"So, I assume that you've got a plan in mind?"
Chuckling, Pan turned away from the mirror, and towards Princess Celestia. The changeling had to admit, this was getting interesting. All the pieces were starting to fit together. While he may have been a natural born actor, he supposed that politics was also in his blood. Things were getting exciting, and admittedly very dangerous, and yet now, the emperor was beginning to see a way through all of this. Now that he knew who and what his enemies were, he could begin working on a method of defeating them.
"I do have a plan forming, your highness," Pan said, a grin forming on his face. "And I promise you, it will be a good one. However, I need to confirm a few more pieces of information before I can for certain that it will work." Turning towards the Crystal Heart, still in its place on a cushion upon a chair, he said, "But first, there is something I need to confirm. Crystal Heart, can you hear me?"
The Crystal Heart pulsed, then said, "Affirmative."
Nodding, he turned towards Princess Luna and asked, "Please ask the Crystal Heart a question, Luna. Any question will do."
Confused, Luna took a moment to think, then asked, "Crystal Heart, what is two plus two?"
The relic remained silent.
Turning towards Pen Stroke, Pan asked, "Now you, Pen, ask the same question."
The chancellor, a little less confused, asked, "Crystal Heart, what is two plus two?"
"Four," the relic stated without hesitation.
Luna's eyes narrowed in irritation, but surprisingly, Sombra laughed, then said, "I get it. The Crystal Heart won't answer to anypony who is not a citizen of the Crystal Empire!"
Chuckling a little himself, the changeling admitted, "That's what I was thinking. It seemed odd that it would ignore Luna and Celestia's question earlier, but it would answer anypony else's. I suspect that, since the Heart predates the city becoming a part of Equestria, it does not recognize their authority." A half-smile crossing his face, he added, "But I can fix that right now, I think." Turning back to the relic, Pan said, "By the power vested in me as a citizen of the Crystal Empire, I, Emperor Pandinus Imperator The First, Ruler of the Crystal Empire And All Who Doth Dwell Within, do hereby nominate Princesses Luna and Celestia for citizenship in the Crystal Empire."
The Crystal Heart pulsed with light, and replied, "Your motion has been heard. In order for the motion to be carried, it must be approved by the royal chancellor, or another authorized representative, should he be unavailable at this time."
Pen Stroke coughed, then said, "My name is Pen Stroke, royal chancellor. I give my approval for this motion."
The relic pulsed, and for a second, both Celestia and Luna's coats shone like those of other Crystal Ponies. Both ponies, after the moment passed, seemed to be sitting a little straighter, and seemed a little less weary than before. It seemed that citizenship came with benefits, even for princesses...
Looking over at the relic through his spot in the mirror, Sombra noted, "So, we've established that the heart can grant citizenship to others, but it only answers to other Crystal Ponies. While certainly interesting, and something I'd not even suspected before, what good does that really do? The Circle is comprised almost... exclusively... of... citizens..." Realization began to dawn, Sombra's eyes widening in shock.
Not quite as fast on the uptake, Celestia did note Sombra's expression and asked, "What?"
Smirking, Pan said, "If the Crystal Heart has the ability to grant citizenship rights, couldn't it also revoke that citizenship?"
Straight Arrow, confused, asked, "What good would that do?"
Pan sighed, then said, "This will get a little bit long winded, but I will do my best to explain: My kind, changelings, come from an alternate future where a group of Crystal Ponies abandoned the Crystal Empire while Celestia and Luna were fighting King Sombra. Those ponies tried to start up a new kingdom elsewhere, but because a spell banished the Crystal Empire, and the Crystal Heart, from time and space, these runaways were no longer as strong, either physically or magically, as they were before. Without the heart, they could not hope to survive the way they were, so they tried to permanently sever the link between the relic and themselves. This created my kind."
His eyes widening, Straight Arrow said, "So if their citizenship were to be revoked, causing them to be cut off from the Crystal Heart, the Circle would be drastically weakened..."
"Precisely," Pan said, his expression solemn. "The Circle has, as Pen Stroke noted, a number of dark magic users, as well as at least one skilled necromancer who controls the wights. Sever their connection to the heart, and their ability to wage war will be drastically reduced." Clearing his throat, the emperor said, "But that's not the main reason for revoking their citizenship. The main reason is this: As observed before, the Circle is a cancer, eating away at the heart of the city. If the Circle's corrupting influence were removed, then the Crystal Empire, and the Crystal Ponies, will be freed from their taint. And if I recall correctly, we have a fairly complete list of their membership, thanks to Scarlet Wake's book."
Clearing her throat, Luna said with a grin, "Well, before you start congratulating yourself on your clever ideas, you might want to confirm that the Crystal Heart can do what you think it will."
"Good idea," the changeling admitted, grinning. "While it would certainly be dramatic to wait until the last minute to find out, it wouldn't be very smart, especially if it turns out that it doesn't work that way."
Turning back towards the relic, Pan asked, "Crystal Heart, do I have the authority to revoke a pony's citizenship?"
"Negative," the relic stated, "only a user with Emperor level clearance may negate a citizen's access to the Crystal Network."
Surprised, Pan said, "But I'm the emperor!"
The Crystal Heart responded, saying, "Negative. While any pony may potentially be given the title of emperor, that does not give the bearer of that title Emperor level access rights. Any usurper to the throne could be given that rank, so a security key was created to prevent anypony unworthy from taking control. Only possession of the Crystal Crown can confirm Emperor level status."
"Oh dear," Pen Stroke said, his expression suddenly worried.
Looking over at the chancellor, Pan asked, "You know something about this?"
Closing his eyes, as if struggling to recall something from the past, Pen Stroke said, "If I recall correctly, I think I may know of this Crystal Crown: Before the Crystal Emperor left, he bestowed upon his subjects the gift of the Crystal Heart, to ensure they could live in peace and harmony here in the frozen north. However, he also bestowed a second gift upon the one that he chose to rule in his stead, as a sign that the king had the emperor's authority while he was away: A crown, little more than a headband of almost perfectly transparent crystal. The first king wore the crown with pride all his life, but sadly he died suddenly, shortly after his son came of age. The new king, being more... materialistic than his father, decided he did not like the current crown, and had it interred with his father. He commissioned the creation of a new crown. In fact, he had several made, all of them made from precious gemstones and precious metals... and in all honesty, all of them were embarrassingly gaudy affairs."
Celestia, an eyebrow raised, asked, "So the Crystal Crown would be buried in the tomb of the first Crystal King?"
"Indeed," Pen Stroke admitted. "We're rather fortunate, in that regard: The royal catacombs are here on the palace grounds, and it would not be difficult to send a party down to retrieve the crown. Almost no pony goes down there, save when a member of the royal family passes away..."
A new piece entered the jigsaw puzzle inside of Pan's mind. An ugly, nasty little piece with sharp, jagged edges. It fell right into place, in the worst possible way...
Gulping, Pan asked, "Pen Stroke, you mentioned that only about three quarters of the wights were accounted for, right?"
Nodding, the chancellor said, "Yes, my lord. As I said before, Scarlet Wake suspected that the remained wights were kept on Lady Midnight Black's estate."
"That would be a good guess, but a foolish one," the emperor stated, his voice now very worried. "After all, if somepony stumbled upon them, that would be highly incriminating evidence that would point directly to her. I suspect that there would be little more than a 'skeleton crew' at her estate, used only for emergencies." With a sad chuckle, Pan continued, "If I was a bastard, and my father was almost certain that I was, then I wouldn't hide those wights someplace where they could be traced back to me. I'd hide them someplace where I could make good use of them when the time came for a full-scale coup de tat. And where would be the best place to hide a large number of corpses?"
Celestia's and Luna's jaws dropped. Pen Stroke's eyes widened in horror. Sombra's expression became almost unbearably grim...
"The best place would be somewhere that already holds a large number of dead bodies," Pan said, his tone and expression grave. "Better yet, hide them someplace where your enemies rarely go, and yet someplace where the wights could be used to strike quickly and decisively when the time came. In the event of a war, the other deposits of wights would likely be used to encircle the palace, forcing us to try and lock down the grounds, and hole up for an extended siege. And then, when there's no way out... the wights in the catacombs come out and slaughter everyone in the palace."
"Ironwood, Nopony, and Golden Grace have confirmed that Dream Charmer, sole member of the royal family still present in the city, was a member of the Circle. She'd know of the catacombs, and would no doubt have had information that could aid in smuggling the wights in." With a chuckle, Pan said, "Perhaps I am wrong, and all that the party that goes in will face is cobwebs and stale air. But if I am right, then the only way to take the Crystal Crown will be to wade through a sea of wights."
"A grim picture, milord," Pen Stroke admitted, then added, his expression hopeful, "But as Sombra mentioned, the wights require time, energy, and concentration to awaken and control. If we are determined to claim the crown, there is a limited window of opportunity in which we can do so."
"Indeed," Pan admitted. "But there is something that has been worrying me. While I have no doubt that the Circle has benefited from Dream Charmer's presence in their ranks, she alone could not account for everything that has happened recently."
Surprised, and seeming a little concerned, Luna asked, "What do you mean?"
"Scarlet Wake had an agent infiltrate the palace and provide me with the tainted wine, the one which contained the love poison," Pan said, turning his gaze to the ceiling and seeming to search for answers there. "And yet, our return to the palace was spur of the moment, allowing for very little time to plan the event. The fact that Scarlet Wake was able to, within only a day after Sombra's defeat, dredge up a bottle of uniquely drugged wine that was not supposed to exist anymore, seems highly suspicious. Moreover, how would Scarlet even know of this tainted vintage? Unless somepony already had the wine here, and had told Scarlet of it. In that case, all it would have taken was a fire mail message to an agent present in the palace, telling where the wine would be and what to do with it."
"A conspiracy, then, put in place here in the palace itself," Pen Stroke deduced, after a moment's thought. "I admit, given the... sudden and spontaneous nature of the poisoning, it does seem as if the groundwork had already been laid for it to occur, well before your arrival..."
"You have it exactly right," said a voice as sweet as honey, from the doorway.
A large, homely mare walked into the room, followed by a pair of guards and a... griffin? That was definitely surprising. Craning his head to get a better look, and saw... the griffin in question had the hind legs of a pony. A hippogriff? Here? How?
Still, the mare in question held most of Pan's attention. She looked to be in fairly bad shape: Bandages covered a noticeable portion of her body, and while some were stained the dull brownish red of dried blood, a few others were... worryingly bright and wet.
"Goldie," Pen Stroke began, his tone one of great worry, "what happened?"
Then this was Golden Tone, Pen Stroke's sister-in-law? She looked... well, exactly as Pen Stroke had described her earlier today when he'd told the emperor about the plans that the chancellor had made, regarding the investigation of his wife's murder...
The mare chuckled and said, "I did what you wanted, brother-in-law: I went and asked questions. It seems that some ponies out there didn't like what I was asking. I've been dodging thugs half the day, and when the sun set, I had some really freaky stuff coming after me."
Startled, Pen asked, "Wights?"
"Well, they sure weren't ponies," 'Goldy' said, chuckling. "But I finally got a few answers, Pen. I know exactly who killed Roundelay, and why. And if I heard what you're discussing right, it may tie everything together."
"Well then, don't leave us in suspense," Pan said, very excited. There was a piece missing from this puzzle. One that he felt he could almost grasp, and could help in putting all of this together...
"You were wrong about it being Midnight Black, Pen," Golden Tone began, without preamble. "The target was your wife, not the queen. The bottle of wine was given to the royal family, knowing full well it would probably be given to you as a gift. The assassination was put into motion by Dream Charmer, the disowned daughter of the king and queen. Dream was insanely jealous of Rondelay, because your wife was getting too close to the queen, becoming something like a surrogate daughter. While her parents had tried to make her removal from the royal line as gentle and painless as possible, DeeCee was still horribly bitter, and couldn't stand the thought of being replaced by somepony else, especially by a commoner. She was also still angry with her parents, so even if the king and queen drank the wine instead, she'd have counted it a win. But that's not the most unbelievable part!"
Pen Stroke, now clearly shocked, asked, "Well, what is?"
Strangely excited, the minstrel exclaimed, "The one responsible for the poisoning itself was Malted Barley, The Royal Tapmaster! He's been using his role in the palace to murder aristocrats left and right since the end of the Black Feather War. He'd used it as a means of lining his pockets, as well as to curry favor with the nobility: A number of firstborn sons would have found themselves disowned for... unsavory appetites, had their replacements, or their parents, not met a sudden and tragic end. It seems he'd been doing the job of an entire assassin's guild, all by himself. And all of it was so that he could convince them to join some sort of a club he was organizing... something he called 'The Circle'..."
The largest, and most important, piece of the puzzle fell into place, and the picture it formed in Pan's mind was so colossal, so breath-taking, and so nightmarish that it took Pan's breath away...
New chapter up! Some major reveals have been made today. Within the next couple of chapters, things are going to get wild! Look forward to it!
So go through the wights, get the crown, revoke the Circle's status, then the Crystal Aura powers up to Sombra-Disintegration levels on their asses. Nice.
Holy Fucknuggets, Malted Barley is Lord Scorpion and Pan's Ancestor. Did not see that coming.
The Circle is starting to sound like Tempest, the people who caused the Undertaking in Arrow season 1. I've been on an Arrow kick lately.
Also, I have made an EXTREMELY basic TV Tropes page for this story. Go here if you want to add to it.
5233838
Well, it sounds simple when you say it like that, but when has anything gone as planned in this story?
5233857
so if pan kills him does that mean pan will cease to exist?
but then that means pan will never be able to go back in time.... then that means he wouldnt kill malted barley and pan would exist, so then he would go back in time...... *head explodes*
OK, this chapter revealed quite the backstory on many ponies of the Circle. I love it. BTW, was Dream Charmer Sombra's daughter and, if so, how did the queen died?
5233888
Well, thank goodness that its an alternate timeline, then. That way, we can avoid those time paradox headaches
Oh Magical Crystal Heart! Will I achieve success as love, politics, and fecal continence?
*shakes heart... answer floats up...*
"Don't count on it."
*grrs, tries again*
"Outlook not so good."
*GRRRS, tries again*
"My sources say no."
*GRARS!!! Tries again!*
"Hell no! You suck!!"
*Alondro smashes the Crystal Heart with a sledgehammer in his profound rage.*
Argh the suspense is killing me!
Every time you do this. Every god damn time!
5233857 He has shamed the honorable trade of bartending!
The League of Extraordinary Bartenders is gonna stab him to death with broken liquor bottles for this heresy!
5233890
Dream Charmer, aka Lame Horse, was the disowned daughter of the original royal family (In more than a few cultures, someone with a handicap, or at least a visible one, was often kicked out of the family line, fearing that their disability would be passed on. Likewise, many cultures required their ruler to be perfect in every way, so even a nasty scar could disqualify someone: Justinian II of Byzantium was disfigured during a coup in order to keep him from retaking his throne. Didn't work, and J ended up going Bronze Age on the guys who mutilated his face. Sadly, the less visible flaws were passed on, which is in part why so many royal families ended up being so royally f-ed up: I don't care how 'pure' the royal line should be, nothing good comes from marrying only your own cousins for seven or eight generations non-stop). Sombra didn't bother with her, due to the fact that her disability kept her from being a threat.
And the brown stuff approaches the fan at ever increasing speeds!
5233920 Next thing we know Jon Taffer pops up and Kicks Malted's Flank til he cleans up his act XD.
5233925 Did Sombra killed the King and the Queen when he took the throne? Also was Dream Catcher such an evil gal to begin with or was her jealousy towards Round due to apparently receiving favoritism from her parents, despite not being related to royalty, what made her evil?
5233996
He didn't actually, just sent them into the future.
5233857
We already got that hint with a sledgehammer, when Lord Scorpion showed up on-screen.
5233888 Nah. Its the divergent time line theory. Basicly Pan's timeliness stillexists no matter what he does. Therefore hestill exists no matter if he kills his father or anything.
Now if this was a linier timeliness like Back to the Future anychange made would screw with the future.
There's also the static future theory (as seen inMLP that shows nomatter what you change in the pastthe results will remain the same somehow andnothing will change. This is the type of theory that produces the most paradox.
5233838
You forgot the most important part: hire new castle staff, as enough of them have died.
5234136 I thought he killed the King and the Queen but left the children live.
5234214 The time travel spell that Twilight used in canon created a closed time loop, which is just a single overarching predestination paradox. The BttF model (which is based around the idea of the Grandfather paradox) allows for far more significant and history warping paradoxes.
I don't really want to bring this up but, if the circle put all those wrights in the crypt isn't there a possible chance that they might already have the crown of super admin powers?
5234244
"The fact that you murdered the royal family probably helped keep them subdued, as well," Pen Stroke said, more than a little angry.
Looking a little abashed, Sombra admitted, "Not so much murdered as... banished."
His eyes widening, Pan asked, "What? The true king and queen are still alive?"
"Yes and no," Sombra admitted. "I used a spell to send them forward in time. You might want to have your descendants keep an eye out for them: The king, queen, and the rest of the legitimate heirs will probably start popping up in a thousand years or so..."
Pen Stroke, flabbergasted, tried to say something, but could only get out a strangled, "Why?"
Surprisingly, Sombra blushed and said, "Well... look, I've done some awful stuff, I won't deny it, but there were a few things I wasn't ready to do. Killing defenseless colts or fillies in front of their parents, or killing parents in front of their offspring, was too much, even for me. I just sent them off, and made it look like I'd killed them." At the shocked looks by the assembled ponies in the room, Sombra said, "I only needed them out of the way. In a thousand years, I expected I would either be dead or ruling the world, so if at that point they wanted the Crystal Empire back, they could have it."
5233937
I would watch the fuck out of that episode.
I would pay actual, real-world money for that episode.
or you know just replace malted's 38 with an 87, the improper placement of his alcohol should cause him to rage so bad that he explodes into confetti.
5234321 Ew, that's no good. However, most bad guys are incapable of recognizing a magical maguffin. And since the kings son had an assload of crowns made, they may not know which is the real one.
5233280 This is magic we're talking about here, magic is the most overpowered shit in the universe other than gods. I probably just played too much World of Warcraft where Mages are the most overpowered things out there, and then there's this story. By the gawds, being able to teleport body parts!
5233930 *puts on a poncho.* Something tells me I'm gonna need alot more than this.
5234484 Well there are two ways to go about it, A) It's the plain looking, crystaly headband one. B) I imagine the buried king would have a nameplate or something similar near his grave so you don't mistake him for his great-granddaughter or such.
Then again, there is possibility that the Circle doesn't know/care about it.
...Wait. Wouldn't crowns or similar objects sometimes be called circlets? And the organisation is called The Circle? ...Buck, there're might've been some thought behind that name.
*sigh* knew it, I wish I wasn't so smart sometimes, because this revelation wasn't one for me at all, I knew Malt was behind everything from the start.
5234635 So what you're saying is, that to become the emperor of the Crystal Empire/City, Pan needs to gather the members of the circle, and wear them on his head...
5234730 Uh, no. I meant that The Circle might of had the crown since they were founded, they might of called themselves The Circle because the true crown is basically a circle. Or the only table they can all sit at together is a round one.
But yes, I did get the joke.
5234761 Nope, jokes dead now. You killed it. Thanks a lot.
5234771 How?
Wow, that was actually a cool twist. Everyone could have guessed the tapmaster was probably up to something, but never that he was the leader.
I wonder if the Black Feathers planned everything to go down like this to begin with at the behest of some darker power. A conventional war to mask a war of conversion, so that Equestria would be corrupted. Wights in the Royal Crypt ... sounds nasty. Hope they can get the crown and stop them from rising in one go. As for that wicked tapmaster, I hope they soak him in moonshine and light his ass on fire. Any more big revelations hanging out there. And w00t! Ruggiero is back ... ouch, he looks like he is hurting pretty good ... still, he came out of that encounter pretty good, all things considered.
....This is going to be bloody.
... I should've gone to bed four hours ago
But this was completely worth it.
Yo, still enjoying the story, but i figured i should point something i found odd. When Goldie is talking about Dream Chaser and calls her "DeeCee" it seemed out of place. "DeeCee" sounds affectionate, and wouldn't be here.
Now it's no big deal, to be honest.
Anyway, really enjoying it so far.
5234535 Indeed
Oh, well, that came out of left field. Well done, sir.
5233857
Ever since the keg pony was introduced I thought "this one will be bad guy".
Extremely happy to see great reveal. Scene is perfect.
That's bad I take it? Bad, yes? Yes, okay, good to know. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
Heh that ending
Well, you've been spinning the twist's longer than anyone can imagine. In other words. BUCK!
Question: Since Luna and Celestia are now citizens of the Crystal Empire, does that mean Luna is now cured of the love poison?
Oh boy...not good. How are they gonna solve this one?
5234867 You think? Because there's a conversation between "Lord Scorpion" and Midnight Black at the start of chapter 21 in which he openly declares that he's been using the royal wine cellar as his base of operation. That pretty much cinched it for me. This chapter was just confirmation of what I already knew.
5235231 I do have access to starship. Will I be safe in high orbit or will the shit be sent at escape velocity upward when it hits the fan?
5236243
At this point, the sh!t is being loaded into a new superweapon that can hit every fan in the cosmos simultaneously. You best bet is just to get in the shower and get it running, so at least you can clean yourself quickly when its done.