9 Years after Exile
Crystal Empire Citadel
POV: Princess Cadence

Princess Cadence sat on the crystal throne, slumped over like a teenage colt. Heavy bags hung below her eyes, and several cups of coffee sat by her. In front of her, a table was stretched out, covered in reports, inventory stocks, and other bits of paper. A massive pile of the papers already sat over on one side, while she absently flashed several quills over the remaining reports, examining and signing all of them off.

Even after several years of this state, she still hadn't completely gotten used to it. With all the extra security in place to prevent infiltration, a lot of paperwork was required and more things to keep things running smoothly. Honestly, she didn't even know where all the paper came from.

After looking over the report from one of the makeshift farms that had sprung up around the city, she decided she needed a break. She slid off the throne, groaning lightly from lack of sleep. She walked over to the balcony that overlooked the city, sighing as she looked over the city.

The actual city itself hadn't changed all too much in the past three years. The same shops, the same streets, the same ponies. However, just beyond the borders of the city, as well as in the several small parks that dotted the city, refugee camps had been set up. A sea of tents covered each of these areas, forming a ring around the city almost to the edge of the shield. Over fifteen thousand ponies resided in these camps, combining with the crystal ponies to put that number up to twenty-two thousand. The conditions were horrible, but it was the best they could do, and they were starting to get more permanent structures in place.

Beyond that ring, was a small ring of farms. Some of the ponies who had managed to get to the empire had brought seeds or small plants with them; one of the apples from Appleoosa even brought a whole apple tree. Dozens of square yards of small farms had been set up. Ponies tended to them constantly, as this was the primary source of food they had left. Beets, cherries, carrots, celery, grass for hay; anything an everything they could get their hooves on. It was enough; not ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but enough for now.

As she contemplated further, she heard the door open behind her. Turning, she saw Shining enter along with his second in command, newly promoted 2nd Lieutenant Flash Sentry. He said, "Hey, Caddy. Me and Flash are back from the wall." As he got up next to her, he asked, "Everything ok, Caddy?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, Shining," she said as she looked at the aforementioned structure. A wall of heavy stone blocks, wood, and compacted dirt that completely surrounded the empire, right up to the edge of the shield. It was constantly manned by hundreds of royal guards. Many of them were fresh, raw conscripts who were only given basic drills, but it was their first line of defense.

Well, that wasn't technically the case. The first line was the weather of the northern wastes. Temperatures often dropped below -30 degrees, and the wind blew hard enough to bring it even lower. While a pony with some proper winter gear could make it through the snow and wind with relative ease, the Changelings seemed unable to. They were either unwilling to or unable to cross through the territory of the wastes to even reach the empire, let alone have the strength to fight or infiltrate afterward. That was fine by her; it kept those bugs as far away from her family and her ponies as possible.

Flash coughed, then said, "Well, everything seems ok. Like Ms, Twilight said, it seems they are adapted for warmer climates. At the very least, none of them have been seen. Not saying that means we're good in terms of being 'Ling-free, but its a start."

"You check in with Applejack? How's our food looking?," she asked.

Her husband replied, "I took care of it. We should have enough to last us until the plants are ready to harvest. And Fluttershy has apparently been speaking with a population of local wildlife, seeing if they can smuggle us in food from the rest of Equestria, or at the very least Stalliongrad."

"Speaking of which, did the recon team come back?" Ever since they had been pushed back here, small groups of ponies would head out back into Equestria. This was mostly for supply runs; gathering food, medicine, and other bits of valuable items. However, a few of the groups would also raid the changelings, stealing weapons, armor, or even captured ponies in pods. None of them went very far into the interior of the old nation, as they would be completely cut off if they went in too far. The farthest any of them went was the old city of Stalliongrad, which had been converted into a Changeling FOB.

"Yeah, actually," Flash said. From his tone, it didn't sound good.

She solemnly asked, "How many?" While none of them had reportedly been killed, many of them had been captured by the changelings; far more than the successful raids brought in.

"Only two. Mist Skipper and Silver Aura. Rest are MIA." Cadence shook her head in despair. The group that went out was fifteen strong.

Shining apparently saw her state and her sadness, as he wrapped a foreleg around her. "Listen, Cadence. We'll get through this. Twilight is looking for Rainbow. Hopefully, we can convince her to help us."

"What if you can't, Shining," she growled. "It's been nine years. Who knows what could've happened in that time! For all we know, she became an alicorn!"

"Geez, Caddy," he said, cracking a grin. "You're starting to sound like Sunburst and all of his crazy conspiracy theories."

"I'm serious, Shining. We don't know what she's like. She probably won't want to help us. At all; we did kinda exile her away from everything she loved. And she loved her family deeply." She let out a nostalgic sigh, then added, "The point is, what if she says no?"

"That's not an option," Shining said stoically. It didn't reassure her, but before she could protest or respond, he said, "Listen, you're tired. Go get some sleep. Me and Flash'll handle the paperwork for you."

"We will?" When that earned him a glare from Shining, he sputtered out, "I-I mean of, of course! Don't worry, Princess!"

"Thanks, Shining." With that, she began to trot to her room. Well, more like stumbling along.

The halls of the Citadel practically hadn't changed at all. The same crystal walls, the same tapestries, the same windows overlooking the central square of the empire. However, even this seemed to reflect the state of the current affairs. The walls have lost some of their luster, and one only had to look outside the window to catch sight of the refugee camps and the wall.

She sighed, and then kept trudging to her room. She hated all of this. She didn't want anypony driven out of their home and forced to live in a tent. She didn't want to ration out corn, beans, and canned hay. She didn't want over a thousand guards, a whole tenth of the original Royal guard force, watching the walls, day in and day out. But, given the changeling's push, they had no choice.

On the way to her room, she passed by her daughters. Two guards stood outside, dressed in the onyx colored armor of the Canterlot Night Patrol. Some of the best guards they had left, most of them were held back in the Crystal Citadel, acting as guards for those deemed to be the most important. For these two, that meant the rebellious Crystal princess.

Flurry had started out as a great little filly. Sure, she occasionally blew open holes in the side of the Citadel, and one time lit Sunburst and several other staff members on fire; but otherwise, she was a charming little filly. However, when the Changeling threat started, Cadence and her husband got a little bit, protective. Nowadays, she barely left her room, confined to them for her own protection. Cadence didn't know what she would do if she was taken.

"Is she still in there?," she asked the guard. "I heard bucking noises when I went into the throne room yesterday morning. Er, the kicking kind; not the, you know, kind."

"Yes, your highness," the mare on the left, Meadowlark if she recalled correctly, said.

The stallion on the right, Black Embers, said, "It's the most secure room in the Empire. I don't think that she could leave if she wanted to. She hasn't in over two years, anyway."

"Ok," Cadence said. "Just wanted to make sure. Now, I'm gonna go-"

"MOM!" a voice roared from inside the room, making the three ponies jump. "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! LET ME THE BUCK OUT OF HERE!"

"Language, honey!"

"OH, BUCK ME TO TEARS, 'MOM'! I'VE BEEN IN HERE FOR TWO YEARS! LET ME OUT!"

"Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid," she told the guards. They saluted as she trotted off to her room.

She had donated her bed to the refugee camp, and so the piece of furniture that made up most of the room was gone. All of the dressers, nightstands, and the vanity mirror were still here, however, and Cadence took off of the tiara, collar, and horseshoes in front of them and placed them on the dresser. She'd properly put them away later. The two of them had been sleeping on an air mattress, with blankets keeping them warm at night, where even the magic shield let in a draft.

She didn't even have a little rest period or read a book. She just slid inside of the covers, rested her head against the pillow, and passed out.

I know it's a bit shorter than most of the other interludes, but I just couldn't figure out how else to prolong it. Hope you enjoy either way.

Just FYI, Flurry and Depressi are about the same age. So, at this point, about 6.