---

The eight Equestrians sat in their private car as the Friendship Express sat at the Crystal Empire’s train station much as they had the day before. The only difference being that Spike had moved to sit in the booth on the other side of Celestia’s. He still didn’t want to talk to her, but Celestia thought it was a good step in the right direction. She watched as he wrote something in a small journal, concentrating on it with all his might. Celestia looked briefly at all the other ponies in the car with them. They were all by themselves, not saying a word. Applejack was writing something in a journal of her own as was Twilight. Rarity was knitting something, but there was a scowl there as she did so. Fluttershy and Pinkie, the latter of whom looked dangerously malnourished, were both lying on their booths, eyes closed. She couldn’t look too long at Rainbow Dash, especially since she still felt sick to even think about the sadistic pegasus, but Celestia saw her just staring blankly at the window, her wings tight by her side.

Despite everything, she was worried about them and their friendships. And not just because they were the Elements of Harmony. It had been three months, and they were still all stuck in bitter depression and self-loathing. She knew how that felt, however, and part of her couldn’t blame them. She prayed to the Maker above that this trip would be a kick in the flanks they needed to start healing from this.

She looked out at the cheery landscape of the Crystal Empire and sighed, wondering just how Princess Cadance, Prince Consort Shining Armor and young Flurry Heart were doing right about now. Ever since the time when Spike had accidentally stumbled on a young unicorn named Sunburst who had the answer to the problem of the Crystal Heart shattering, earning him and Sunburst the admiration of the Crystal Ponies and earning the latter the title of Royal Crystaller. She wondered how he was doing, too.

She looked at the clock on the side of the train. They’d been stopped at the station for five minutes longer than they should have been, and she was worried. If they delayed any longer, it left her away from Equestria where she felt she could do the most good. Not for the first time, she regretted coming, but she knew her sister was right. If this map called her, it was for a good reason.

Just then, the sound of the private door leading into their coach car opened and a dark orange earth pony with a conductor’s blue hat and suit walked in, a worried expression on his face. “Princess, I’m sorry to disturb you, but I have some bad news.”

She stood, and a few of the others in the car stopped what they were doing to listen in on the current conversation. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Well, the train’s main engine is shot,” the conductor said. “It’s a miracle we arrived as far as we did.”

“Oh my, that’s not good,” Celestia said. “How long will it take to fix? Can it be patched up?”

The conductor shook his head. “The damage is too far gone. We’ll need a new engine installed, and that will take too long. Our only other option is to call for a replacement locomotive, and that has to come all the way from our primary warehouse in Manehattan. It won’t show up until sometime early tomorrow morning. I’m afraid everypony here will have to spend the night in the Crystal Empire until the replacement locomotive arrives.”

Celestia’s heart fell at that. She’d have to try and contact her sister in the dream realm as soon as possible and tell her the news. Phone lines had yet to be laid out to the Crystal Empire connecting them to Equestria’s own lines, so she couldn’t simply pick up a phone and call. She nodded in understanding. “Thank you for telling us,” she said as she began gathering her belongings.

“I’m really sorry,” the conductor said apologetically.

“It’s not your fault,” Celestia said reassuringly before turning to the others in the car. “We’re staying the night in the Empire.”

The mood in the car became even gloomier as the ponies began gathering their belongings and shuffling out towards the exit. Only Spike seemed to be in somewhat decent spirits as he grabbed his backpack and followed the other ponies, but at a distance. Celestia looked through the car once more just in case they’d forgotten anything, but finding nothing, she followed Spike out onto the train station platform. There, she saw dozens of ponies standing around with their luggage, mostly frustrated at the delay. But she also saw, separated from the crowd, a couple of griffons who were standing and talking quietly among themselves.

When she saw them, she felt her heart stop. She looked at the ponies around her and saw, to her utter dismay, a few of them looking suspiciously at the two griffons. She sighed sadly. When the nobility, led by her adopted nephew Prince Blueblood, had insisted on temporarily closing the borders to all non-ponies, she had fought tooth and horseshoe to keep that from happening, because she knew just how suspicious it would make Equestria look. Luna had agreed with Celestia and there had been quite the debate for a couple of weeks after the invasion had ended. However, to her regret, she and her sister had finally had to cave to the nobility or risk more upheaval, but with the caveat that trade between Equestria and foreign nations not be halted and that non-ponies would not be harassed for leaving.

Now she was bitterly regretting it.

She walked over through the crowd directly towards the two griffons. One of them was clearly a female, light gray fur, white feathers, orange eyed and yellow beaked. She had a large bag next to her and was clearly excited. The second one, a male, had dark muted purple fur, white feathers with some blue mixed in, green eyed and gray beaked. Unlike her, he had a frown on his face. As Celestia approached, she heard snippets of the conversation.

“…been so long since we’ve been home!” the female was saying, “and that light we saw three months ago? You know what it had to be, right?”

“For the last time, Genevieve, it couldn’t have been the Idol of Boreas,” the male said.

“Gordon, it had to be! You told me yourself you felt different,” Genevieve said.

“I told you, Gen, I just decided it was time to stop feeling sorry for myself and find some work in Equestria,” he said. “But since I can’t after that damned invasion by the changelings, we’ve got no choice but to go home.”

“Pardon me,” Celestia said softly as she approached, “but is it alright if I ask you a something?”

The two griffons, startled at being interrupted, both turned as one towards Celestia. Genevieve looked stunned, but Gordon just scowled at her. However, before he could say anything, Genevieve said, “Of course, your highness!”

“Have either of you been to Griffonstone?” Celestia asked.

“Who wants to know?” Gordon asked with a glare.

“Ah, well, I’m heading there with a few others,” Celestia explained, “and I was hoping to hear about it.”

“Well, the last time we were there,” Genevieve said with a slight sad frown, “it was in pretty rough shape. Houses were old and falling apart, no sewage, tons of diseases, stuff like that.”

“It’s one of the reasons we came to Equestria,” Gordon added. “My wife and I moved here six months ago and were making more money than back in Griffonstone. Then that changeling invasion happened and that bitch Farsight Runner fired me.” He raised his talons and made quotation marks with them. “‘I’m sorry, Gordon, but the company’s been having some trouble financially, so we’ll have to let you go. Here, have a gift basket.’ Pff! As if some fucking fruits are gonna make things better when the owners are buying large houses with their salaries! My wife’s about to give birth to our first cub any day now, and nopony else will hire me!”

“Gordon! Please!” Genevieve shouted, trying to calm her husband down. She looked at Celestia. “I’m sorry, he’s just frustrated.”

“No, don’t apologize,” Celestia said, heart breaking at the story. She’d heard a few similar stories about the same things happening to griffons, minotaurs and even a few dragons who lived in Equestria. “I understand how you feel.”

“No, I don’t think you do,” Gordon snarled as he grabbed his bags. “Gen, come on! Let’s see if we can find a hotel, although we’ll probably have to sleep outside. AGAIN!”

“Wait, come back!” Celestia begged, only for Gordon to spread his wings and fly off towards the city. Genevieve gave Celestia an apologetic glance before flying after her husband, leaving Celestia alone. The alabaster alicorn just raised her hoof and stomped the ground angrily. “Damn it,” she muttered. She slowly turned back, walking towards the ponies and Spike were waiting for her. She could hear other ponies nearby talking about the two griffons with disparaging remarks. She whirled and said in an angry tone, “Listen up! Equestria is supposed to be the land of friendship and harmony! And not just for ponies, but for everycreature! How can we claim to be a friendly and loving race if we ignore that and berate other races!?”

The crowd went silent at that, all eyes on her with stunned expressions which she promptly turned away from as she walked back to the others. “Alright, let’s go find a place to stay for the night.”

“Excuse me, Princess Celestia?” a male voice called out from the bottom of the stairs.

Turning, Celestia saw two crystal ponies wearing the older armor that belonged to the crystal guard. “Yes?” she asked.

“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Consort Shining Armor heard that you, the Elements of Harmony and Spike the Brave and Bold were in the Empire,” the first crystal pony said, “and they’re inviting you to spend the night in the palace.”

Twilight looked up a bit at that, but Celestia saw Spike scowl slightly. She wondered what argument he could have with the two of them, but decided to let it be for now and try and ask later. “That’s very gracious of them,” Celestia said. “We’ll gladly accept their hospitality.”

“Please follow us, everypony,” the second guard said as they turned and began walking back towards the main city of the Empire itself. Celestia took the lead, with the Elements following behind. Spike remained at the back and one of the guards moved to join him.

As they walked, Celestia took in the sights around her. The Empire lay before them just as she remembered it, its massive crystalline towers and the large palace in the center gleamed in the sunlight that hung high overhead which shone its light down, an effect of the Crystal Heart in keeping the Frozen North out. The ancient architecture of the houses and business buildings constructed in a long bygone era glistened in the sunlight, although there was a light dusting of snow on the ground and a small mist that was quickly clearing in the ever rising morning sun.

As they walked, Celestia saw the crowd of crystal ponies in the city going to and fro about their day, all smiles and happiness. A major contrasting mood to the ponies currently approaching. Since the Crystal Empire was a foreign nation, the lockdown had applied to them as well, meaning that none of them had seen Shining Armor, Cadance or Flurry Heart since the lockdown. All three had Crystal Empire citizenship instead of Equestrian citizenship now ever since the crystal ponies accepted Cadance as their princess and Shining Armor as their prince. Celestia was a bit worried about how they might react to being kept away from their families and friends. She wasn’t looking forward to that conversation.

---

“Giiihiii, gah! Ba!”

Prince Consort of the Crystal Empire Shining Armor smiled lovingly down at his daughter Flurry Heart as he used his magic to change her diaper. The pink alicorn baby was smiling up at her father with the innocence that only a young foal could exuded, and it helped relax him greatly. Especially with all that had happened in the past three months. With the invasion of Canterlot, the destruction of Ponyville and the confession of his sister still weighing heavily on his mind, he needed every chance he could get to have his spirits lifted.

“Whoo boy, Flurry,” Shining said as he floated the dirty diaper over to a bin and placed it in, “you’re just the cutest little poop machine.”

“Maa! Maa!” Flurry giggled, either trying to say machine or mama. Either way, he returned and after wiping her clean with a damp and soft towelette, got out a fresh bright blue diaper and began tying it up properly.

“Yes, sweetie,” Shining said, “we’ll go see mama in a bit. She’s getting things ready for…your aunt and her frie-companions.” He continued forcing the smile on his face now so as not to alarm his daughter.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. A muffled female voice called out, “Your Highness? Are you busy?”

“Just changing Flurry, Fauna,” Shining replied.

The door opened and Fauna Spirit, a crystal pony maid who had been working in the palace ever since King Sombra’s tyrannical rule, walked in. She was aquamarine in color with a dark slim auburn mane and tail. In fact, she was the Head Maid. “Your Highness, you really should let me or one of the others tend to your baby like this,” she admonished. Despite having appeared in the modern world over five years ago, the crystal ponies were used to a more archaic living standard even if their language had quickly grown to match the modern Equish.

“It’s okay, Fauna,” he said as he put the pin on, finishing the ensemble. “I prefer doing things by hoof, anyway. It’s what I did when I was captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, and it’s what I like doing now.” He lifted Flurry in his magic and placed her in the crook of one of his front hooves. “Is there something you came in here for?” he asked, turning to her curiously.

“Your wife has summoned you to the throne room,” she said stoically as she bowed. “The guests from Equestria have arrived and will be there shortly too.”

“Thank you,” he said. “I’ll head there now.”

Fauna bowed as he left the room, and when the door shut behind him, he could hear the maid begin cleaning the nursery up of all the toys he’d been about to clean himself had he not been summoned by his wife.

Hah. Summoned. Like he was some mongrel pup. But he could forgive Fauna for using such archaic terms. More than likely his wife had asked Fauna to get him and the crystal pony maid had used the terms more familiar to her. As he walked down the halls, Flurry spread her wings and began hovering by his side, gabbing and giggling as she normally did. It still surprised him that even when she’d been a younger foal, she’d been an expert on flying. Almost like it was instinctive.

She flew into his field of vision, then tilted her head. “Mama?” she asked in an inquisitive tone. She had begun using simple words for the past few months, saying things like mama, papa, toy, or mine, among other simple words he and Cadance had been teaching her.

“We’re going to see mama now,” he said. “Just be patient, sweetie.”

“Mama! Okay!” Flurry said as she flew ahead towards the main double doors that led to the throne room. There was only one entrance to the throne room for security reasons, so many different corridors lead to it.

And it was from one of these corridors where he saw two guards arrive from, followed by seven mares and one dragon he hadn’t seen since he and Cadance had left Ponyville and come back to the Crystal Empire to better lead relief efforts.

Flurry Heart saw them coming and her smile only widened. She flew towards Twilight. “Aun! Aun!”

Shining followed the direction that Flurry was looking and saw his sister for the first time in months. He gaped at how she looked now. She looked the same physically, but the way she walked made her appear much older. She looked up at Flurry’s call, and gave the little filly a tired smile. A smile that grew a bit wider when her niece landed on Twilight’s back. Twilight looked back and said, “Hey, Flurry.”

Shining approached the group and got a good look at each of them. If he had been startled by his sister, he was appaled at how the others looked by comparison. Rarity wasn’t wearing her normal styled mane. Instead, she had her mane tied back simply and had a melancholy expression on her once jovial face. Applejack looked more or less the same, but there was something in her walk that matched the general mood of the ponies she was with. Rainbow Dash had her wings clamped firmly to her side as she walked around. Her normally messy mane was even messier than usual and more overgrown than it had been. Fluttershy’s mane was completely straight and her eyes were bloodshot, presumably from crying. Pinkie Pie’s mane was straighter than Fluttershy’s, and to his dismay she looked fairly gaunt and underfed. Her eyes looked down at the floor.

When he looked at Spike, however, he was relieved to see the young dragon looked fairly fit, having slowly begun to grow and losing about half of that baby fat he’d had for the years he’d been in Twilight’s care. Why he was wearing clothes, however, Shining couldn’t say.

He turned to Celestia, who looked more or less unchanged, and bowed. “Greetings, Princess Celestia,” he said respectfully.

Celestia nodded at him. “Hello, Prince Armor,” she said. “I’m glad to see you and your daughter are doing alright.”

“Thank you,” he said before he turned to Twilight. “Twily…hello, there.”

Twilight, who was trying to smile reassuringly at an increasingly confused Flurry, turned to face her brother. “Hi, Shining,” she said with the best smile she presumably could muster.

Walking over, he wrapped one hoof around her. Her hug back was weak and trembling a little. As he broke the hug and took Flurry back in his hoof, he looked at them all. “So, I’ve got to ask, but what are you all doing here?”

“We’re just passing through on our way to Griffonstone,” the Princess of the Sun informed him.

“Griffonstone? Why there?” Shining asked.

“Giff?” Flurry asked.

“Well, why don’t we talk in the throne room so I don’t have to repeat myself?” Celestia asked, and finally he saw a small smile on her face. The practiced smile of a princess that he’d come to recognize on Cadance’s face recently as well.

“Right, of course,” he said as he turned to the guards. “You two are dismissed. I’ll take it from here.” They straightened and trotted off back to their posts. Shining turned to the others. “Follow me, everypony.”

“Ugh…” he heard Spike groan. “Everypony…”

Shining turned, looking at Spike confused. He was startled to see the young teen dragon glaring at the unicorn. “Something wrong, Spike?”

Spike sighed and waved his claw. “No. I’m just gonna look around the city for a bit. You don’t need me here for this.”

“Don’t go, Spike, please,” Celestia said in a pleading tone which surprised Shining.

“I’ll be back, I promise,” he said, looking up sincerely at the alabaster princess. “I’d just rather be around ponies who actually appreciate me and don’t treat me like their pack mule right now.”

“Un!” Flurry Heart shouted, flying over to Spike and hugging him from behind as best she could, clinging to him and smiling at him. “Un?”

Spike sighed again, but he smiled gently at her. “You wanna go out, Flurry? I can take you out.” Without another word, he turned and made his way back down the hallway from where he and the others came. It hadn’t escaped Shining’s notice how the other mares deflated at Spike’s harsh words.

Shining watched them go for a bit, and he saw how much Spike had matured. He was obviously angry at Twilight, but he wasn’t too sure why he might be mad at him. He turned and led everypony into the throne room. He used his magic to open the door, leading into the large room where Cadance was sitting on the throne flanked on either side by two crystal guards.

When she saw the ponies, she turned to her guards. “You’re dismissed for now,” she said. “I’d like some time alone with them.”

“Yes, your Highness,” they said in sync before they headed down the long hallway leading up to the throne, passing the seven ponies walking up to the throne.

Shining stepped aside as Cadance stood, walked over to Twilight. Normally, the two would do a special dance and song whenever meeting, but all Cadance could do now was walk down and wrap Twilight in her hooves. He watched as his sister just leaned into her old foalsitter’s embrace. “How are you holding up, Twilight?” she asked tenderly.

“I’m…hanging in there,” Twilight said as she slowly broke the hug. “How about you all?”

“We’re doing alright,” Cadance said. “So, what are you all doing here? What brings you to the Empire? And where’s Spike?”

“Spike took Flurry Heart into the city,” Shining said in response to the last question.

“Oh, I see,” Cadance said. “I was hoping to see him, but maybe later. But back to my other questions, why are you here?”

“We were actually on our way to Griffonstone when the train broke down,” Celestia said by means of explanation. “It’ll take about a day for the replacement locomotive to show up, so we’re stuck here in the meantime.”

“Oh? Why are you going there?” Cadance asked, looking more closely at her fellow princess.

“We were summoned there by the cutie map,” Celestia replied.

That startled not only Cadance, but Shining Armor as well. Ever since Jason Wright’s invasion and ever since Luna had slammed her hoof on it which sent a crack through it, Shining had assumed it had been broken. To hear that it had activated again after so long was completely surprising. Cadance frowned. “Why now, of all times? And why there? Have you heard anything?”

“No, we haven’t had much contact with Griffonia since we closed the borders,” Celestia said.

Cadance’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah…why did you do that, Princess? It’s nothing but trouble.”

Shining was stunned by the sudden shift in tone that came from his wife. It was accusatory and had a hint of an edge to it. He quickly walked over to Cadance and put a hoof on her withers. “Cadance, deep breaths.”

She quickly pushed Shining’s hoof off, letting her anger grow as she stalked up towards the Equestrian Princess. Shining was stunned when he saw Celestia actually take a few steps back. “What in the ever loving TARTARUS were you THINKING?! All the stuff that happened with Emperor Wright was because of our own prejudices against anything non-pony and you just agree to close borders to anything non-pony?! If the outside world didn’t think we were xenophobes then, they sure do now! Do you know how many outsiders in the Empire have had ponies mock them or berate them in the streets?! TOO MANY!”

She exhaled slowly, then looked back up at Shining. He was completely taken aback by her outburst, but at the same time he could hardly blame her. She’d been working hard to try and create a safe place for non-ponies, but there were outcries from them that they were being sequestered like they had some disease, which had struck a nerve with Cadance. Now she was trying to integrate any non-pony into imperial society as best she could. He put his hoof back on her withers, rubbing up and down in an attempt to calm her down. She did relax at that, then turned back to Celestia, who’s ears were flattened like some scolded schoolfilly. In an even tone, Cadance said, “Whatever happened to the land of friendship and harmony? I’ve been receiving an influx of non-pony refugees fleeing the backlash of Emperor Wright’s invasion. Griffons, dragons, minotaurs and more have been coming here after your little ponies have been practically chasing them out. Well? Answer me.”

“I…really had no choice in the matter,” Celestia said after a bit. Her voice was shaking a bit as she finally looked back up. “I tried to fight it, really I did. But the last thing we need is infighting among the nobles. Many of them are trying to get me to overturn Jason’s pardon. They want him dead, Cadance. My ponies are clamoring for the Jason’s death. By public execution. This was the only concession I could really give them. And it’s not a permanent solution.”

That stunned everypony in the room. Even Twilight and the others looked appalled by the very idea of their fellow ponies demanding the death of another. Cadance, however, didn’t look all that impressed. She slowly walked up to Celestia, raised a hoof and jabbed it into the Princess’ chest. “You once taught me, long ago, that a very strong leader does the right thing regardless of popular opinion. I know you have a conscience, Celestia. You and I both know the nobles are using this incident to fuel their own agendas. Fuck the nobles. You should have stood your ground. You and Luna. I’ve wanted to say this for a while, but you baby your citizens too much. It’s probably why things happened the way they did.”

With that, she stepped back. Shining was completely shell shocked at the lecture his wife had just given to the ancient monarch, and even more shocked by her use of language. Celestia lowered her head, her wings falling to the side slightly. “I know…” she whispered after a while, “believe me, I know…”

Shining saw Twilight look up at her former mentor with a worried expression. She reached out with a hoof, paused, then retreated. The others were all looking more and more miserable by the second. Seeing an opportunity to intervene, Shining stepped forward. “If…you want to know a bit more about Griffonstone, I’m pretty sure you could find something at the library. I mean, you’ve seen it, Twily,” he said, turning to his sister. “There are statues of griffons outside the entrance.”

Twilight nodded, seeming to be remembering something if the wistful smile briefly passed over her lips. “Yeah…maybe. Is it okay if I peruse, Cadance?”

Cadance nodded. “Go ahead, but it’s a big library. Are you sure you can find anything there in a day?”

“It’s worth a try,” Twilight replied. “Can I get started now?”

“Sure, go ahead,” Cadance replied. “I do suggest you take your friends with you to help.”

The atmosphere in the room thickened when Cadance used the word ‘friends’. The six ponies behind Celestia all looked away from each other. Shining’s chest tightened at the sight. The walls he’d seen lifting up that day in the cutie map room had not only remained up, but had gotten thicker and stronger. It broke his heart. Those six were once national heroes throughout all of Equestria. They’d saved Princess Luna, purifying her from the evil that possessed her. They were the ones who defeated Discord after his first release and helped to begin his reformation. They were the ones who defeated enemies like Sombra and Tirek.

Now, he heard from some ponies who had visited the Empire about how opinions among the ponies were divided. They had heard conflicting stories about the invasion. Some had heard only about the second changeling invasion lead by some monster on two legs, while others had heard the entire truth, how the six mares before him had started a cycle of abuse and cruelty that lead to the aforementioned victim of said abuse occupying the very capital of Equestria.

He walked forward, leaned closer to his wife, then fell back into the crystalline language which he and his wife had been learning for years. “They still hurt.”

“Yes, love of loves, they do,” Cadance said sorrowfully before she turned back to the Equestrians. “I can tell you this much: for the past few weeks, we’ve had griffons coming through the station, all trying to get back to Griffonia. Specifically, Griffonstone. Something big apparently happened there. I don’t know what it is, but one of the maids overheard a group of griffons talking last week about a light coming from the east and how the moment they saw the light they felt different. I’m not sure what to make of it, either. But if the map summoned you there, and if something big is happening, that can’t be a coincidence.”

“Isn’t there a griffon ambassador here?” Twilight asked. “Wouldn’t they know?”

Cadance shook her head, now back to business. “He was actually one of the first to leave. He left about a week after Jason’s invasion and we haven’t seen him since. He cleaned out his room, too. He’s never done that before.”

“It must have been important,” Celestia said.

“Very important,” Cadance agreed. “But you’re all going to see what’s going on in Griffonstone soon enough. When you do, I’d really like to know. News from Griffonia is sparse at best, and even sparser than usual since our only link is gone. Something big is going on there, and I’m really curious about it. But for now, you’re all more than welcome to stay in guest quarters which I’ve had prepared. Meals will be provided for you all, and I’ll provide you with some supplies and food just in case Griffonstone doesn’t have a pony friendly diet. I don’t know much about them, only that they need to eat imported meat as a part of their diet. The kind of meat that hasn’t been enchanted by Equestria’s natural mana field.”

Shining saw Fluttershy shiver slightly at this despite her depressed exterior. Celestia nodded. “Thank you, Cadance.”

“You’re welcome, Celestia,” Cadance replied. “If any of you wanna talk, I’ll be here all day. Got a busy day ahead of me. Tough being a Princess of a nation, am I right?” Here, Shining was relieved to find his wife smiling knowingly at Celestia.

Celestia, meanwhile, smiled back in understanding. “We’ll stay out of your mane.”

“Don’t be a stranger,” Cadance said, “I could use the distraction from the daily grind. But I hope that whatever the map called you for is easy to fix. I’ve heard a few of the stories about the more dangerous map missions.”

“So do I,” Celestia said. With that, the ponies left, leaving Shining and Cadance alone.

---

The moment she got up that morning, Cadance knew that it was going to be a very unusual day. It started when she’d got up and nearly fell flat on her face after trying to stand on one of her front hooves which she’d somehow slept on funny and had fallen asleep during the night. Then, she’d wanted to surprise her husband with breakfast in bed that she’d made herself, only to get distracted by two bickering crystal pony maids and burning the eggs and hay bacon strips she’d worked on. And if that hadn’t been enough, she received word that the Friendship Express from Equestria had broken down and that all of the passengers needed a place to stay, including eight individuals she’d not expected to see here. Well, seven since she still hadn’t seen Spike.

Not that she could blame him for not wanting to see her. From what Shining had mentioned, Spike obviously had been told everything about why Jason had done what he did. She couldn’t imagine what must have been going through the young dragon’s mind then or now. She’d been shocked to see the state of the Elements of Harmony, how lifeless and dull they all looked from their depression. She was especially worried about the Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie. She looked very malnourished. If she didn’t know any better, Cadance might have assumed the former party pony was bulimic.

And that terrified her. She was sorely tempted to order a physical examination for the young Element Bearer, but since she was technically a foreign citizen, she couldn’t order such a thing.

Poor Twilight looked much older than her mid twenties age. Cadance had been severely disappointed in what had happened when she learned the truth, but that never stopped her from worrying about the young Princess of Friendship. In fact, she’d used the harsh lessons learned from the Changeling Invasion to try and push through reforms in her own empire to make non-ponies feel welcome and included.

Of course, her first attempt had been a disaster. She really should have known that trying to create a community of only non-ponies would create outrage among the small non-pony community. She’d reasoned at the time that they should have a safe space away from ponies, but she realized after a few protests that it was a poorly conceived idea. It also taught her that even she had her own prejudices against other species.

There was one thing she was grateful for, however. The Crystal Empire didn’t have the nobility like Canterlot did. In short, she, Shining and Flurry were the only royals in the empire. On the one hoof, it made making decisions easier for the princess. On the other hoof, she knew that the only check she had was her husband. And good nobles would actually be beneficial.

After her meeting with the seven ponies, which hadn’t gone quite how she’d planned it, the rest of her day had gone by in a blur. However, she wasn’t alone. Shining, Maker bless him, had been by her side all through the day. She’d not been at a hundred percent after her blowup at Celestia, so she was extremely grateful that he’d been by her side.

At the end of the day, she stood and stretched, then leaned against her husband tenderly. He put a strong hoof around her as they headed out. While they walked to their private dining area, Shining spoke up. “I never knew you could be so vulgar.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” she asked, looking over at him curiously.

“When you were talking with Princess Celestia,” he explained.

Cadance smirked. “You know very well I’m not as innocent as I appear,” she giggled, bumping his flank with hers. Then her smile died as she faced ahead. “But…it needed to be said. I’m not perfect, Shining. Nopony is. I’ve made mistakes when ruling this empire, and I’ve done my best to take steps to avoid making similar or the same mistakes in the future. But Princess Celestia’s been a ruler for so long, I’m afraid she might be losing her touch.”

“Don’t tell me you believe those rumors they’re saying,” Shining said. “She’s a great ruler!”

“So was Princess Luna, and look what happened to her a thousand years ago,” Cadance pointed out. “Shiny, I’m not saying she’s a terrible ruler. You don’t manage to keep peace for so long without skill. But even she has blind spots. Her love for the ponies is a good thing, sure, but she can’t keep babying them. I’ve not had that problem here since the crystal ponies here all experienced trouble in their recent memory with Sombra, so they’re a lot more mature than other ponies. They’ve had to grow up fast. I’ve seen the same look in Twilight’s eyes. Her, her friends, and even Celestia’s. You have too.”

Shining thought about it for a bit, then Cadance saw his eyes widen. “When the crystal ponies had that collective amnesia,” he gasped.

“Only in their case, it’s not that they’ve forgotten,” Cadance said, “but that they can’t forget. It’s too horrible a memory. And it’s more recent to them than King Sombra is for the crystal ponies.”

“Are you saying they’ll never recover?” Shining asked fearfully.

“I’m saying that even after the Crystal Heart killed Sombra and brought happiness to the empire, there was still trauma there,” Cadance said. “Plenty of crystal ponies needed help. Counseling, therapy, even some needed medication to help sleep. Poor Luna had a lot of work on her plate those first six to eight months.”

Shining nodded. “I remember the letter.”

Cadance chuckled a bit as they walked. “Those six used to be the best of friends. Now? Only Twilight said anything. The others looked completely shattered.”

“Think they need to talk to somepony?” Shining asked.

“I know they do,” Cadance said. “Either that, or do what they’re doing now.”

“You mean getting out of Ponyville for a bit might help them and do them some good?” her husband asked.

“Exactly,” she said with finality. However, in the back of her mind, two words automatically followed her statement: I hope…

Next Chapter: 8: A Glimmer Of Potential Estimated time remaining: 20 Hours, 17 Minutes