Shining Armour followed Emperor Chalmers and the Captain into the palace, the unicorn gazing around in awe at the beauty of the surrounding crystals that made up the walls. As the group ascended a magnific staircase Shining admired the Gems studded along it, the jewels bathing the room in a soft, warm light. At the top of the stairs the group was greeted by two more Crystal Guards who proceeded to open the large wooden doors, revealing a spacious throne room, much larger than the one in Canterlot.

The group proceeded into the room, Emperor Chalmers leading the way out in front. Shining’s view in front of him was obscured by the Guards in front of him, only being able to see the Emperor because of the biped’s height. The ponies in front of Shining halted, the Emperor sitting down on the throne

“Thank you Guards that will be all” The guards parted at the Emperor’s command, splitting off to stand at either side of the room, leaving Shining with a perfect view of what lay at the Emperor’s feet.

It was Sombra, or at least what used to be Sombra. The former King had been gutted and skinned; the once fearsome unicorn turned into nothing more than a morbid decoration. Shining gulped as he examined the corpse, the top of Sombra’s head had been cracked by some kind of blunt force trauma and later stitched back up, only adding to his fearsome appearance. His mouth was agape revealing un-pony like teeth and fangs, his face locked in an eternal roar.

“I see you’ve met Sombra, he’s not as talkative as he used to be I’m afraid, table legs applied repeatedly to the head aren’t a great vocal aid”

‘A table leg?’

Shining had not expected Sombra to be dead, the evil tyrant from what he had been told was a terrifyingly strong magic user, his favoured attacks being Dark-magic based. This Emperor must either have been incredibly lucky or incredibly skilled to have been able to defeat such an opponent. Shining decided that he would have to find out more information about the mysterious biped; the safety of Equestria may be threatened by his presence. Shining willed himself to swallow his nervousness as he looked at the Emperor

“I have to say, finding out that Sombra is dead is a surprise”

“Why is that?” The Emperor Answered “He seemed like a complete Toss, I’m sure that if I hadn’t killed him someone else would’ve”

Shining was a little taken aback at how dismissive the Emperor was regarding Sombra’s death, had the Crystal ponies traded for something much worse? Looking back on what he had seen so-far however Shining doubted this, at least for the Crystal ponies’ sake. The Emperor seemed to be adored by the populace, and the guards seemed fiercely loyal to him. The fact that he had defeated Sombra was most likely the cause for this, reasoned Shining, as from what he had heard of the Tyrant life under his rule was not great.

Another matter of concern was the Changelings, the one from the courtyard, ‘Reflection’ if he had heard correctly having just walked in the room, shooting Shining a warning glare before she sat on a pillow by the Emperor’s side. While the Changelings living with Crystal ponies worried Shining, his experiences with the black-shape shifters incredibly un-pleasant he could see an upside. If Emperor Chalmers and the Crystal ponies were willing to live alongside the Changelings then it could mean the end of the Changeling threat to Equestria for good. Celestia had decreed that any Changeling found in the country was to be evicted into the Badlands, the in-hospitable area essentially a death-sentence, causing many to just repeatedly try to re-enter the country.

The Royal guard still kept on finding Changelings in cities and towns, the remnants of Chrysalis’s Hive splitting up all over the country. Nopony knew the fate of the Queen, the many Changelings that had been interrogated not knowing, merely saying that she had not made any attempts to re-connect the shattered remains of the Hive. Maybe this Emperor Chalmers was willing to work out a deal with Equestria, helping to repair the troubled start the two countries had gotten off to. Shining thought about Cadence, guilt threatening to over-come him at the fact that he did not try harder to help her. He could only console himself that while the punishment was embarrassing she was un-likely to suffer any physical harm, and maybe it would teach her to not to rashly attack the citizens of other empires.

“Are you okay there Captain Armour, you appear a little dazed” Shining was pulled from his musings by the sound of the Emperor’s voice

“Yes Emperor Chalmers, I was just considering a possible agreement that we could make between our two countries, a mutual beneficial one of course”

The Emperor leaned forward in his throne intrigued “Really Captain Armour, and If I may ask do you have the authority to make such agreements?”

“I would have to okay it with Princess Celestia first, but I believe that she would agree to it”

The Emperor stared at Shining for what seemed like eternity, the unicorn stallion beginning to sweat underneath his cloak before the Emperor broke the stare with a smile growing on his face

“Very well Captain Armour, despite the circumstances you have remained very civil, and I admire that. I will hear you out on your idea but first can I offer you some refreshment, the Crystal ponies have some absolutely wonderful recipes involving Crystal berries and a well-reviewed chef recently came into my employment. I have always found that good food always lightens up tedious discussions regarding politics”

Shining’s stomach grumbled loudly at the mention of food, Cadence having driven him and his troops forward with gusto, seemingly forgetting that not all ponies had the endurance of Alicorns. The Emperor let out a small chuckle at the sound

“I’ll take that as a yes then” He rose from his throne “Come along then Captain Armour, I’m sure we have much to discuss. Would you like to join us Sparkling?” Shining looked over towards the Emperor’s assistant, the mare nodding

“I will, thank you Sir, I haven’t eaten since breakfast with all of the drama”

“Great” replied the Emperor, turning his attention to the Changeling “How about you Reflection? I know that you do not need to consume food but I would appreciate it if you would come along, you do have the most knowledge about Equestria after all”

The Changeling shot another glare at Shining, before turning towards Emperor Chalmers

“I suppose that you make a good point, however I won’t enjoy being in the presence of anybody who can stand that Pink Piece of-“

“Reflection” The Emperor cut the Changeling off, his voice forceful “Co-operation requires tolerance on both sides, I’m sure Captain Armour here will refrain from making any… un-needed comments”

‘Wow’ thought Shining as he moved to follow the Emperor ‘I wonder what Cadence said that caused the Changeling to react like that, I wonder why the Emperor didn’t mention it before’

Shining continued to dwell on this as they left the throne room, a messenger already on the way to alert the chef.

__________________________________________________________________________

“So I find that classical is probably my favourite type, although I do enjoy the majority of musical styles”

Shining nodded as he levitated another spoonful of meringue into his mouth, the Crystal berries adorning it showering his mouth with flavour while the Emperor continued taking. The food was great, the chef obviously talented and Shining had to admit that the conversation was quite good as well. He had been surprised at the Emperor’s attitude, Chalmers’s stony demeanour dropping as the meal had progressed and he had talked vividly about his musical and culinary tastes, some goals that he had set regarding his citizens as well as the beauty of the design of the Palace. He had seemed especially proud when he had mentioned the fast rate at which his subjects had welcomed the Changelings, the human admitting that his own Empire would not have been as fast to incorporate new creatures.

Shining had been unable to get any information regarding the Emperor’s past, Chalmers keeping almost all of the facts to himself. Still, even though no additional information regarding what threat the biped posed had surfaced, Shining quickly found himself discussing his own taste in art and recreational activities as well as laughing along with the Emperor’s jokes.

“So Emperor” began Shining “I do have to admit that you have quite a talented chef, this meringue is amazing”

“Drop the title Shining, just call me Nigel, you’ve proved to be a worthy conversationalist and I enjoy informality most of the time, after all having everyone constantly calling you ‘Emperor’ ‘Your Majesty’ and ‘Commander’ all the time gets stale”

“I second that Nigel” Shining agreed as his spoon once again delved into the meringue before raising itself up again, a large load of dessert lifting with it “I can’t stand having to interact with the nobility all day, they're all a bunch of useless snobs in my opinion”

Nigel began to laugh at Shining’s statement, his own spoonful of meringue prepped and ready. Sparkling Scroll, Nigel’s assistant had declined dessert, settling for a simple sandwich while the Changeling had merely sat at the table, and Shining had noticed that she kept on stealing glances at Nigel when he wasn’t looking. Shining was about to ask her about what exactly it was that Cadence had said, his spoonful of dessert moving towards his mouth before the doors opened and the pink alicorn in question burst into the room, four Crystal guards around her.

Cadence was still covered in a layer of slime, the large tomato still stuck on her horn. She caught sight of Shining sitting at the table about to stuff his mouth full of food. The Stallion yelped in surprise, the spoonful of meringue dropping onto his lap as she fixed him with a glare.

“Shining!” she yelled “You were in here stuffing your face while I was outside in the stocks, what in Tartarus do you think you’re doing!?”

Shining was lost for words, staring at his wife in shock, had it really been three hours? He must have lost track of time during the conversation and it was now coming back to bite him in the flank.

“Actually Cadence, I was just in the middle of discussing an important political matter with Shining here” the Emperor turned to Shining, giving him a wink “so Shining, if you’d please continue where we left off, I was really interested in your proposal”

Shining had never been so thankful to anypony in his life, Nigel no doubt having just saved his hide.

Shining shuddered internally, what Nigel did to Sombra could not possible compare to what Cadence would have done if the Emperor had not intervened. He quickly recalled the idea that he had, glancing over at Cadence who was clearing her face with a towel provided by a Palace servant, the Crystal mare also having removed the tomato from Cadence’s horn

“Well, as I was saying Emperor” Shining decided that calling the Emperor by his first name in front of his irate wife was not a bright idea “As you know, the Crystal ponies have become used to living with Changelings” At this Reflection, who had been grinning smugly at Cadence as she cleaned up, turned to face him, a scowl once again crossing her features, no doubt preparing for criticism from Shining “and Equestria is currently going through a crisis involving them” Shining once again glanced at the Changeling, her scowl having deepened . Shining cleared his throat nervously

“After the failed invasion on Canterlot” he continued “the Princesses decreed that all Changelings were to be banished to the Equestrian Badlands, a true wasteland, in the hopes that none would remain in the country. However, they keep on coming back and more are found everyday hiding amongst the populace. There are rumours abounding that the nobility, especially Prince Blueblood have been pushing Princess Celestia to simply execute any Changeling caught”

Nigel’s faced soured at the mention of Blueblood, Shining not having been too flattering regarding the Prince’s character. The Changeling had a look of concern on her face and while Shining still did not care much for the insects he could understand how such news could be a shock to her.

“What I’m preposing is that since your Subjects seem quite Changeling-friendly a possible exchange could be worked out, for instance if you take any Changelings found on Equestrian soil and ensure that they do not return I’m sure Princess Celestia would be most grateful and would no-doubt offer compensation of some form.”

Nigel seemed to be pondering Shining’s idea with a slight smile on his face, the Changeling beside him looking at him pleadingly

“It’s quite a good idea Shining, I have to admit that it is quite temping, I’m sure that we can figure something ou-“

“SHINING, ARE YOU BUCKING INSANE!”

Cadence’s outburst cut off Nigel, the Princess glaring at Shining with fire in her eyes

“THOSE CREATURES RUINED OUR WEDDING AND YOU WANT TO SAVE THEM!?”

Cadence began to move closer to him, pointing a hoof towards the Changeling seated at the table, Reflection’s ears having risen and the Changeling seemingly fuming with rage

“LOOK AT THE WAY THAT ONE THERE ACTS TOWARDS US, HOW CAN WE TRUST THOSE DISGUSTING MONSTERS!?”

“THAT’S IT!” Reflection yelled, pouncing on the surprised Princess, the Changeling using her wings to propel herself from her seat before the guards could intervene. She landed on top of Cadence, throwing the Alicorn to the ground before beginning to pummel the Princess’s face with her hooves. She landed some telling blows, drawing blood from the surprised Princess as the guards tried to restrain her, the frantic Changeling refusing to halt her attack. Suddenly she was lifted off of the bleeding alicorn by the Emperor himself, Nigel hugging her back to his chest, Reflection’s hooves unable to reach him.

“GUARDS!” Nigel yelled over Reflection, the Changeling letting out a torrent of curse words directed at Cadence “ESCORT THE EQUESTRIANS TO THE EDGE OF THE CITY, GRAB THEIR GUARDS ALONG THE WAY, I WILL MEET YOU THERE SHORTLY!”

The Crystal guards obeyed without hesitation, shoving Shining out of the room with two picking up Cadence before leaving as well. Nigel waited until they had gone and the doors had closed before he attempted to calm down the still-thrashing Changeling

“Reflection” he stated, the Changeling paying no heed “Reflection!” he said more forcefully, once again having no effect. Nigel Quickly disengaged on hand and grabbed Shining’s half eaten bowl of dessert before shoving it into Reflection’s face. This had the desired effect, the Changeling ceasing her struggling as she sought to figure out what had happened. Nigel dropped her to the floor, Reflection coughing up some of the meringue-berry mix, her face covered in white goo. Nigel crouched down in-front of her, Reflection upon recovering from her coughing fit looking up at him in defiance. Two guards had remained in the room, their faces covered in shock because of the scene they had witnessed, Nigel faced them

“You two, watch her and stop her from leaving the room” the guards broke their trance and hurriedly acknowledged his order while Nigel turned to address Reflection “As for you, when I’m done with the Equestrians we are going to have a talk about you behaviour issues” Nigel turned around and left the room without looking back, leaving behind Reflection and the two guards, the Changeling having sat down, lowering her head in shame.

__________________________________________________________________________________

The Crystal guards shoved Shining and Cadence through the edge of the barrier, the four Pegasi guards merely being allowed to follow through peacfully, they having not been present at the time of the incident. The Emperor was looking at Cadence, his face flushed with anger

“I expected you to learn your lesson Princess, I guess I was wrong” Cadence looked back at him with hate in her eyes, drops of blood leaking from her muzzle which was stained red with the same fluid “I have no choice but to banish you from the Crystal Empire until you improve your attitude, as of now I don’t believe that you are fit to walk among its citizens” Cadence didn’t reply, merely continuing to glare at him. Nigel turned to Shining Armour

“It was a shame it had to end like this Shining, I would like to let you know that you still are able to visit, and I’m still perceptive towards your offer. Inform you Princess that I am willing to enter negotiations, until then take your wife away from here, she is no-longer welcome”

Shining bowed his head in defeat before trudging off into the snow, the guards following with Cadence shooting one last venomous look at the Emperor before she too turned around and departed. Nigel began to walk back to the Palace with his guards, preparing himself for the confrontation with Reflection.