Nigel looked down upon the mare bowing in-front of him.

“Rise my subject,” Nigel commanded, the Mare raising herself up to look at him, “I wish to ask you a question.”

‘That is never going to get old, I love this job,’ thought Nigel with glee.

“Yes my Lord?” The mare asked.

“First off, what is your name?”

“Bright Jewel, Lord.”

“Alright Bright Jewel,” responded Nigel, an idea forming in his head “What is your quest?”

“Quest, my Lord? I guess it would be to rescue my son, but there’s no need for that now,” Bright Jewel and Nigel looked back over towards Shining Bauble, the young colt was back on the Sombra rug resuming his puppet show.

“Good and finally,” Nigel leaned forward, placing his fingers together to form a pyramid of evil contemplation, “What is the average flight speed of an unladen swallow?”

“I… don’t know my Lord,” Bright Jewel replied, bowing her head, Nigel chuckling at her response.

“I didn’t expect you too, I just wanted to abuse my power a little,” At this Bright Jewel lifted her head, relived that there would be no consequences for failing to answer the question. Nigel looked over towards Sparkling; his assistant was still standing over near the doorway “Sparkling, would you be kind enough to escort Ms Bright Jewel and her son home.”

“Yes Sir!” Sparkling responded as the two mares and one colt vacated the area, Shining Bauble giving the Emperor one final wave before leaving, Nigel waving back before slouching back into his chair.

‘Now, let’s see if this little scheme of mine works,’ he thought before reaching over towards the plate at his side and beginning the taxing task of selecting a perfect piece of cheese.

______________________________________________________________________________________

As Sparkling left Bright Jewels house, the mare thanking her for her time, she noticed that a large number of Crystal ponies were peering out of their doors, some even cautiously walking out into their front yards.

“Psssst, hey you, mare,” Sparkling turned to face the voice, a small group of Crystal ponies had slowly began to walk towards her, all of them shooting worried glances at the Palace she was heading to.

“Yes, what is it?” Sparkling questioned.

“Is it true, is the King really gone?” a red-coated gold-maned stallion at the head of the group asked, Sparkling detecting a twinge of hope in his voice, “is he never coming back?”

Sparkling nodded happily. “Yes, it’s true; he was defeated by our new ruler, Emperor Chalmers, I’m sure he would like to meet all of you!”

The stallion looked back towards his fellows, two other stallions and four mares “Is the new Emperor… evil?” The stallion said with apprehension. Sparkling decided that informing the group about the method of Sombra’s demise and following utilisation as a foot-warmer would be counter-productive; instead she began to walk back towards the palace, the group of ponies following her.

“No,” replied Sparkling, “He just gets a little cranky when ponies ruin his cheese.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Night had fallen across the land of the Crystal Empire and word had spread around the city that Sombra truly was defeated. Ponies left the safety of their homes, gathering in the streets to discuss the news. When no sign of the King was reported small parties began to spring up around the city, the King’s death having removed the curse that seemed to cloud the minds of the citizens. Ponies’ memories were still elusive although many reported that small snippets were filtering through slowly, and there was much hope that eventually all of the memories would return in time.

There was also a lot of conversation regarding the new Emperor, not many ponies having seen him. The exceptions were the ponies who were chained up in the throne room when Emperor Chalmers arrived and the small group that had followed Sparkling Scroll back to the Palace earlier that day. The former captives spoke of the casual brutality that the new ruler had displayed, having dispensed with Sombra with an almost cheerful ease. This caused a small amount of panic in the gathered crowd until their fears were put to rest by the ponies that had met the Emperor that morning, assuring them that he wished his citizens no harm.

The smaller parties all combined into one gigantic party that covered the entire city, markets and shops re-opening for the first time in a thousand years. The Emperor’s assistant, Sparkling Scroll, declared that the Emperor would make a public address at ten o’clock the following morning; many of the ponies who heard this were relieved because while many had heard of the Emperor, very few actually had the courage to enter the palace to face him. The party began to simmer down around midnight, many ponies leaving the snow covered streets to return to their beds, eager to witness the first speech of their new ruler. Sparkling herself had been joining in on the festivities, and she returned to palace to inform Nigel of the citizens’ positive reaction to him.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

“Thank you Sparkling, that will be all for today.”

Nigel watched his assistant merrily make her way out of the throne room, heading towards her quarters. The mare had really improved mood wise, no longer depressed or distant and she seemed to be enjoying her new job immensely. This pleased Nigel, after all; a happy assistant is a hard-working assistant. He mulled over what she had told before she left, the fact that the majority of his new citizens seemed to accept his rule. Nigel knew that there was a possibility that the UIP would rescue him, and he had to admit to himself that if they did find them he would leave this planet without hesitation, after all, he was still a member of the ISA and duty always comes first.

This was also why he was so keen to integrate Sparkling into almost everything he did as Emperor, knowing that if he had to leave at least someone would know what to do, Nigel trusting that the mare had a good temperament and ability. After all, he conceded, if it wasn’t for her assistance the citizens would likely be still trembling in their homes.

‘Guess all I have to do now is wait until morning’ thought Nigel as he twiddled his thumbs, having little need for sleep at the moment, ISA operatives being modified and trained to function with only small periods of slumber. Nigel looked down at his clothed body and sniffed.

‘First things first, take a shower and wash these clothes, I smell like the inside of a teenager’s bedroom.’

________________________________________________________________________________________

Sparkling happily bounded into the throne room, today was the big day, the day that Nigel would announce himself to the public. Sparkling had already grabbed herself a quick breakfast from the palace kitchens, Nigel decreeing that she was allowed access to which ever room she pleased. She was currently balancing a tray loaded with toast and tea on her back, advancing towards the figure in the throne who was currently preoccupied with fixing up his cape.

“Morning Nigel,” Sparkling greeted happily, the person in question moving his focus from the cape to her. “I brought you some breakfast!”

‘Did we get married over night?’ thought Nigel as he gave the energetic mare a smile.

“Morning Sparkling, thank you for that, I was just about to grab myself something so you saved me the trouble.”

“It was no problem,” she replied as Nigel lifted the tray off her back and set it down upon the table beside the throne, Sparkling lying down upon a cushion at the foot of the throne, having moved it there last night so she wouldn’t have to stand around all the time.

“So Nigel,” Sparkling began, the Emperor pouring two cups of tea, “I’ve noticed that you seem to have washed up, I thought that you didn’t care much about how you looked.” Nigel nodded as he handed a cup of tea to her, Sparkling grasping it between two forelegs.

“I know I said that Sparkling, but this is different. This first speech dictates exactly how the public view me, and while I’m personally not against being seen as an all-powerful conqueror,” at this Sparkling giggled, Nigel having raised a piece of toast into the air like a sword, “considering the ways of your last ruler I figure that it would be better if they saw me as someone they can confide in, after all, a happy populace is far less likely to attempt assassinations.”

Sparkling glanced towards the rug sitting on the floor next to her “I don’t think anyone will try to assassinate you after seeing what you did to Sombra Nigel.” Nigel shrugged, taking a bite of his buttered toast.

“Eh, I could probably kill anybody that attempts to anyway; after all I am a soldier myself.”

Sparkling looked at him in interest “You’re a soldier?”

“Well, I’m an ISA agent for the United Imperium of Planets, we mainly function as explorers and Black Ops soldiers as well as the occasional Intel officers.”

“So you’re a Secret Agent then, that’s so cool!” Sparkling exclaimed, recalling the books she read as a filly that focused around spies and subterfuge.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty decent job I suppose, after all, if waking up on an unknown planet and then taking over an empire is not the craziest thing you’ve done then you know that you’ve got an interesting career, but most of those stories are classifed,” Nigel said before glancing at the wooded clock on the wall.

“Well, it’s almost nine, we better finish up, only an hour to go until crazed panic,” Nigel joked, eliciting another giggle from his assistant as they continued their meal.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

‘Wow, that’s a lot of ponies,’ thought Sparkling as she looked over the palace balcony, the multitude of crystal ponies filling the streets of the city with bright colours. Sparkling turned towards Nigel, the Emperor was standing hidden by a pair of curtains, his garments, while not exactly fitting for a ruler had been washed by him the night before, no longer covered in blood.

“Are you ready Nigel?” She questioned, Nigel nodding his head in confirmation. Sparkling took a large breath and stepped out onto the balcony

“Attention Citizens of the Crystal Empire!” At Sparkling’s shout a hush descended upon the crowd, her voice echoing around the city thanks to the many crystalline structures “Presenting the Majestic Emperor Chalmers!”

At this Nigel stepped out onto the balcony, the gathered crowd of ponies stared up at him in awe.

“Greetings new subjects,” the Emperor’s voice boomed out from the balcony, his commanding tone honed after years of military command. “I am Emperor Chalmers, your new ruler and I stand here to bring you a great announcement!”

The crowd began to stamp their hooves, the ponies’ equivalent of applause.

“King Sombra lies dead, dealt with like the vile slaver he was, never able to threaten you again!”

The crystal ponies erupted into a great cheer, the sound vibrating around the entire city. As this happened, a glow began to rise from the ground under the Palace, intensifying with the volume of the cheer. The ponies who noticed it stopped, the rest of the crowd still applauding, however it was not long until everyone had noticed the glow, worried whispers circling the crowd.

A hum had begun to sound, the Crystal Palace itself amplifying it, until with a high pitched peal of sound the ground beneath the Palace split apart and a podium raised up out of the ground, a massive gem raising up on top of it. With a sudden flash a massive wave of energy flowed over the city, blinding everyone in it temporarily.

Nigel rubbed his right eye, his inorganic left one having adjusted to deal with the sudden flash, and he looked out upon his subjects, the sight making him question his sanity. The wave of energy appeared to have… crystallised the ponies, their once dull manes and coats shining like gems. The weather also appeared to have been affected, a large dome-shaped area of clear sky forming over the city, enabling the sun to shine its rays upon the city.

Nigel turned towards his assistant, the once dull coloured mare was positively sparkling, her crimson mane the colour of rubies and her coat was shining like a pearl. Sparkling was currently staring at her own glittering hooves in shock.

“Sparkling, what the Smeg happened?”

“It’s the Crystal Heart Sir!” Sparkling replied, her face morphing into an expression of joy, briefly forgetting Nigel’s request to act informal “Sombra had it hidden away, but the joy of the ponies must have caused it to re-emerge! I’m starting to remember things! I live at the castle and my parents…”

Nigel noticed that Sparkling’s face dropped as she mentioned this, tears filling her eyes as she rushed back into the Palace. Nigel turned back towards the crowd of crystal ponies, the ponies all currently overjoyed with their situation, many of them flocking around the heart, the gem continuing to radiate positive emotion. He decided that the ponies would be fine by themselves for the moment and he rushed back into that palace, attempting to track down his upset assistant.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Outskirts of the Empire

Deep within a dark cold cave, a body rose from a mass of shivering forms and made its way to the entrance, a black muzzle poking out of the dark depths. Two large eyes with lime green irises looked upon the dome that had formed in the distance, an aura of happiness and love radiating out from it, causing its belly to rumble. The figure’s ears twitched and it turned to delve back into the cave, preparing to wake it’s fellows for the journey to come.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel followed the trail of tears left by Sparkling, arriving at the door to her chambers, the sound of sobbing faintly flowing through the closed door. He gently pushed open the door, revealing Sparkling lying face down on her bed crying into her pillow. Nigel carefully entered the spacious room, slowly walking over towards the sobbing mare who was crying her eyes out. He sat down on the bed, Sparkling lifting her head from the pillow to look at him, tears still flowing from her eyes, before she once again buried her head into the pillow. Nigel sighed deeply and began to rub her back with a hand, waiting for his assistant to cease her sobbing. He looked over to the window, the sounds of celebration filtering through and the sunlight causing a shimmering effect on the magical dome.

The sobbing from Sparkling had died down, Nigel turning to find that his assistant had once again left the comfort of the pillow and was looking up at him. Nigel chose to not say anything, waiting for the distressed mare to speak.

“Sombra killed my parents,” she stated, a new wave of tears beginning to flow, “they were unicorns, so Sombra executed them so that he would be the only one in the Empire able to shape crystals.”

Nigel was stumped, he had absolutely no idea of what to say, this situation being one of the few that his training had not prepared him for.

“I’m sure that if they were still alive, they would be incredibly proud of what their daughter became, I know I am.”

Sparkling blinked away the tears in her eyes, the Emperor’s words providing her with some comfort.

“Do you really mean that?”

Nigel sighed once again. “Of course I do, you’ve become a fine young mare and if I was your father I would be immensely pleased with you.”

The mare suddenly flung herself around Nigel, embracing him and shoving her head into his chest, Nigel continuing to stroke her back, his singlet quickly becoming soaked in her tears. They remained like that for hours, until a knock was heard at the door, Nigel turning his head to see who it was.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Sapphire Strategy was quite surprised when he entered the throne room and it was completely empty, not a soul in sight. He was the former Captain of the Crystal Guard, Sombra having dissolved it when he seized power. Sapphire had kept his equipment however, hiding it under his house in the cellar, hoping that one day he would be able to wear it again. His armour was crafted from a strong alloy of crystals, greaves covering his legs, shoes both serving as hoof protection and a weapon, a Helmet with a face plate with slots for his eyes and mouth, a breastplate with a coloured gem set into the middle and segmented crystal plates shielding his back, sides and underbelly. The design of the armour provided maximum protection while the bearer still possessed great movability with the gem set in the breastplate containing healing and strength enchantments, increasing the wearer’s ability and survivability in combat. The golden chevrons on the plates covering his withers denoted his rank of Captain, the gold standing out amongst the diamond-like armour.

He walked over towards the throne, his sheathed sword hanging off the side of his armour, the gem studded pommel jutting out near his right foreleg. The gems set in the grip enchanted to allow him to use his armoured hooves to hold it, as was the same with all weapons used by the Crystal guard. He paused in his investigation as he stumbled upon the flayed skin of Sombra

“By the Heart, he really did kill and skin the King; will he even need a Guard at all?” Sapphire asked himself whilst staring at the flat body of the former King. Tearing his eyes away from the morbid sight he continued his search for the Emperor.

Sapphire’s search led him upstairs to the diplomatic quarters, his hooves guided by the sound of a crying mare as he walked over towards a room with the door ajar. He nudged open the door with his muzzle, spotting the source of the sobs.

The Emperor was currently sitting on the large bed dominating the room, hugging his distraught assistant to his chest; all that was visible of the mare’s head was her glittering ruby mane. Sapphire watched the scene, able to guess how the mare became so distraught. Many of the ponies in the Empire had lost loved ones to Sombra, the King in particular exterminating any unicorns he could find, fearing their ability to shape and enchant crystals.

There were rumours currently floating around the city that a few had survived the purge, having hidden in abandoned buildings or with sympathisers, although Sapphire had yet to see any solid proof. He lightly rapped his hoof against the door, catching the attention of the Emperor within the room.

Nigel looked at the pony at the door, armoured in what appeared to be crystal. The pony, a stallion judging from its slightly bigger size and bulkier muzzle had a copper-coloured coat and a vibrant deep blue mane covered by a helmet, evidently a soldier or guard. Nigel held up a finger and mouthed ‘Give me one minute’, the Stallion understanding the meaning behind the gesture and backing out of the room.

Nigel re-focused his attention from the Stallion back to Sparkling, the mare having cried herself to sleep. He gently lifted her head from his chest and laid her down back on the bed as he got up; making sure a pillow was under her head. He then exited the room shutting the door behind him, the armoured Stallion waiting for him in the hallway

“Walk with me,” commanded Nigel as he headed for the throne room, the stallion following behind him.

Nigel reached his throne, sitting down in the chair and resting his feet on the rug he had made, the stallion stopping and saluting with a foreleg before him.

“At ease,” ordered Nigel, feeling some humour despite the situation, now when he got back to UIP space he could brag about commanding an army of killer horses.

“As you command sir,” the stallion replied, returning his raised hoof to the ground

“What is it, soldier?” Nigel questioned

“I am Captain Sapphire Strategy my Lord, former Commander of the Crystal Guard before Sombra got rid of it,” Sapphire glanced down towards the rug currently warming the Emperor’s feet, “with you having disposed of him I was wondering if, forgive me for asking your Highness, if I could possibly have my command re-instated so I may re-form the Guard?”

“Of course you can Captain,” Nigel replied, empathising the word ‘Captain’, “how many troops were previously under your command and how quickly do you think you could re-assemble a fair amount?”

“Thank you sir,” the Captain replied, “our guard consisted of around five-hundred ponies, however I believe that at best we could have one-hundred fully armed and re-trained within a week sir, due to the actions of Sombra. I currently have twelve of my best troops ready to go, we have been waiting for a chance to reform the army for a while.”

Nigel was impressed with the dedication of the Captain, the pony obviously possessing a generous amount of positive command traits.

“Very Good, Captain, I expect you’ll be very suitable for the job, your first assignment is to assign a detachment to guard the Crystal Heart, such an important artefact should be watched at all times.”

“Yes my Lord,” the Captain saluted once again before leaving via the main doors to organise his troops.

After the Captain left the room was once again bathed in silence, a silence that was soon interrupted by sniffles coming from the side of the throne. Nigel looked over the side where Sparkling was standing, the mare still upset. Nigel gestured towards the cushion at the front of the throne and Sparkling threw herself down upon it, thankfully having stopped crying. Nigel decided that she just needed some time to get over her issues, he could understand that she was upset but sometimes the best way to help someone is to just give them some space. The mare already seemed to be crying less often, so he counted that as a plus.

Soon after Sparkling’s entrance ponies started to enter the throne room, eager to offer their services to their new ruler, Nigel settling in for a long day.

_____________________________________________________________________________-

The day had passed surprisingly well, Nigel had acquired a treasurer, a minister for education, a small staff of palace servants including a chef, a further twenty Guards and the Captain from earlier. Sparkling also seemed to be doing a bit better, becoming fast friends with another mare whose family Sombra also killed. Nigel had given Sparkling the rest of the day off and the two mares had spent the afternoon in the town, leaving Nigel alone with the multitude of nobles that assailed the court.

Speaking of nobles, Nigel was pleasantly surprised when the snobs he expected turned out to actually care deeply about their fellow citizens, the reign of King Sombra having seemingly equalized the Crystal ponies. Only one noble had made the mistake of mentioning that the Emperor looked like a monkey, much to the shock of the rest of the nobility, but a quick comment from Nigel regarding him needing a new ‘winter coat’ while also saying how soft his new foot rug was quickly encouraged the noble to correct the mistake.

The court was just about to finish, the sun beginning to set when a frantic guard burst into the room, heavily armoured and armed with both a spear and a short sword.

“My Lord, the sentries around the Crystal Heart have captured and detained a number of unknown creatures attempting to enter the protective perimeter.”

“Really now,” the Emperor mused as the nobles chatted amongst themselves in disbelief, “what are these creatures and how many are there?”

“We don’t know what they are sir, they look like ponies but all are black, are insect-like and have both horns and wings.” The guard, a sergeant judging from his armour markings, took a deep calming breath before continuing. “There appear to be thirty-five so far Sir, what looks like twenty five adults and ten children.”

Nigel was quite intrigued at this development, what possible purpose would these creature’s want the Heart for?

“Interesting…” Nigel stroked his chin, “you say you have then detained?”

“Yes my lord, the dungeons are still being repaired but we are holding them in an old abandoned house.”

“Very well Sergeant, I command you to fetch these creatures and bring them before me, I wish to see them for myself,” Nigel ordered

“Yes sir, as you command,” the sergeant gave a quick salute that was returned by the Emperor before rushing back out the door to fetch the prisoners. Emperor Chalmers turned to the gathered nobles, all of whom were still worried about the attempted theft, looking towards him for guidance.

“Well,” Emperor Chalmers began, “whoever said that politics was boring just got proved wrong”