--------------------------------------I went into the season 3 premier with a lot of reservations. Chief amongst them was that the Crystal Empire wouldn't amount to much beyond the obvious toy sale pitch.Watching the teasers didn't help. When Celestia explained the Empire's power, the first question that popped into my head was why Equestria would need such a thing. Just send Pinkie Pie on a country-wide tour. You'd go deaf from all the parties!But I watched the premier and enjoyed it. While not my favorite episodes, they were well done and I enjoyed the world building. And after some reflection I answered my own question while establishing a bit of headcanon and the premise for this comic.Special thanks go to and for their excellent windows . All other backgrounds are products of my own vectors.Special fonts come courtesy of fontspace This will likely be my last comic of 2012. Which isn't saying much since 2013 is only a week and a half away. Still, I'll think back on this year as when I entered the MLP community as a comic artist and was overwhelmed by the support and encouragement of the fan base. Thanks for everything and happy holidays!Dang, those folks at Equestria Daily work fast . I was going to submit this when I got home, but I find I've been featured with several fun comics. (I'm hoping I'm one of the two comics that made Sethisto laugh aloud).Thank you to all the folks who posted comments and added this to their favorites and collections. It's a real treat!