Author's Notes:

Well here we are, after a long and tedious pause which I blame the internet for we finally have the next chapter of our glorious emperor out and about. Hope this chapter was worth the wait for you guys.

Also if you have a penny to spare and want to support me through your good will. My Patreon can be find here.

I know allot of people always keep saying just go get a job, but to be honest, its allot easier said then done.

“Oh thank Celestia, finally, a REAL BED!” Cadence announced out loud as she flopped herself onto the oversized bed in a very un-princess like fashion.

She sighed in contentment as she felt heavenly softness and warmth creep into her. Squeezing the pillow under her chin, she smiled. She never knew how much she missed the comforts of a bed. Ever since Cadance and her escorts had left Canterlot almost a week ago, each night of the journey was spent sleeping in basic sleeping bags that couldn’t even compare to proper beds, forget the ones back in the Castle.

This was one of the very few instances where she was glad to be a princess in the first place.

“Suck on it you peasants…oh dear heavens…am I slowly turning into my cousin Blueblood now? Dear Celestia, don’t let all of this luxury corrupt you like it has with him Cadence, you are better than that.” She thought to herself as a group of hoof steps forced her ears to swivel back on instinct.

“I can only agree. Finally being out from the cold and back into a nice warm room is a very welcome change indeed.” Shining Armor commented as he carefully placed his bags on a nearby wall.

He rolled his shoulders and let a sigh of relief escape before properly observing the room around him. The walls and ceiling were made of crystal, just like the rest of the Palace, though in contrast the flooring underneath his hooves were layered with warm and soft carpets. A rather welcome change from the hard and cold crystal flooring outside their room.

It was just him and Cadence in this room, with their two escorts having received their own just across the hall.

Shining hoped those two would at least try and act professional for the remaining time they’d be staying here. He would have never imagined that bisexuals were actually allowed to join the guard in the first place, especially with those two individuals being so open with their feelings for some time now.

Shining might not be in expert in sexuality, but he can proudly say that he’s straight and doesn’t have to deal with such issues like ‘sexual confusion’, unlike his wife.

Being the princess of love had its sacrifices.

Why the hay was he even thinking about such a subject in the first place? He’s a fully grown adult, not a teenager.

Shining shook his head to get his thoughts under control as he went back to observing the room they’d found themselves in, immediately spotting another door at the other end of the room, no doubt leading directly to the private bathroom.

Speaking of bathrooms, nature seemed to suddenly call upon her tribute. He made his way towards said door, or at least he was planning to, until his wife dashed those ideas out of mind as she zipped past and through the door before closing it behind her.

“I’m going to go ahead and go first since you always seem take an eternity whenever you go in,” he heard Cadence muffled voice call out from behind the door.

He just rolled his eyes. “That’s because you mares don’t have to worry about ‘something’ getting in the way when you try to sit down.” He retorted.

He stood there, patiently waiting for her to be done, when he eventually heard a flushing sound before the door opened to reveal a satisfied looking Cadence exiting the bathroom.

Making sure she noticed him rolling his eyes, he stepped in, closing the door behind him before allowing nature to do the rest.

Cadence, on the other hoof, immediately went back to bed for some relaxations. She sighed as her fur was once again kissed by the sheer softness of the silken covers as she laid spread-eagle, and allowed her wings to lay flat against her side. Decency be damned, this was her private time.

Her thoughts immediately turned back to the encounter they just had, or more specifically everything they had learned after finally reaching the Crystal Empire. The Crystal Ponies’ dislike towards Equestria, their now obviously focused military policies, and their new Emperor in general.

“Who is he and where did he come from? I thought that Sombra mercilessly slaughtered every crystal unicorn during his reign. Does this mean he didn’t manage to kill them all like it was believed? And why are the crystal ponies so distrusting of outsiders now, especially towards equestrians. Aunt Celestia never mentioned this kind of hostility before, so what changed?. Did I miss something,, or was everything that we previously knew actually wrong in the first place? Ugh…so many questions, and not a single answer.” Cadence thought to herself. She gave out one final groan for not getting anything out of thinking besides a pretty respectable headache.

“This whole thing has turned into a disaster,” she muttered into the pillow as frustration settled in, but saying that she was one hundred percent against her situation would be a lie.

She felt somewhat glad that she didn’t have to rule her own country so very soon. She might had been prepared for that very moment all of her life, but she just felt that for some reason she wasn’t ready yet, so having someone beat her to the punch was more or less a breath of relief, especially adding the fact that the ponies here weren’t tolerating her in the first place, which only made her more thankful that she found herself a pretty good excuse for not leading her own nation.

This would be disappointing for her aunt surely, but hey, not everything can possibly work as intended, now can it?

“But then…it just made the whole trip and preparation pretty much pointless in the grand scheme of things…that’s just fantastic,” she muttered into one of the oversized pillows.

The bathroom door suddenly opened, causing her ears to perk up as she rolled herself over to a more presentable position as Shining stepped back out.

Shining spotted her and smiled before making his way to his saddlebags to look them over. “So, how’s the bed Cadence? I’m pretty sure you’re going to be taking the side closest to the bathroom door if I know you correctly.” Shining questioned her with a light chuckle as he pulled out a book, along with a quill and an inkpot from his saddle-bags.

Cadence gave him a glare before giving off a light chuckle of her own, giving both the pillow, bedsheet, and blanket underneath her more testing rubs and nudges with satisfying results.

“Superbly comfortable, not as familiar as our own bed back in Canterlot but still very much above average. You can almost feel yourself getting drowsy just being near it... or that could just be my exhaustion talking,” Cadence happily answered, a yawn managing to get out.

She was in fact feeling quite drowsy, the bed currently doing her no favors.

Shining could only agree to that as he closed up his bags before making his way over to the writing desk on the other corner of the room, next to the main window overlooking the northern part of the city, the crystal mountains proudly presenting themselves in the distance.

Cadence followed him with her gaze as she watched him begin writing in the book with the quill gently balanced in his magical grasp.

“Uh…sweetie, what are you doing?” Cadence asked curiously as she sat up.

“Well, I’m writing and documenting everything that’s happened to us so far, and what we’ve learned today since arriving. Besides telling the princess what exactly we’ve learned here today, I think it would be better to keep a written copy of it all as well,” Shining explained, his gaze never leaving the book.

“Besides, Twilight’s likely curious to know where we’ve been and what we’ve been doing, not including what we’ve found out. Creating a written documentation on everything so far would definitely put a smile on her face, especially since it involves the world outside of Equestria.” Shining quickly added with a chuckle accompanied by Cadence at the mention of her husband’s adorkable little sister.

Ah yes, Twilight, she couldn’t believe how quickly the years just seemed to go by, and in just how far the little purple unicorn had come since she first started babysitting her.

Beginning as a very energetic, but otherwise shy and knowledge hungry little filly, to becoming a symbol of Equestria’s very peace and harmony itself.

“They really grow up fast these days, don’t they? Change in such a short amount of time. Funny, I guess the same thing could pretty much be said about me too,” Cadence thought to herself before the very mention of ‘change’ brought her back to the reality of their current situation, and the fact that they were basically guests in a country previously ruled by a tyrannical maniac.

Her thoughts once again wandered back towards the very stallion who allegedly brought an end to all of this, not just Sombra in general, but also both her and Shining’s goal.

The Crystal Empire's new Emperor.

“Hey uhm…Shining?” Cadence called out trying to get his attention. He turned his head to look over his shoulder.

“Yeah, what is it?”

“How…what are your thoughts on the new Emperor?” She asked, making Shining fully turn himself toward her on the wooden swivel chair he was seated on.

“To be honest, I don’t really trust this guy one bit,” He frowned, “For some reason, this stallion just smelled like trouble the very moment one of the crystal guards mentioned him when we were escorted towards the palace. Call it a gut feeling.” Shining answered truthfully as he laid the quill down onto the table behind him.

Cadence simply nodded as Shining went on. “And, to add more, that feeling towards this ‘emperor’ only grew when one of those lieutenants actually showed us what was allegedly left of King Sombra. Nothing, but the burned and melted remains of his crown, which can only let you imagine just how brutal that spell must have been when he used it against the mad king in the first place. A type of spell that’s forbidden back at home. It shows that, whoever this pony is, he is very capable of both killing and destroying, and possibly motivated to do some…questionable things. An individual almost identical to Sombra himself. If that doesn’t ring any alarms then I don’t know what will.”

Cadence had to admit that Shining was raising some interesting points there, but at the same time, both of them really didn’t know anything about him in the first place. Cadence did have to recognize that different countries did have different traditions, cultures, and ways of how they personally handled situations compared to others, especially a civilization a thousand years behind.

What might seem evil and wrong for one might be perfectly reasonable and just for another. Something her aunt reminded her of countless times whenever she taught her about politics.

But then again, that way of thinking was hard to apply if your own country was being threatened by such an evil, in which case taking actions towards it were common.

But overall, Cadence could both agree and disagree with him at the same time, simply because they knew next to nothing about him, who he is, where he’s from, what his motives are and so on. It would be like actually judging a book by its cover. That was something her aunt always used to remind her to do.

Always have the benefit of the doubt, even if the individual seems harsh on the outside. Plus, the Crystal ponies in general seem to really like and follow their new leader’s ideology and methods, so how bad could he really be?

“I don’t think we should really jump to conclusions just yet Shining, the crystal empire has just gotten rid of their previous ruler and begun their recovery under the rule of a new one. Obviously things will be a bit questionable at first, but really, who are we to judge? This is a different country after all, and the one thousand year loss of time and innovation isn’t doing them any favors. Let’s just start by looking into this deeper and giving them some time, something I am sure Princess Celestia would easily agree with.” Cadence explained her thoughts as she shifted herself to the edge of the bed.

Shining was about to reply, but the words and thoughts of his wife eventually settled themselves in his mind and he found himself nodding in agreement.

“I guess you're right there Cadence, we should take a deeper look into things first before coming to any final conclusion. I guess I’m just as exhausted of this trip as you, especially since it turned out completely useless in the end.” Shining responded with a sigh as he rubbed his forehead.

Cadence smiled as she hopped off from the bed and gave her husband a comforting kiss on the cheek. Shining smiled as they shared a quiet moment with one another. It was broken when Cadence suddenly sported a dreamy look that Shining could only tilt his head at.

“Oh by Celestia, his voice, his hind legs melting voice.” She suddenly said in a rather dreamy sounding tone, Shining scoffing at her comment all the while.

“Pfff, he’s not really that special. I still don’t think he can be trusted.” He retorted with a frown while looking off to the side. Cadence could only smirk at her husband’s actions.

“What is this? Are you jealous that a stallion looks and sounds much more attractive than you do?” She teased with a devious grin, causing Shining’s frown to deepen.

“Me? Jealous? Ha, what a joke, I’m not jealous of a stallion who looks more like a mare.” He retorted.

“Well in that case, why don’t you give it a try yourself, a bit of makeup would look good on you I’m sure.” She countered back with a small giggle.Shining simply glared at her for it.

“Don’t even start with that. The last time I let both you and Twilly touch my face I ended up looking like a clown in front of all of my fellow guard ponies. They called me mister circus for a whole month.” He commented with a wince remembering that particular memory a few years back.

Cadence again simply laughed at this before turning herself around and making her way towards the front door of their room. Shining noticed this as he followed her with a gaze from where he sat, a questionable eyebrow raised at her as she place her hoof on the door handle.

“And where in Luna’s name are you going?” Shining question which caused Cadence to pause and to look over her shoulder to him.

“Well I am going to have a DEEPER look into things as I suggested earlier, get a feel on their new ruler and find out more about the crystal ponies’ history and overall culture.” She answered which gave shining a deadpan look.

“I hope your idea of ‘Getting a Feel’ isn’t going involve anything regarding your cutie mark and overall status.” He question which made Cadence simply roll her eyes with a smile and chuckle at the end.

“Yeah as if I am actually going to start molesting a ruler of a nation that really doesn’t like us and who has to power to disintegrate a pony with one hit.” She answered with a shake of her head before opening the door and stepping out into the halls beyond it.

“I still think this pony smells trouble regardless.” Shining thought to himself as he went back in writing his reports within his diary like book on the desk.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The emperor was patiently sitting on his chair on the end of a long dining table while sipping his tea in a rather peaceful and quiet environment.

He was guessing the festivities were still going strong outside, which he wouldn’t know since the royal dining area was located deep within the hearth of the Palace itself with the glass windows only reaching out into other rooms and hallways beyond it instead of directly leading outside.

A few servants and maids were on standby beside him in case he would order or request something, with Ruby quill actually being one of them as she sat on her own table right next to the emperor’s side with a basic sandwich on her plate with her own cup of tea.

One of the guard stationed on the closed main entrance into the dining hall suddenly approached them. He saluted which caught the emperor’s attention as he raised his eyebrow at him.

The guard took this as his que to speak. “Your highness, Sir Cid Hammers has arrived as you requested and awaits permission to enter through.” The guard reported.

“Let him in.” He casually replied in which the stallion nods and saluted.

He gave a hoof signal over to his comrades stationed at the door in which they nodded before unlocking and opening the doors revealing a brown coated and blond maned stallion on the other side, not super well-dressed which is a bit uncommon for nobles, with a curly mustache and a goatee on his muzzle.

The Emperor didn’t even knew that equines could even grow beards or mustaches in the first place, but apparently they can.

The one mentioned gave a small respective bow the moment he stood in front of him before also addressing miss Ruby Quill with a friendly nod.

“As requested I have come to see what your highness has planned to discuss with me.” He greeted.

The emperor acknowledges this with a wave of his hoof before offering the noble to take a seat opposite from Ruby, which the brown stallion gladly accepted.

Once everything was in order the emperor decided that discussions could start but not before quickly checking that all the previously attending servants were escorted out and that all of the entrances were closed and guarded.

For now the emperor wants whatever is being suggested and discussed here today to stay perfectly private and secret to the public, especially the four equestrians currently staying as guests within the Palace.

“Sir Cid hammers I presume?” The emperor started with an aimed gesture towards the mentioned stallion in which he received a nod for confirmation.

The emperor continued by giving his assistant beside him a sideways glance followed by a hoof gesture which she immediately understood as she quickly reached down under the table before re-emerging and laying down a pile of blue colored scrolls onto the table in between these two.

The newly introduced Cid raised his eyebrow at them before curiously peeking one up and unwrapping it in front of him. What he immediately saw made his eyes go wide which caused the emperor to smile a bit.

“These are diagrams and plans for tech and machines I am sure would greatly increase the military capacity, economic growth and greatly push forwards the rebuilding effort and constructions for the whole of the Empire. Also including new weapon designs, armour designs and also recipes for the creation of certain new material types I am sure haven’t been discovered in this world just yet, and since you are both the head blacksmith, machinist and local crazy inventor I am sure that you could understand and make good use of all of these plans, diagrams and formulas that I have drawn and wrote up last night. These plans are yours if you can follow them and make general use of them for further future improvements or new inventions.” The emperor explained casually while ignoring the increasingly dumbfounded look the stallion in question was sporting with every passing second.

Cid immediately discarded the diagrams he was currently holding before grabbing another and gaping at it just as much as with the first one, then another, and then another, before he basically skimmed through most of them and eventually turning his gaze back to the monarch who supposedly drew, wrote and designed all of them in a single night.

“By all respect Sir…but…you drew and designed all of these? In a single night?” Cid question fully stunt in which the emperor gave away a small nod.

“For starters it took THE WHOLE night, I didn’t really haven’t much sleep, nor do I generally require much sleep to begin with. But yes all of these are firmly from my own design and concepts. I really had the very best education available during my youth from where I am from.” He answered calmly while leaning himself back against his chair.

‘Well except for the formulas of mixed metals, and the fact that most of these designed are concepts I already came up with back in my own world during my conquests. Thought the nature of death came in the way before I could even fully implement all of them all into reality. But he doesn’t need to know that.’ He thought to himself as he crossed his hind legs under the table.

Cid took a few moment to let all of this sink in properly as he went back reviewing some of the plans and designs he found to be the most fascinating. I mean really, flying ships, walking machines with magical death laser mounting in front of them, mechanical drills for deep ground mining operations and so on. They were even some revolutionary new weapon designs and concepts and even further improvements on the already very complex and highly effective crystal guard armor.

His favorite being the diagrams of flying ships and other such airborne contraption.

To him all of this was worth gold…not, not even that it was worth diamonds…no scratch that too, this was all PRICELESS.

Cid was basically looking at a whole MILLENNIA of scientific and mechanical archive, all done in a single night. Absolutely maddening for him. And even more brain turning, it was all his, all his to look at, to study, to build, to replica, to improve. Sure some of these formulas and writing are very complex looking and somewhat hard to understand even for him, but with some time and study he will sure crack their codes and perfectly replicate they as if they were his own.

All of this basically hoofed to him for free, with the only price for it being “make them a reality”. He would be a fool to say no to such a one of a lifetime opportunity…heck multiple life times if he had to guess.

“I…I will immediately go right on to them Sire. The more complex ones obviously will take some time, material and workforce of course. But the simpler once like new weapon designs, armor designs, and overall metal recipes will be easy and quick to do in no time.” Cid responded while looking at the emperor’s direction.

“Well go ahead then, if you need any more funds then don’t be afraid to ask. The treasuries are filled to the brim as we speak.” Mateus casually added.

“Thanks sire.” He replied with a bow.

He quickly went by in collection the easiest to achieve plans before making his leave.

Mateus on the other hand simply sat there. Contemplating if what he was being too rash with his plans and ideas to develop this nation quickly.

He immediately scoffed at that idea. Since he didn’t really had much of sleep last night due to the situation and his inner demons keeping him up, he spend most of last night doing research on this new land and everything else that surrounds it. Both historically and geographically, and according to some of the records he managed to find in the Palace library, the crystal empire might possess the most vulnerable position he has ever seen.

No natural borders besides the Crystal Mountains to the north, no natural coastlines, no rivers or hills, no thick woodland or marsh area nearby, just absolutely nothing. Just a wide open snowy plain with some snow worms sprinkled here and there.

Besides those vermin’s the entire location the city sits on is just exposed from almost all sides, and to add insults to injury the city doesn’t even have any defensive walls or structures surrounding it, making it the most inviting sight for any army or raider who lays eyes on it. Especially with all the natural riches the city possesses in terms of gems and magical crystals.

This needs to be fixed as fast as possible.

“Would you like some more tea your highness?” A servant next to him questioned which brought his train of thought and reasoning.

He looked down at his empty teacup before casually waving the servant off with a hoof.

“No, the time for loitering is over. There is a lot of work ahead of us which means no more further delights. Time to get back to work.” He commanded before getting up from his seat and making his way out of the dining hall.

Today is the beginning of a new improved Crystal Empire that is exactly what Mateus envisions for it.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Cadance is still amazed at the sheer livelihood that these Crystal ponies are around her.

You would think that a Tyrant like Sombra would leave some heavy scars on the mind and spirits of ponies but it in this case its seems to be rather the complete opposite. Crystal ponies all around her were hard at work, repairing buildings, cleaning up the streets, selling and buying stuff at the markets and businesses doing their best to attend to their customers.

She even managed to find a group of foals just happily running about in the streets and minding their own imaginary business.

It’s almost hard to believe that Sombra used to be the king of this nation just a few days ago when looking at the activity that was happening all around her.

Either these crystal ponies just don’t care or they are just more able to deal with Trauma in comparison to their Equestrian cousins. Either way Cadence didn’t care as she was just happy to see these crystal ponies working hard in repairing the damage that King Sombra had left for them.

“It’s really good to see these ponies engage in normal day to day affairs. Its shows just how dedicated they are in trying to regain what has been lost to them and make do of what they still have. It’s quite uplifting to see to be honest.” Cadence thought to herself with a smile as she continued her stroll through the crystalline streets of the Crystal city.

Besides being surprised at the dedicated nature of these crystal ponies the city itself was also a marvel to behold thanks to its unique crystal focused architecture, even though most of the buildings around her were either damaged or in poor maintenance. Just imagine how the city would shine when all is fixed and done at the end.

Cadence would love to see that, epically since she had fallen in love with its architecture already. It’s just too she won’t find much appreciations for it since she got already beaten by a mysterious crystal unicorn who these ponies already accepted as their new Emperor.

She would be lying to herself if she told herself that she wasn’t feeling just a little bit jealous and also a bit frustrated towards the stallion, but then again it’s really nothing she can do about it.

“And here I thought I was going to be next heir to the throne, especially when looking at my cutie mark. Was auntie maybe wrong with her prediction of my lineage?” Cadence muttered to herself quietly as she stopped in front of the market Plaza to observe the ongoing activity in front of her.

She couldn’t resist to smile when she spotted a little colt happily helping his mother tend to some customers in front of their stall.

“Someone…please help…I can’t hold this up myself.” A stallion close by shouted which immediately got her attention.

Cadence quickly noticed what these help cries were for a crystal pony was trying to prevent a bunch of crates from falling off from a wagon all by himself, and by the obvious expression the stallion was making he wasn’t able to keep them all up for much long, add to that, if his strength does fail he will be buried deep under a pile of heavily loaded crates that would most likely result in some broken bones or even worse.

Cadence helpful nature immediately kicked in as she rushed towards the struggling stallion.

“Hold on, I can use my magic to help.” Cadence shouted as she swiftly powered up her horn and reached out with her magic towards the slowly buckling load above the stallion.

With her strong magical grasp around the heavy wooden boxes the stallion finally had a moment of relief as much of the weight was lifted of his shoulders. Immediately a group of Crystal ponies came in to assist and together they all managed to safely place and stack the crates on top of the wagon.

The Stallion was exhausted but otherwise relieved and ok. The stallion immediately switched his gaze over to Cadence the moment he had his fair share of air.

He smiled at her. “Thank you so much for your help there miss. Without it I would most likely lying flat on the ground with these bastard crates on top of me.” He thanks her which in turn made her smile and nod in confirmation.

“It was nothing really, I was glad to help.” She replied feeling a sense of accomplishment wash over her.

He just nods before noticing something peculiar about her. ”I…don’t want to be rude or anything but…judging by your more natural looks you are not from around here are you?” The stallion questioned curiously which was quickly shared by all the other crystal ponies nearby the moment he pointed it out.

Cadence smile swiftly changed into a nervous grin when the sense of central attention suddenly bombarded her from all sides, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable and awkward.

“Well…yes…yes I am in fact from someplace else.” She replied while rubbing the back of her head. “Equestria to be honest.” She hesitantly added, remembering the last reaction she got when it was clear that she and her companions hailed from the far south.

The stallion looked to be surprised at first before becoming rather intrigued instead. “Equestria huh, that is one very long trek if you ask me. Especially at hoof. What exactly bring you all the way up here to the north anyway? I thought normal ponies aren’t really made for the harsh climates of the north.” The stallion asked.

Cadence was rather surprised to hear him ask that. She was sure that her origin might ignite some old grudge like it did yesterday but then again it seems that not all the citizens of the crystal empire have ill feelings about Equestria or at least don’t care much about Equestria in general.

Which isn’t that random now that she thought about it, these ponies really have more pressing matters to worry about after all. Like trying get everything rebuild and established that Sombra during his reign completely destroyed or disregarded completely.

Sure there are still a lot of ponies that have now suspicious feelings towards equestrian’s if the few looks of the other ponies around her was anything to go by. But it at least makes her glad to know that there are at least some of these citizens that have a more curious outlook towards her rather than spite.

One thing's for certain, Equestria has a lot of political support to give if her auntie’s nation ever hopes in rebuilding relationships with their crystalline cousins.

“Well…just an expedition trip.” Cadence lied as she knew telling them the real reason might be fruitless at this point or even in the worst case scenario could backfire on her greatly. So it is better to be safe than sorry and just look and sound as neutral as possible to them.

“We heard that a new nations has suddenly spring up in the snowy plains and mountains of the north. So we were send up here to investigate and see if these claims were true or not. By the looks of it they obviously were.” She explained to them and trying to look as natural as possible. Such where the skills required as a princess and a high political figure, being good in acting.

Thankfully this act seemed to be paying off for her as the Stallion just nods before being quickly interrupted by another crystal pony behind him.

“I don’t want to cut this conversation short. But we still have to deliver these tools and equipments to the rebuilding sites in the north district of the city. Our Boss is paying us in time rather than actually getting the items where they are expected at.” The new pony behind him explained which in turn caused the stallion's eyes to widen.

“By the Gods you are right, I totally forgot about that.” He exclaimed before quickly looking back at Cadence with an apologetic looks. “Sorry miss, but I just got remembered that I still have a Job to do here. Hope you enjoy your stay in the city.” He dismissed himself.

“That is fine, we all have our jobs to do after all.” Cadence replied kindly.

The stallion strapped himself onto the cart before navigating himself out of the market and out of sight.

Cadence just sighed. “Well, that was nice I guess. But all of that heavy lifting from earlier has basically made me tired. I guess it’s time to just head back to the Palace and relax for the remainder of the day and maybe even push shining buttons while doing so.” Cadence mused to herself.

With a self-nod and a devious smile on her muzzle regarding bottoms she casually made her way back to the Crystal Palace at the hearth of the city.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Far off from the city limits, out beyond the snowy dunes and within a dark secluded cave, a pair of eyes were looking out towards sparkling silhouette of the city with a mix of both wonder, intrigue and also with a lot of hunger and hope.