowly fading away.  When my vision was back in working order, the first thing I saw was Spike looking at me with apathy.  He nodded his head in a silent "hello" and started to stare at the metal floor.  I turned my head to gather the rest of my surroundings.  The sight wasn't beautiful.

I was in a cramped metal space filled with twelve different rebel soldiers.  They cast their eyes on me with a mixture of responses.  Some wore a mask of contempt, others wore a veil of apathy, while the rest had shroud of evil over their faces.  "Wh-where am I", I said.  My voice felt hoarse and thick, more than likely from being drugged to sleep.  "Hey baby", one of the rebels piped up, "I had so much fun last night!"  I bolted upward in fear, but I was stopped with a rough resistance and slammed back down.

My wrists throbbed, and then I noticed the plastic zip-tie that was around my wrists and looped around the roll cage.  The occupants burst into a chorus of cruel laughter at my expense.  I started to fidget out of panic due to my restraints.  Spike looked up at me, and then did the most heroic thing I've ever seen a boy do.  "SHUT!  UP!", he shouted.  I felt the roll cage vibrate and the whole sitting zone heated up a good ten degrees due to the burst of fire he released.  "Celestia dammit!  You guys are so fucking annoying!", he fumed.  The rebels decided NOT to pick on me any more in a silent consensus, but their left over humour decided to shift to another member of the vehicle.

"Haha, looks like wittle Spikey-Wikey has a wittle crush!", some ass teased, "What will poor wittle Rarity think?"  I saw it right then and there.  His eyes flew open wide, and his fists clenched....tight.  "Uh, dude, I think you fucked up.", one of the other rebels said.  "HEY!  All of you!  Lock. It. Up!", some important rebel officer said as he came out of the cabin. "I hear one more insult, you all", his gaze shifted towards me, "are gonna regret it!  So lock it up!"  "Locked sir!", the cabin sullenly said, including me.  They all looked over to me in surprise.  I blushed and shifted back a bit, not really wanting this attention.  "Girl!  You know drill?", the officer said.  I nodded swiftly, hoping to turn everybody's attention away.  "Well I'll be damned.  Take an example from the prisoner and shut the fuck up!", he said as he returned to the cabin.

The rebels' gaze decided to return to me, but with more positive responses.  The nodded with slight smirks and looks of approval.  "Well girl, I must say you've become 20% cooler in our book.", one said, "Cause here we thought you were some over-pampered whore!"  I decided it was best to spend the rest of the ride in silence.

{oO0Oo}

The rest of the trip took another four hours at least.  Thankfully, though, nobody talked to me.  I was glad for the silence of the rebels, but one person kept paying attention to me.  It was Spike.  Every so often, he would cast a look up at me and just stare.  I pretended not to notice, but sometimes, our eyes would meet.  When this fleeting moment happened, I would gift him with a kind smile, but in return, he would blush and look away.  I really liked when he did though, it made me feel a bit more welcome with these rebels.  I never had the heart to tell him.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, but where are we off to?', I asked the rebels.  They all looked at me, silently deciding who would anwser me.  It was obvious I wasn't welcome in thier vehicle.  "Uh, Spike!  Tell the girl where we're going."

"Why me?  You do it!", he protested.

"Cause I told you to!"

"I don't give a fuck!  Just tell her!"

"Uh, guys.  Somebody better tell me, or I'll resort to my royal genes!", I threatened.  "What's that supposed to mean?", one of the guys snapped.  I gave a little smirk, and began my work.  "Well!  First of all, I am a lady!  Your lewd humour is offensive and pointless!  Also, why would you ever tie me up in such a crude fashion!  These zip-ties are too tight and they hurt!  I'm a princess!  Couldn't you allow me to have my hands free?  I do NOT enjoy being hindered!  And you!", I said pointing to the man with my foot who called me a "pampered whore", "I do not appreciate such ghastly insults from you!  Treat me with the respect I deserve!"  I crossed my legs and smiled warmly to the newly annoyed rebel squad.  "Now, if one of you could tell me where we're going, I'll be quiet.", I said to the dominated men.

"You promise to shut it?", a rebel asked.

"Certainly."

"We're going to The Crystal Empire."

I looked at the man in surprise.  Mother always told me that The Crystal Empire was a child's tale.  "Wait.  It's....it's real?", I asked.  "Yeah, it's real!  Now you promised to be quiet!"

{oO0Oo}

When we unloaded at The Crystal Empire, there was some confusion on what they would do with me.  I was still zip-tied to the roll cage, and I had to pee.  "Well, this is a problem.", a rebel said.

"I say we leave her tied up."

"Or we leave her in the snow."

"VTOL her to the Badlands!"

"Nah!  She'd like that."

Tears were starting to well on my impending fate.  I felt like a complete fool about jumping that rail.  Right now I could be at home in my bed, or in the library, or even silently threatening Sisis, but no.  I was here amongst these, these.....SCUM, who were trying to find fifty ways to kill me.  I closed my eyes and silently wished for home.

"Hey.  Look at me.", somebody said.  I looked up into the warm grin of the officer.  "There's no reason to cry.", he said.  He pulled out a knife and cut the zip-tie.  "Don't let them get to you.  Come on, we're gonna see The General.  He'll find something out for you."  He helped me up and motioned to me to follow him.

We walked across the tarmac to the main building.  The tarmac was crowded with various implements of war.  there were VTOL jets, tanks, Humvees, and the armoured attack vehicles I was in.  Soldiers were all over the place.  Some were coming home from a battle, others were leaving to go fight said battles, and others were running laps for exercise.

The Officer entered a pass-code on a console and got the door for me.  "Ladies first.", he said getting out of my way.  I smiled kindly at his courtesy.  "Pussy!", a voice said from the tarmac, and I snickered a little.  "The General's office is just down this hallway.  I followed him down the long hallway.  The florescent lights buzzed above us, giving an eerie feel to the brown walls.  There were bulletin boards dotted around the hallway with various requests and events posted on them.

"He's right in here.  Wait a second.", The Officer said to me.  I waited patiently for him to return.

SHIFT TO THIRD PERSON

Shining Armour poured over the status reports piled on his desk.  He tried his best to focus on the important documents, but he was eagerly awaiting the return of the rescue operation.  His silent anticipation was interrupted by a knock on the door.  "Whoever it is, it better be fucking important!", he shouted.  "It's David, Shining, let me in.", the voice on the other side.  Shining went over to the door and ripped it open, and sure enough it was David Whooves, the lead officer of the rescue operation.  "Ah!  David, come in!", Shining said to his friend and brother-in-arms.  Shining took his seat and waited for David's report.

"So, how'd it go?", Shining asked.

"Uh, fine, fine, but there was....a slight complication."

"What?!  What do you mean 'a complication'?  I gave you forty-two men to rescue six men in a scantly guarded courtyard!  How did you fuck that up?"

"Well that's just it.  We, uh, we returned with.....seven people."

"What?  The fuck are you talking about?"

"You can come in now!"

{oO0Oo}

I sheepishly entered the office, not looking at this general.  "What the fuck is this?", The General asked The Officer.  "This is Princess Krystal of The Changeling Empire."  The General flopped down in his seat and exhaled heavily.  He grabbed some of his blue hair and pushed it back.  "David, leave me with the girl.", The General said to The Officer.  David nodded silently and left the room.  "Princess, huh?", he asked me.

I looked up at him and just stared.  This general, or whatever he was, looked a lot how Ms. Sparkle described my father.  Broad shoulders, square jaw, blue hair and eyes, and a scar over his left eye, it was uncanny the resemblance to the description I was given.  "Hey Princess!  You there?", he asked me.  I didn't respond with the anwser he wanted.  "It's you!  You're my father."

"What?"

"Ms. Sparkle in the library told me th-"

"Hang on!  Ms. Sparkle?  As in Twilight Sparkle?"

"Yeah."

"She's......alive?"

I nodded in comfirmation and he ran up and hugged me laughing.  "Sweet Celestia yes!  She's alive!", he shouted.  His look of happiness continuued into his next crushing words.  "But, I'm not your daddy.  Sorry, but I'm married, and there's no way I would sleep with a changeling."  "O-oh, I'm sorry for suggesting so", I muttered.  He waved it away with his hand, and started to critically think.

"So.  What am I going to do with you?  Any Ideas?", he asked me in sarcasm.  "Well, you can't release me, that's for sure.  And if you hold me for ransom, my mother will be infuriated and launch an all-out attack, sparing nobody.  But you can't keep me secret, for your citizens will be pretty pissed and lynch me.  SO, Mr. General Shining sir!  Do you have any ideas?", I asked the shocked man.  "Well I must say your tactical knowledge is amazing, no doubt from your mother.  Okay.  I'll give you a choice:  we can throw you in jail until we have a plan for you, or I can give you a house and ten-thousand bits and you can live among the people here.  However, I cannot guarantee their behaviour towards you.", he said back, "What's it gonna be?"

"I'll take the money and house."

"Really?  I thought you were going to take jail.", he said as he withdrew a coin purse and some keys, and tossed them to me.

"Thank you General.", I said as I walked out to David.  "Come on, I'll take you to your house", David said, and we walked off into the empire.

Shining sat thinking for a while, before he broke down and had to tell somebody.  "Roseluck", he said over the phone, "Get me Applejack.  I need to talk to her."