Cadence found herself being hauled into the Crystal Palace by a mass of guards, the Crystal ponies lining the streets booing her as she passed. According to the guard Captain, ‘Captain Strategy’ the Emperor had requested that she be taken directly to the Throne room instead of the damp cell the Captain was so eager to throw her in. Cadence was worried, this ‘Emperor Chalmers’ must have somehow cast a spell over the Crystal ponies as there was no possible way that anything would want to live willingly with changelings, disgusting little parasites that they were. Maybe that was how the Emperor had these ponies fooled, Queen Chrysalis had already proven herself capable of mind control, who was to say that she wasn’t here now, manipulating everything with the aid of this ‘Emperor’

The main throne room doors were thrown open, and Cadence looked towards the throne before the four guards escorting her stopped, one of them tugging on the shackle fastened around her neck to halt her. On the throne sat a biped clothed in what appeared to be simple garments, a red cape attached to its back with a silver crown sitting on his head. To the left of the throne was a crystal pony mare, her purple eyes watching Cadence with worry. The look she got from the opposite side of the throne however was not so sympathetic with the changeling, a female belonging to the upper-class of hive society, judging from its eyes and flowing mane, shooting Cadence a hate filled glare, likely because of how Cadence tried to defeat its evil plot to take over the Empire. Lastly, lying in front of the crystal throne was the long-dead flayed skin of Sombra, sending a chill up her spine.

“So,” the Emperor began, his voice cold “this is the trollop who decided that assault and battery was legal, what a pathetic sight.”

Cadence was outraged, how dare this creature insult her so after unjustly detaining her

“I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, also known as Princess Cadence, niece to Princess Celestia and rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire and its subjects and I demand that you release me at once!”

“I can’t do that ‘Cadence’” replied the Emperor, deliberately leaving out her title “You have been charged with assault against one of my subjects and I intend to treat you like the criminal scum you are”

“Criminal!?” Cadence yelled “I was attempting to save MY Subjects” Cadence empathised ‘My’, earning her a glare from the Captain standing next to her “from having their love sucked out by one of those abominations!” She nodded her head towards the Changeling sitting near the Throne

“YOU PONY BITCH!” Reflection lunged for the Princess only to be held back by two guards, one of which was the Sergeant from when the Changelings first arrived, his previous dislike for Reflection being overridden by his sense of duty. While the Sergeant, Rough Stone, did not care much for the Changeling due to her earlier disrespect he still thought referring to the Changelings as ‘Abominations’ was harsh, the others seemingly a fair bit more… docile than their leader. Reflection continued to attempt to reach the Princess

“What gives you the right to come here and start causing problems?!” Reflection’s mad thrashing began to subside

“we were getting along fine; both us Changelings and the Crystal ponies were happy until you came along and ruined it!” Reflection slowly began to slump in the guard’s hold “We finally belonged…”

Nigel had watched Reflection’s initial outburst with much humour, although he made sure to keep a cold glare focused on Cadence. He was half-tempted to order the guards to let Reflection go so he could watch her beat the crap out of the Princess, but then Reflection’s anger had given way to sorrow, spoiling the moment

‘Why is it that when these ponies and changelings start to cry I almost feel… sorry for them, this planet must be making me soft’ Nigel thought before breaking his glare at the Princess, it morphing into a smile of reassurance as he looked upon Reflection, the Changeling beginning to sob

“Reflection,” the changeling turned around towards him, tears in her eyes “this incident has not changed how you are going to be treated, look around the room, who do you think is the unpopular one here?”

Reflection stopped her crying and looked around her as the Emperor suggested. The nobles in the room, the Emperor’s assistant Sparkling, the guards and even the Sergeant beside her, the one who she had taunted when they first met were all directing looks of anger and rage at… the Pony Princess, not her

“See Reflection?” the Emperor continued “No-one’s going to throw you out anytime soon, I made a deal with you and I intend to keep my word.”

As Nigel finished he noticed that the Changeling seemed incredibly touched by his words, and with a few final sniffles a small smile replaced the frown on her face. Nigel felt himself swell up with pride, a feeling that was soon extinguished as Reflection propelled herself into his lap, grasping him around the midsection with her forelegs and pushing her head into his chest. This also had the unfortunate effect of one of her rear hooves colliding solidly with his ‘royal jewels’ as she landed, sending a jolt of pain through Nigel’s body, his flimsy boxers providing no protection.

Reflection noticed that the Emperor had suddenly froze up, and after she remembered he was male she put two-and-two together, a slight green blush appearing on her face as she scrambled off of him back onto the cushion on the floor, giving him an apologetic look. She had to admit however that the Emperor’s ability to maintain his facial expression despite being clocked in what Reflection knew was a ‘sensitive’ spot was amazing.

Nigel decided to forgive the Changeling for her blunder considering the circumstances, pushing the pain to the back of his mind before turning back to Cadence, the shackled Princess not picking up on what had just happened.

“You’re not helping yourself any further Cadence” Nigel said, not a trace of pain in his voice “back where I’m from your actions so far would have netted you a hefty thirty years imprisonment with hard labour, although as a SPECTOR officer with the UIP Department of Security and Intelligence I have the authority to summarily execute those who break the law” at this statement Cadence’s face paled “However…” Cadence looked at him with hope

‘Oh, I’m going to so enjoy this’ Nigel thought before continuing

“I was reading quite an interesting book the other day” Nigel held up a hefty tome called ‘Laws of the Crystal Empire, Complete Edition’, the crystalline cover glittering in the light “and I’ve found a most fitting and… entertaining punishment that I think you’ll just love…”

___________________________________________________________________________________

Shining and the four Pegasi guards arrived at the city, cautiously stepping through the barrier surrounding the city, the guards holding their spears at the ready as they approached the city. The fields on the outskirts of the city were covered with a light layer of snow, seemingly immune to the bright rays of sunlight shining down from above. As they moved into the city, all five stallions searching for any clue of the missing Princess, Shining Armour noted that the streets were deserted, not a pony in sight.

A loud cheer rose up in the distance, Shining and the guards looking towards the source, the large Crystal Palace dominating the centre of the city. They galloped over as quickly as they could and as they drew closer to the source of the cheers, now becoming more frequent, they began to encounter the local citizens, the Crystal ponies that noticed them watching them with worry. Shining ran ahead of his guards, pushing through the growing throng as he neared his objective. With a final shove he burst out into a courtyard in front of the Palace, the sight on the stage in the middle causing his jaw to drop.

Locked in a pillory (Wooden stock, where the hands and head are locked in place) on the stage was his wife, Cadence. The Princess and the wooden device she was trapped in was covered in a layer of rotten produce, painting her with a smattering of foul smelling, multi-coloured gunk. Crystal ponies and also what appeared to be a few changelings were taking turns throwing rotten fruit and veg at the Alicorn, the crowd letting out a large cheer whenever a direct hit landed. Shining Armour watched as one changeling, a slightly taller one with a green mane and tail threw a rotten tomato with a foreleg at his wife, the projectile landing on Cadence’s horn before sliding down it before touching her forehead, red juice erupting all over Cadence’s face in the process

“FIFTY POINTS TO REFLECTION!”

Shining dragged his sight away from his wife towards the cheerful voice, spotting a tall creature sitting on a plain wooden stool wearing a crown, the creature waving a piece of asparagus around in the air as the crowd once again released a hearty cheer. Next to the creature stood a crimson maned mare, writing down scores on a board next to the improvised throne.

Shining deduced that this creature was the one in charge, seeming as there was no trace of Sombra to be found and the crystal ponies all seemed to be in high spirits. His four guards had caught up with him and were staring at the sceptical on stage in shock, a large amount of crystal ponies having made way for the armed group of ponies. Shining began to advance on the creature, intending to stop this treatment of his wife with the four guards following behind him.

He had barely started to move from his spot before ten armoured ponies wielding spears and swords raced in to stand in front of Shining, halting his advance

“Stop right there Equestrian!” a pony with slightly more ornate armour yelled “any further movement will be met with force!”

The crowds’ attention was focused on Shining and his guards, all other activity in the courtyard ceased, the four Pegasi nervously having extended their spears, forming a wall in front of them.

“Drop your weapons at once!” Commanded the Crystal pony officer, a further fifteen guards surrounding the five Equestrians, cutting off any escape via the ground.

Shining examined his chances, his four guards switching their gazes from one Crystal pony guard to the next, un-nerved by the superior numbers surrounding them. The Crystal ponies were wearing heavy armour, made out of crystals, their strength unknown. Every one of them was armed with a spear and sword, every single weapon pointing at the five Equestrians. While Shining wanted to save his wife, who was currently watching the encounter from her position on the stage, forgotten by the crowd, he was still a member of the Equestrian Military and if he attacked it could prompt a war between the two nations.

“Do as he says” Shining said reluctantly, the four guards disengaging the spears from their armour, the Crystal ponies rushing in to retrieve the dropped weapons, leaving the Equestrians defenceless.

“Captain, bring them over here”

Shining looked towards the creature, catching a glimpse of a smile on its face before he and the four guards were corralled towards the throne.

“The Equestrians have given up their weapons Sir, and are here as you ordered” the officer saluted as the group reached the creature

“Thank you Captain” the creature acknowledged, standing up off of its seat “Now, onwards to you, Equestrian” the creature turned to Shining, his face retaining a neutral look “I am Emperor Chalmers and I suspect that the Princess we are… ‘entertaining’ is the reason for your interuption, is that not correct?”

Shining faced the biped stoically “The Princess of Equestria that you are holding prisoner is also my wife, and so as Captain Shining Armour of the Solar Guard representing the country of Equestria I humbly request that she be released with my apologises for any insult she imparted on you”

Shining had dealt with many troublesome foreign dignitaries in the past during his time as Captain of the Guard, and he also knew that threats and demands did not often work in these situations. Shining had noticed that the Emperor appeared to be fairly fit, his muscles while not overly bulging hinted at a possible Military background, a theory that was supported by Shining’s observations about the way he spoke to the Crystal pony Captain, the Emperors tone suggesting command experience. With his prior experiance with dealing with Commanding officers he knew that his best possible chance of success was to conduct himself with caution, this being made easy considering they had been disarmed and surrounded.

“She did not merely insult me, Captain Armour” the Emperor replied “she assaulted one of my citizens in the middle of a market place with no provocation”

Shining winced at this; no doubt Cadence had tried to fight one of the Changelings, her hatred for them surpassing his own after the wedding disaster. Cadence was a Princess but Shining had come to learn that she could be a little… impulsive.

“I would be happy to release her back to you after her punishment is complete; after all, Crystal Empire law dictates that she has to remain in the stocks for a further three hours” spoke The Emperor

Shining looked over towards his wife, Cadence was covered in a layer of gunk and looking down right miserable. Shining was torn, on one hoof she was his wife and love but on the other she had entered a different country and then proceeded to attack one of its citizens for no reason. Three hours did not seem like that much longer to Shining, and this Emperor Chalmers was obviously willing to forgive her once her punishment was over.

Shining looked around him, the four Pegasi were each guarded by three Crystal ponies and the Emperor had seemingly won over the citizens of the Crystal Empire. Another question that was unanswered was what had become of King Sombra? If Cadence and Celestia were correct then he was one of the most powerful and feared unicorns in recorded history, this Emperor must be quite a capable fighter to overcome such a tough adversary.

“I suppose three hours is a small price to pay for the hope of good relations between our two countries… Emperor Chalmers”

The Emperor looked quite content with Shining’s response “Great, Guards” The twenty-five Crystal guards saluted the Emperor “escort the Four Equestrian guard to the barracks and provide them with some quarters, Sergeant Stone I’m going to leave you in charge of them” the Sergeant Saluted his Emperor before he and a squad of guards escorted the Pegasi away “Captain Strategy I would like you to follow me and Captain Shining here to the throne room, I’ve got a friend that I want him to meet”

The Emperor shot his Guard Captain a grin, the Captain sending one back in response. As he followed the Emperor to the throne room, accompanied by the Emperor’s assistant, Captain Strategy and a few Crystal guard Shining couldn’t help but notice that a large amount of apprehension had begun to form in his stomach regarding the conspiratory look the Emperor had shared with Strategy. He had no time to reflect on this as the group entered the palace, heading to the throne room and the surprise that lay within.