"200 years..." muttered Circuit under his breath, "How the hell..." "Never mind that," said Rainbow Dash, "How have things been going in the outside world?"
Ivory sighed. "Downtown is a war-zone, always has been. I've been taking up gardening as a hobby since then, but I've done little for the past couple decades. But....everything changed about five years ago." "You see...Crimson is alive"
Circuit fainted. The fact that not only had they been frozen for 200 years, but also that Crimson survived the nuclear blast, was far too much for him to take in. "Impossible," said Twilight outraged, "The only animal life that can survive a nuclear attack is a cockroach! Even then, the chances of Crimson surviving were slim to none, leaning toward none!"
Ivory then took the opportunity to show the group what she meant, as she took a cube from her arm and placed it in the middle of the space between the group, which soon opened up to show a holographic projection of exactly what the world used to look like over five years ago. Nothing had changed except that some of the plants in her garden now appeared to be absolutely tiny, where as now they are fully grown. The footage appeared to be from a camera that was installed to the side of the house, showing Ivory talking to a figure in a long black cloak, yet the face was hidden due to the angle the camera was on. Soon, audio came into play as Ivory spoke to the figure. But the voice was unmistakable... "Master Crimson..." Ivory said in shock. "This is impossible. How on earth di-" "I've had help after the bombs fell, but that's not what is important right now." Crimson's voice sounded. "I need you to tell me something..." "Of course, Master." Ivory nodded. "Are the others alright?" He asked before a long pause. "Are they safe?" Ivory just shook her head. "Canterlot High suffered a blackout in 2102, which knocked out virtually all of the release options from the pods. I'm...sorry" Crimson just nodded in response sadly before looking at his android companion. "Ivory, I want you to keep living your life to the full. I'm going to make things right, and I don't know if I'm going to come back home for a long time. If they survived, show them this message when they wake up." Crimson pulled the android into a hug before walking away slowly. "Where are you going, master?" The man in the cloak stopped before only saying one word. "Heaven...." END TRANSMISSION. DATA CORRUPTED. DATE, 19th January 2211. 12:56pm
"He is talking about Elysium, also known as Neo Heaven. It's one of the largest settlements in the Canterlot Wasteland, mostly civilian and traders" Ivory told her. "Crimson rules half of California...."
"You see...Crimson took power in a surprisingly violent fashion. Originally, he won over the towns of the wasteland then launched large military campaigns to all the raiders and his enemies. He was crowned as the Emperor of the "New Monarchy", and rules everything from Los Angelis to fifty kilometres north of San Francisco." Ivory told them.
"He's trying his best to rebuild the old world, and at this rate, he's going to be able to do it. Using post-war data, the military of the New Monarchy is the best in the world, in terms of skill, morale and equipment. His citizens are also extremely loyal to him as well, and compare him to historical figures such as Augustus and Napoleon Bonaparte" Ivory told the group.
"I don't think Augustus and Napoleon are good people to be compared to," said Twilight Sparkle, "unless it were a dictatorship form of government he established?"
Ivory nodded. "That is exactly what he's done. He's rather benevolent, but he is also harsh. He is located just in downtown Canterlot, but going to the capital unarmed is suicide. You need protection."
"Well...I believe Crimson kept some weapons inside of the home somewhere. Nothing much, just some pistols here and there." Ivory said. "Not to mention that I'm armed as well when I'm in combat mode, but I believe Crimson has terminated my self-defense protocols permanently after he took power. Not like I can hurt him or anything..." "Oh! And um...the Emperor has rebuilt some of the City, plus retained the High Technology development centers to some extent, giving his soldiers and citizens an enormous technological advantage. I don't advise killing Master Crimson, since I can calculate a 98:21% chance of failure and risk" Ivory said. "Perhaps convince him to join you somehow..."
"There's only one way to do that..." said Circuit, who had just revived. "How?" asked the others. "Simple," replied Circuit, "Try and convince him." "But dude! He's probably drunk with power!" replied Rainbow Dash. "I know," responded Circuit, "but he's also our friend. We've known the guy since he moved to the States during freshman year. Besides, if he won't listen to his friends, who will he listen to?"
Downtown Canterlot was partially rebuilt within the five years since Crim became the Emperor of the New Monarchy, and since then, what has been rebuilt truly looked like an oasis. Being protected by an inner wall like the grand cities of ancient times, the inner city flourished as the entertainment, trade, technological and political center of Crimson's Kingdom. The rest of the city was currently being rebuilt, with manufacturing being restarted at a small level to mass-produce new means of transport. Under Crimson, the young kingdom was experiencing a Golden Age under the rule of a benevolent autocrat. Crimson modeled his new government like the ancient Roman Empire, where as even though the people were represented under the senate, Crimson was the head of state. There was only one problem, Crimson's ambition to conquer America and rebuild the world. So when the group made it to Canterlot itself, they were surprisingly let in. Yet, kept under a watchful eye by the very intimidating city guards, clad in red armour with the logo of Crimsons empire.
"This place doesn't look right..." said Pinkie Pie, "Everything looks too good to be true." They walked until they reached the Emperor's Palace, where they were stopped by guards.
The guards wore suits of power-armour and had some impressive weaponry on them, to which they stripped Circuit and the Girls from all of their weaponry before being allowed in the palace. Inside of the palace was something beautiful, with the palace being built out of the old town hall. A second later, when they arrived in the throne room, the entire room was clad in red imperialistic banners, a red carpet leading up to the throne, and the guards armor itself, alongside a beautiful bulletproof stainglass window. And on the throne was Crimson himself, now in his early 20's and dressed in head to toe in royal robes. His hair was grown out and appeared physically built, possibly from all the conquests he had been on. He looked at his friends, with a slight smile on his face. "I knew that you would make it...." Was all the Emperor told them.
"Sorry, but we aren't here to play catch-up," said Sunset, angered visibly, "I can't believe you would go out of your way to revert humanity to an imperialistic, conquest-based state!" "I don't think chastising him will help, darling," said Rarity. "Crimson, please," said Circuit, "It's been 200 years, and the world's been decimated by nuclear weapons. It will take centuries to restore humanity to civilization, and that task can't be done by one man alone."
Crimson just nodded with a deadpan expression. "You think that I already don't know that? I'm not rebuilding humanity, I'm rebuilding our world to a stable position again. Stable enough to actually make a difference" Crimson sat upright. "I know what I'm doing, don't assume that I'm ruining the chance of a better future"
