My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Extra Character Edition) [Season 6]
Episode 1: The Crystalling - Part 1
Starlight Glimmer was wondering through the halls of the Castle of Friendship. She was looking all over the place, trying to get to know the place.
She was muttering to herself, "Okay. Library... Library... Where did they put the library?" She walked into one room, and saw Mutt dancing to the song, "You Should Be Dancing" by "The Bee Gees". She saw him dancing and smiled. "Wow. That little guy's a pretty good dancer."
Mutt turned his head towards Starlight and smiled. He then said, "Hey, dancing is what I do. To some people, my dancing skills makes others feel good. It's a part of who I am."
"Huh," said Starlight. "Guess I should've learned that instead of taking the marks of all of the ponies in that village."
"Hey, you live, you learn," said Mutt.
Then Starlight left the room, then headed off. She then went into another room, where Nyx and Joshua were both in their room, doing their homework. They got interrupted when Starlight came into the room.
"Oh, sorry, you two," said Starlight. "I'm... still getting used to this place."
"You're not the only one who got lost in this place the first time," said Joshua. "It's tricky trying to find a bathroom in this place."
"Yeah, I guess that's true, Joshua," said Starlight. But then she got confused. "Although, I was wondering, why are you named Joshua. It's not exactly a word here."
"Because Joshua wasn't born in this world," said Nyx. "He wasn't even a pony. He used to be human."
"Human?" asked Starlight. "I thought they were myths."
Joshua then levitated his locket from around his neck and opened it up. Then she showed the picture inside the locket. He then said, "That's me and my birth parents."
"Oh," said Starlight, looking at the picture. "You sure were a cute little guy. But, how did you become a pony?"
"King Sombra cursed him," said Nyx. "As long as Joshua is in this world, he can never be human again."
"Oh, dear," said Starlight. Then she turned her head, and said, "Well, I gotta keep searching for Twilight. I'll see you two later." She then left the room, letting Nyx and Joshua continue with their homework. Starlight then came out of a door, and looked left to right. She then sighed and said, "This castle looked a lot smaller from the outside." Starlight then walked to one door, and inside was Spike, standing on a stool, wearing a headband pulling back the spikes on his head, and his ears, and he had a towel wrapped around his waist.
He was brushing his teeth when Starlight opened the door. He looked towards the door with a mouth full of toothpaste and said, "Morning, Starlight."
Starlight then closed the door and said, "Sorry, Spike! I guess I'm still trying to find my way around. You don't happen to know where the library is, do you?"
Spike poked his head out of the door, still with a muffled voice, he said, "Next door on the left." Starlight then turned her head towards the door on the left.
She smiled embarrassed, and said, "Oh. Thanks!"
She then entered the room, seeing Twilight reading a checklist. "Acceptance, mm-hmm. Altruism, definitely." Twilight then notice Starlight coming in. "Starlight, good morning, come in!"
Starlight entered the room, saying, "Sorry I'm late. I got a little turned around. I still can't believe you're letting me stay here... as your pupil... after everything I did." She was feeling guilty for what she did.
Twilight gave her a sincere look. She then said, "Well, I'm not one to dwell on the past, and neither should you. The castle is your home now, and as far as being my pupil goes, I was just trying to figure out what your first friendship lesson should be!"
Starlight looked at the list and smiled. She then said, "Oh, well, it looks like you're really narrowing it down!"
"Oh, these are just the A's," said Twilight. She then looked over at a huge pile of papers, saying, "After this, I move onto the B's." She was grinning big towards Starlight. Starlight was nervous, until she gave a small smile, still nervous.
Twilight and Starlight were reading the list of friendship lessons, trying to figure out which one to start with. Then came the sound of whirling from outside the door. They looked over at the door and saw M.C. coming in with Guard Armor in a baby carrier that was strapped to M.C.
"Guard Armor?!" Twilight asked. She then looked up at M.C. and asked, "What is he doing here?"
"Princess Cadance wanted us to watch over Guard Armor while she and Shining are in the hospital in the Crystal Empire," said M.C. "She even sent you a note yesterday while you were working on all of that." M.C. pointed a finger at all of the Friendship Lessons she prepared for Starlight.
"I don't remember ever agreeing to that," Twilight said, putting a hoof to her chin.
"Let me remind you," said M.C. He then changed his voice to let them know who he was impersonating. "Hey, Twilight! A letter from Cadance came in. She and Shining wants us to watch over Guard Armor until she gets out of the hospital. Yeah, yeah. Okay, Spike. Just let me work on this."
That made Twilight's face go pale, and Starlight holding back her laughter and covering her mouth. Twilight then face hoofed and say, "I guess I did say that. Oh, boy. I was too busy with coming up with these friendship lessons that I haven't payed attention to what Spike was saying."
"Well, that's your problem," M.C. said. He then looked down at Guard Armor and asked, "Hey, Guard? You wanna see your favorite cousin, Joshua?"
"Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah," Guard said, nodding his head rapidly.
"Well, then," said M.C. "Let's go." He then started walking down the hall to Nyx and Joshua's room.
Starlight continued looking at the lessons that Twilight prepared and said, " I know I'm just learning about friendship, but I didn't think there were this many lessons for anything. How do we choose?"
"Maybe I should pare things down a bit before we go through them," said Twilight, walking up to Starlight with a small list of lessons. Twilight then looked at what Starlight was reading, then took that in her own magic and then put a hoof towards Starlight's shoulder and said, "Why don't you join the others in the throne room? They're planning our trip to the Crystal Empire when Shining Armor and Princess Cadance have their baby!"
"Throne room! Got it!" said Starlight. Then she headed out of the library, but peeked her head back in and asked, "Um, which way is the throne room?" Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes.
In the Throne Room, Mutt and the rest of the Mane 6 were sitting in the thrones. Mutt decided to sit in Spike's throne because he didn't want to be sitting in Twilight's throne when she came in. Starlight then came in and saw the Mane 6 discussing something.
"Well, I think we should leave ASAP," said Rainbow Dash. "I don't want to miss the Crystalling!"
"But, um, shouldn't we wait for the invitation?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
"Frankly, Ah'm not exactly clear on all the customs and traditions of the Crystal Empire," said Applejack, "especially when it comes to a Crystalling."
"What's a Crystalling?" asked Starlight.
"Well, that's just it, darling," said Rarity. "Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's 2nd baby is due any day, and we're still not sure. The Crystal Empire was gone for a thousand years. A lot of their customs are a bit murky."
"Why didn't they do it with Guard Armor?" asked Mutt.
"Because they didn't know about the Crystalling until after Guard Armor was born," said Rainbow Dash.
"Anyway, we know it's got something to do with the new baby," said Applejack.
"And a party!" Pinkie Pie said, quickly, and getting between Applejack and Starlight.
"And the Crystal Heart," said Fluttershy.
Then Pinkie Pie came in from behind Fluttershy and said, "And a party!" That startled Fluttershy, covering the right side of her face with her wing.
"And some kinda cool energy," Rainbow Dash said, flapping up right behind Starlight.
Pinkie Pie then stepped onto the middle of the Cutie Map on her hind legs, and said, "And... A PARTY!" she then threw some confetti into the air. Everyone just deadpanned, except Starlight. She was still trying to understand Pinkie. Starlight looked at Rainbow Dash, who was raising her forelegs, indicating that she doesn't know how she does that either.
Then Spike came into the room with M.C., Nyx, Joshua and Guard Armor coming in. Spike then said, "It's not hard to understand. Most things in the Crystal Empire aren't." He then unrolled a piece of paper he had in his claws and it was a poster of him getting the Crystal Heart, and his left eye was a ruby. "Like how I'm a big hero there, for example!" He grinned confidently.
It could tell that Spike was hanging out with Rainbow Dash way too much, because she was giving a similar facial expression. Starlight was confused, Mutt and Applejack gave off a deadpanned expression, Rarity was trying to hold back her laughter to not let Spike know he was embarrassing himself, Fluttershy gave off a small smile, and Pinkie Pie came from bellow, giving a deadpanned expression.
"Eh... plus, I had to help Twilight do a lot of research on Crystallings," said Spike. M.C. then put a huge, purple and light blue vase on the Cutie Map, and the vase almost looked Greek. It even had a tale of what was happening or what is supposed to happen. "Whenever a baby is born in the Crystal Empire, the parents bring it before the Crystal Heart. They get the purest shard of crystal they can find, then pick a crystaller to present the baby to everypony who comes. Then they all share the light and joy they feel, feeding it into the crystal that joins with the Heart, and increases its power! And this is going to be a royal Crystalling, so pretty much the whole empire will show up. That hasn't happened in a millennia!"
"Because the Crystal Empire was gone for that long," said M.C. "Sheesh."
"I know, right?" Spike asked.
Starlight walked up to Spike and asked, "What do you mean it increases the Crystal Heart's power?"
"The energy it uses to protect the Crystal Empire, I guess," Spike said, motioning his arms in a "I don't know" expression.
"Protect it from what?" asked Starlight.
"I... didn't help Twilight with that part," said Spike. Then everypony in the room looked at M.C.
"Sorry," said M.C. "But that was the only vase that the Crystal Guards gave me when I was getting Guard."
Starlight reentered the library where Twilight was narrowing down the friendship lessons for Starlight.
"Hey, Twilight, can I ask you something about the Crystal Empire?" Starlight asked.
"Huh! Funny you should mention it," said Twilight, walking up to Starlight. "Because I just narrowed your first friendship lesson down to three options, and one of them is in the Crystal Empire!"
"Really?" Starlight asked with a big grin on her face.
"I found out that's where the first pony you ever cared about lives!" said Twilight.
"Sunburst?" Starlight asked.
"Of course, that's just one idea," said Twilight, "and I already met him. He thought that M.C., Mutt and Joshua were new species's, and that was when Joshua was still human at the time. Another option, we could go to griffon stone." Through the ears of Starlight, Twilight's voice was starting to fade and being replaced with a high-pitched ringing. Making friends with a griffon is a challenge all by itself! Or we could tag along with the CMC's the next time they try to help a pony figure out why they're special..." Twilight's voice was completely unheard to Starlight and replaced with nothing but that ringing. But all of that stopped when Twilight put a hoof to her left shoulder and asked, "Starlight? Is something wrong?"
Starlight got out of her stupor and said a strained look, "What? O-Oh, no, heh, those all sound great!"
"I know!" Twilight said, then she started walking off somewhere, saying, "I guess you were right – it is gonna be hard to choose one!"
Starlight chuckled nervously and said, "...Yeah." She then pouted.
Starlight walked down the halls of the castle, thinking about Sunburst. She then opened one door, but unknown to her knowledge, that room was a supply closet, and she got buried under all of it. She then used her magic, and put all of the supplies back into the closet. Then she walked over to another room, seeing Spike trying to be bigger and muscular in front of a mirror and standing on a stool. He stopped when he saw Starlight looking at him with a startled look.
She then sighed and said, "Ugh! I am never gonna find my way around this place!"
Spike ran up to catch up with Starlight and asked, "Gee, Starlight, what's wrong?"
"I don't know, Spike," said Starlight. "Twilight's figuring out what my first friendship lesson is, and I guess I'm not exactly thrilled with the options. Well... with one of them." She lowered her head when she said that last sentence.
"Which one?" Spike asked.
"Reuniting me with my first friend," said Starlight. That made Spike freeze up in confusion.
"What's so terrible about that?" asked Spike.
Starlight sighed. Then she started a flashback with her and her old friend. Young Starlight was trying to levitate a block while her friend was reading a book. "When we were foals, Sunburst knew everything there was to know about magic." Young Starlight dropped the block, and she got upset. Then her friend levitated a book in front of Young Starlight. She read it, then looked at her friend confused, but he responded with a huge grin, and she smiled. Then she used her magic to levitate all four blocks. She was happy about it. Then it went to another moment in her time when Young Starlight spilled her drink during snack time. "He always knew just what to do." Young Starlight was upset, then her friend showed her something on a piece of paper while he was cleaning up the spilled drink on the floor, and then young Starlight used her magic, and accidentally covered the whole room in bubbles, and when the bubbles went away, everything was sparkling clean. "And he was always there to help me." Then it went to a later moment when a stack of books was about to fall on top of young Starlight, but her friend used his magic to catch the stack, but then the books surrounded him while he was floating in the air. Unintentionally, he put the books back on the bookshelves, and then his Cutie Mark appeared. Young Starlight was astonished, but her friend went past her, upsetting her, and her friend's parents were happy, along with the whole town. "I guess it's not surprising that Sunburst got his cutie mark in magic and... went off to Princess Celestia's school. But when he left..."
Then Spike came into the picture, saying, "You blamed cutie marks and stripped a whole village of theirs, and when Twilight and the others stopped you, you went back in time and almost destroyed Equestria." Young Starlight was changing her emotions during Spike's rant, like she was responding to what Spike was saying. Then the background behind Spike poofed, and went back to the castle, where Starlight was giving off the same last expression her younger counterpart was giving.
"Not really stuff I'm super eager to tell Sunburst about," said Starlight. "I mean, he's probably some big important wizard now, and... I can't even find my way around Twilight's castle."
"Well, if Sunburst is that good at magic," said Spike, "maybe he'd appreciate your, uh..." he then cleared his throat. "exploits. You should talk to Twilight about it. I'm sure she'd want to hear what you have to say."
"I know," Starlight said. "But I don't want her to think I'm not ready to learn or that I'm not grateful for everything she's doing."
"Spike! Come quick!" came Twilight's voice. Spike and Starlight headed towards the balcony where Twilight and M.C. were looking out on the horizon. There was a snowflake heading right towards Twilight. Twilight caught it with her wing, and pulled it towards her. On that snowflake was a note.
"It's a Crystalling invitation!" said Spike.
"Well, at least they have another bundle of joy to take care of," said M.C. "And Guard Armor is now a big brother."
"Well, this settles it!" said Twilight, looking at Starlight. "Since we're going to the Crystal Empire, your first friendship lesson is going to be... reuniting with Sunburst!"
"Great..." Starlight said, nervously. She then looked left to right with her eyes, biting her lip.
It then went to a train to the Crystal Empire. Starlight Glimmer was looking out the window, nervous about reuniting with her friend. She looked around to see the Mane 6, Spike, Nyx, Joshua, M.C., Mutt and Guard Armor all over the train car. Pinkie Pie had a present sitting next to her as she was bored. Rarity was sewing a baby blanket. Fluttershy had a stuffed bunny toy that looks like Angel, but with a heart nose and hearts on its bottom paws. Twilight Sparkle was reading a babysitting book. M.C. was in a meditating position. Nyx and Joshua were napping on the way there, along with Rainbow Dash, and Applejack had something next to her, covered in a white sheet.
Rainbow Dash woke up and noticed it. She then asked, "Um, Applejack, what is that?"
"Oh, just a little somethin' for the young'un," said Applejack. She then uncovered it, and revealed a small, rocking baby bed with an apple theme.Made from genuine Sweet Apple Acres apple trees. We make 'em for all the Apples, and anypony related to Twilight is practically family."
Twilight smiled at what Applejack said. Then Rainbow Dash said, "Yeah, it's okay... But it's no Cloudsdale mobile! Bam!" She revealed a mobile with four rainbow, five clouds, and eight lightning bolts.
"Ooh!" Pinkie Pie and Rarity said in unison.
"Pretty!" Pinkie Pie said, touching one part of the mobile, which broke off. She then grinned nervously, and went back to her seat. Rainbow Dash deadpanned, and the others smiled at Pinkie's antics.
"Well, a mobile is real nice..." said Applejack, "as long as you have somethin' to lay in so you can look at it."
Rarity used her magic to take the comforter out of the baby bed, and replaced it with the blanket she sewed, saying, "And a fetching blanket to keep you warm." That made Applejack smirk at Rarity's antics.
"I'm sure Shining Armor and Princess Cadance will love all our gifts," said Twilight. "But I think they're more happy we'll be attending the baby's Crystalling."
" Ooh! I can't wait to see all that light and love make the Crystal Heart even more sparkly and shiny!" said Pinkie Pie, excitedly.
"Actually, Pinkie, the Crystal Heart is an ancient and powerful relic," said Twilight. "Without its magic, the Crystal Empire would be lost to the Frozen North."
"Wow, this Crystalling sounds pretty important," said Starlight. "I'd understand if you wanted to... you know... wait to do a different friendship lesson when we get back."
"Are you kidding? This trip is perfect!" Twilight said. "Not only do I get to see the baby and take part in the ceremony that helps maintain the magic of the Crystal Empire, but I'm starting my new pupil off with the most amazing friendship lesson ever! I can't wait!" Twilight pulled Starlight into a hug due to how excited she was.
"Right... Me neither..." said Starlight. She then saw Spike, motioning to her to take about her problem. "Actually, Twilight, I am a little worried about meeting Sunburst."
"Oh, trust me," said Twilight. "I know what it's like to see old friends."
"She was there at the restaurant, Twilight," said M.C. "Remember?"
"Oh, right!" said Twilight. She then chuckled nervously. Then she said, "But I'll be right there to help things along. I've broken the whole lesson down into a few easy steps to ensure this reunion goes off without a hitch!" She unrolled a list, which was really long.
Starlight then laughed nervously. She then looked over at M.C. and asked, "You knew that was me at the restaurant?"
"Let's just say I have a sixth sense to things around me and those who spy on me," said M.C. "Kinda like Pinkie's Pinkie Sense. I believe your spying Pinkie Sense was itchy neck?" Pinkie Pie poked her head up and nodded. Then her head went back down. "Anyway, we're getting close to the Crystal Empire. Let's prepare to leave."
"Hey! That's my line!" said the ticket pony of the train. M.C. smiled wide, and cheekily.
The train arrived at the train station at the Crystal Empire. The Mane 6, Starlight, Spike, Nyx, Joshua, M.C. and Mutt were getting off the train. Twilight was talking to Starlight, reading what was on her list.
"Step one, head to Sunburst's house and get you two started on the right hoof. Step two, get to the castle with enough time to visit the ba—" She was too busy reading the list, but failed to see her brother, who looked really exhausted. Twilight gasped and said, "Shining Armor!"
"Twilight!" Shining said, tiredly. Then the two of them hugged.
"I didn't know you were meeting us!" said Twilight.
Then M.C. walked up to the two of them and said, "Whoa. Was the new baby much worse than Guard Armor was?"
"What?!" Shining said, tired, yet nervously. "No. I'm fine. The new baby is amazing! And wonderful, and amazing. And confusing. And amazing. But surprising too, you know? I mean, not that you'd know. You wouldn't know, I know... You know?"
"By experience with fathers and their children," said M.C., "I'm guessing that your new baby has a lot of power coursing through it's body, and you haven't slept in days."
"Me or Cadance," Shining said, in defeat. "But it would be nice to take a break."
"Oh, of course! I don't know what I was thinking! You two probably need all kinds of help!" said Twilight, excitedly. She then turned her head towards Starlight and said, "I'm sorry, Starlight, but I guess combining your first lesson with this visit wasn't such a good idea."
"Oh, uh, don't be ridiculous!" said Starlight, starting to be relieved. "You're an aunt to another child. That's way more important than some friendship lesson."
"I just wish there was a way to do both," said Twilight.
Spike looked at the rolled up sheet of parchment and said, "Maybe there is! You've already done the work for Starlight's lesson with this list. All we have to do is follow it!" That made Starlight facehoof herself.
"Spike, you're a genius!" Twilight said.
"Yeah..." Starlight said through a nervous laugh. Then through gritted teeth, she said, "...genius."
"I'll go with Spike and Starlight," said Mutt. "Someone has to help Spike with the list."
"Then it's settled!" said Twilight. "Shining Armor and I will head straight to the castle, and you three can head straight to Sunburst's!"
"Aye-aye, Princess!" said Spike, saluting.
"Uh-huh," Starlight said, nervously.
"Alright, big brother, let's go see this amazing baby pony!" said Twilight to her big brother. But he was sleeping standing up.
"Ahhh... the baby..." Shining said sleeping.
"H'oh boy," said M.C., rolling his eyes, and then smiling.
"I know you're a little worried about this reunion, but I'm sure Twilight's got everything covered," said Spike as the three of them were walking towards Sunburst's house.
"Everything except how I'd rather do absolutely anything else," said Starlight, a little frustrated.
"Oh, I bet she's taken that into account too," said Spike. "It's all part of the lesson. Trust the lesson."
"Right..." said Starlight, unamused. She then saw the statue of Spike and the Crystal Heart, got a devious look and asked, "Hey, i-is that you?"
"Oh, yep, it sure is!" said Spike, looking at the statue.
"Now, according to the list, Sunburst's house is—" Mutt said, but was cut off by Starlight.
"Why is there a statue of Spike in the Crystal Empire?" asked Starlight.
Then a clear, butter yellow pegasus with a pinkish-red mane with a headband came up to her and said, "Because Spike the Brave and Glorious saved all of us from King Sombra!"
Then a light purplish-bluish pony with a mane of two shades of light orange came up to her and said, "And then again during the Equestria Games!"
"Really?" asked Starlight.
"Really!" said an orange stallion with a mane with three shades of blue. He then shook Spike's claws with a hoof, saying, "Big fan."
"Um, when were you going to tell me about this?" Starlight asked.
"Nah, it's no big deal," Spike said, waving a claw, trying to remain humble.
"It most certainly is!" said a bunch of crystal ponies.
Starlight was curious about that. She then used that as an opportunity to stall, levitated a footstool over to him and put him on it and said, "That's it! We're not going anywhere until I get the whole story!" Then she levitated a bag of popcorn for her to eat. Mutt then face palmed, and groaned in irritation.
The Mane 6, M.C., Nyx, Joshua and Guard followed Shining Armor through the halls of the castle. He then turned around to look at the others and said, " Before we go in, I should probably tell you. Seeing the baby might be a bit of a shock."
"Come on, big brother," said Twilight. "I've met babies before. I expect meeting this one won't be any different." As Twilight and the others walked into the room, where not only Cadance was, but also Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They bowed their heads as Twilight headed for the small bed. The rest of the Mane 6, M.C., Nyx and Joshua headed for the bed and got a look at the baby.
"Aw..." said Nyx. "The baby is so cute."
"Boy or girl?" asked Joshua.
"It's a girl, Joshua," said Cadance. "But... she has been a hoof full these past couple days."
"What do you mean?" asked Nyx. "She's a cute, adorable baby unicorn."
M.C. had his golden eyes, then went wide-eyed and said, "Nyx. She ain't a unicorn."
Then the blanket surrounding the baby got pulled off, and there, underneath the baby's back were wings, making the baby an alicorn.
"The baby is an alicorn like Guard?!" Twilight asked surprisingly.
"It looks that way," said Cadance, tiredly. "But she's a lot more powerful then Guard ever was when he was born."
"But... But... But I thought Alicorn wings had to be earned by accomplishing some great, princess-worthy deed!" Rarity said. "I meant to ask that when I saw Guard Armor for the first time."
"Ah agree," said Applejack. "How can ya just be born with 'em?"
"The birth of an Alicorn is something Equestria has never seen!" said Princess Celestia.
"It is beyond even our understanding," said Princess Luna.
Fluttershy leaned towards Rarity, and in a hushed voice, said, "That's not very reassuring."
"Wow! A unicorn, and a Pegasus!" said Pinkie Pie. "So she could be a super-strong flyer and have crazy baby magic!"
" Well, I know all about super-strong flying!" said Rainbow Dash flying around the room.
"And I can help keep tabs on her magic!" said Twilight.
Then the baby princess was about to sneeze, when she did, she let out a huge burst of energy from her horn, straight up, leaving holes through the next four floors. One pony from two floors up poked her head through the floor. That pony had a coat of pale amaranth and her mane was two shades of moderate raspberry. She had a light green headband and the back of her mane was a little burnt.
M.C. looked up at that pony and said, "That was the new baby! Sorry! I can fix that!"
"I've never seen a baby with that powerful magic before," said the pony.
"We'll get right to it, Gloriosa," said Cadance.
"Who?" asked Nyx.
"Gloriosa Daisy," said Princess Cadance. "One of our gardeners. She also works with another pony named Wallflower Blush. Ponies barely notice her."
"Okay," said Nyx. Then everypony looked back at the baby, and she was rubbing her nose with a hoof. She then shut her eyes for a moment.
"It appears her magic is more powerful than that of a newborn unicorn!" said Princess Celestia.
Princess Luna looked out the window, seeing a bunch of ponies heading towards the palace. She then said, "The crowds have already started to gather."
Then from in front of her face, a green balloon came in and Pinkie Pie was hanging off of the string, saying, "This Crystalling is gonna be some party!" Then the balloon popped when it reached the ceiling, making Pinkie Pie fall onto the floor.
"Do you think we should call it off?" Cadance asked.
"Um, we've all faced a lot worse than baby magic," said Rainbow Dash.
"I can't imagine cancelling such a beautiful and important ceremony over something so potentially adorable!" said Rarity.
"Well, at least it's a good thing I wasn't born like a normal pony," said Nyx.
"That's true," said Joshua. "If you were born like this baby, you would've destroyed the library way before I came here."
Nyx nodded while tilting her head.
"In light of the little one's abilities, this Crystalling might be more important than ever," Princess Celestia said. Then she looked at Princess Cadance and said, "Perhaps you should address your subjects and remind them of that."
Cadance nodded, hummed, and then leaned down to kiss the baby on the forehead. Then the sound of snoring came in and all of the ponies and M.C. looked over at Shining Armor, who was resting his head and forelegs on the headboard of the baby's bed.
Twilight walked over to Shining Armor, woke him up, and said, "Shining Armor! Do you have everything you need for the ceremony?"
"Huh?" Shining asked tiredly. But then he went into a worried state. "Oh, no! I still have to interview the honor guards, choose the purity crystal, and pick a crystaller!" He then pouted in a shocked expression.
"Take it easy," Twilight said putting a hoof onto Shining's left shoulder. She then looked over at Pinkie and said, "Pinkie can stay here with me and keep an eye on the baby."
But Pinkie took that sentence way too seriously because the baby was hanging onto Pinkies eyes, with Pinkie showing no sign of pain and making the baby laugh.
"How is that possible?" asked M.C.
"Anyway," said Applejack. "We'll all help ya with everythin' else." Then the sound of snoring came back, and Shining was on the floor. He mumbled the word "...baby..." as he was snoring.
"That is, if you can stay awake long enough to tell us how," said Rarity.
Spike was telling the ponies of the Crystal Empire the tale of how he saved the Crystal Empire. He was just wrapping up.
"...and that's how we found the Crystal Heart, defeated King Sombra, and saved the Empire," he said, finishing the story.
The Crystal Ponies surrounding them were excited to hear Spike's tale.
"We love you, Spike!" said a pink, crystal filly.
"Yeah. Tell the one about the Equestria Games!" said a light butter yellow crystal filly.
"Well, as much as I love reliving my heroic deeds," Spike said, "Mutt, Starlight and I have an important lesson to do, by order of the Princess of Friendship!"
"Awww!" said the two crystal fillies.
"Aw, come on, Spike!" said Starlight, still trying to stall. "I want to hear about the Games too!"
Spike was signing an autograph and then Mutt said, "I know you're stalling, Starlight. You don't really want to go reunite with him and face your fear."
"That's actually on Twilight's list," said Spike. "Let's get to it."
Starlight groaned, threw away her popcorn and said, "Let's get this over with."
Then the three of them walked up to the door of where Sunburst was supposed to live. Mutt was reading the address and said, "According to this, this is where Sunburst lives now." He then was about to knock on the door.
"Wait!" said Spike.
"What is it?" Mutt asked.
"Knocking on the door isn't the next thing on the list!" said Spike. "Plus, it should be Starlight who does it!"
"Seriously?" Starlight and Mutt asked with a deadpanned expression.
"I know Twilight can be a little nitpicky," said Spike, "but this is your first lesson as her pupil, and it's important that we do it right!"
"Fine. What's the next thing on the list?" Starlight asked.
Spike then read the list he had, ""Before they see each other, be sure to highlight the importance of the meeting.""
"I'm pretty sure we can skip that," said Starlight.
"I don't know..." Spike said, unsure. "I mean if we skip it, the whole lesson could go south! And then you might end up taking a giant step backwards instead of forwards! Maybe you'll never be able to learn anything about friendship at all! It's almost like your whole future depends on this moment." Starlight got worried that Twilight would be disappointed in her. Spike then grabbed her cheeks, pulled her towards Spike, both of them touched noses, all when Spike was talking to her. Then Spike let go, and said, ""Highlight the importance of the meeting" – check! I can't believe you wanted to skip that!"
Starlight then started knocking on the door, getting no response from inside. Starlight looked back at Spike and Mutt, and they shrugged their shoulders. Starlight was about to leave until the door was starting to open.
Starlight turned back towards the door and asked, "Sunburst?"
"Yes? What can I do you for?" asked the stallion. Then he saw Spike and Mutt. "Hey, I remember you two. Sorry about that incident that one day."
"Hey, it's you!" said Mutt.
"Spike, Mutt, you met Sunburst already?" asked Starlight.
"The last time we saw him, he thought me, M.C. and Joshua were all new sets of species," said Mutt. "And that was when Joshua was still human."
"Again, sorry about that," said Sunburst. Then he got confused. "Wait, what do you mean "was still human"?"
"King Sombra kidnapped him and cursed him," said Spike. "As long as Joshua is in this world, he won't be able to go back to his human state."
"Anyway, we're not here to talk about that," said Mutt. "Do you remember when you gotten your Cutie Mark?"
"Oh, yeah," said Sunburst. "I was learning magic with a friend of mine from back then. A stack of books was about to fall on her. I used my magic to catch them and put them back on the shelves, and then I went out to tell my parents about it."
"Unknowingly that you hurt that friend of yours's feelings," said Mutt. "Anyway, this is her. Starlight Glimmer."
Starlight Glimmer smiled sheepishly, and Sunburst said nervously, "Oh, of course! S-Starlight! My goodness, it-it's been a long time! What, uh, what have you been up to?"
"Me? Oh! You know, some of this, some of that, different... stuff," said Starlight in the same nervous expression. "Right now, I'm sort of Twilight Sparkle's new pupil."
"The Princess of Friendship?" Sunburst asked surprised.
"Heh... yeah... that's actually kind of why I'm here," said Starlight. "I mean, I know you're probably very busy."
"What do you mean?" asked Sunburst.
"Well, I figured after magic school, you'd go on to do important wizard work, but..." Starlight said, trying to move from the conversation.
"Oh. No. Y-Yes!" Sunburst lied. "Uh, y-yes, that's me, yup. [nervous chuckle] Important wizard! Really busy with lots of, uh, wi-wizarding... stuff." He then paused for a bit and then said, "Right. Uh, well... good to see you." Then he closed the door.
Starlight looked back at Spike and Mutt as Spike was about to say, "Huh. Maybe we should have skipped highlighting the importance of the meeting after all."
"Well, I guess that's that!" said Starlight, starting to walk away.
"Starlight, come on!" said Spike, stopping her. "We have to at least explain what Twilight wants!" Starlight groaned after that and then Spike pushed her back towards the door. She knocked on the door and then Sunburst opened the door, and Starlight was grinning sheepishly.
In the front entry of the palace, Cadance, along with Celestia and Luna, were standing on a stage that looks like a heart. Behind the stage, a huge curtain was covering the area where the Crystal Heart is.
"Dearest citizens," Cadance announced, tiredly, "I am sure you are all just as thrilled and ready for this Crystalling as myself and Shining Armor."
The crowd cheered loudly. Behind the curtain, Shining Armor was freaking out and six guards were standing at the ready.
"I'm not ready!" said Shining Armor.
"Take it easy!" said Rainbow Dash carrying two helmets. "Just pick whoever looks the most like honor guard material."
"Right... right..." Shining said nervously. He then looked back at the guards, and just slammed the helmets onto their heads, but they were on backwards. The guards started walking away from Shining Armor since he was in a nervous breakdown. He then walked up to M.C., Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Nyx and Joshua. "I'm sorry. Fatherhood to two foals is way more stressful than I ever thought."
"I can only imagine," said Fluttershy.
Rarity levitated a box full of small crystals and said, "Now, I know choosing the crystal of purity is a very important decision. So I have gone through the trouble of arranging them in order from incredibly pure to outrageously pure."
"Um, Rarity, don't they all sort of look the same?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, well, to the untrained eye, perhaps," said Rarity. She then held up the case to Shining Armor and asked, "What do you think, Shining Armor?"
Shining Armor was freaking out and shouted, "I don't know!" He then laid on the ground, covering his face with his forehooves.
"I was just thinking that he's put under a lot pressure, and he should really take a deep breath," said M.C. "Since something like this didn't happen with Guard, he's really stressin' about this now."
Rarity then quietly said to Fluttershy, "I hope Twilight and Pinkie are having better luck with the baby!"
In the room where the baby was sleeping, Twilight and Pinkie Pie were trying to keep her under control.
Pinkie was hanging from the baby since she was a strong flyer, saying, "Well... at least she's having... fun!"
The baby was firing blasts all over the place, but Twilight was firing at those blasts before they hit something. Twilight was getting exhausted and said, "Pinkie, hold her still!"
"I'm tryiiiiiiing!" Pinkie said as she was being dragged by the baby as she was flying. The baby fired a blast at Twilight, but Twilight ducked so she wouldn't be hit by it. She was getting antsy on trying to keep the baby calm.
Back in Sunburst's home, Starlight was catching up with Sunburst. You could basically hear a cricket chirping in the background.
Sunburst then asked, "So... the Princess of Friendship wants you and I to be friends again?"
"Heh, I know," Starlight chuckled. "Weird, right?"
"Uh, I don't understand," said Sunburst, confusingly. "Did something happen to you after I left for magic school?"
"What?" Starlight asked before thumping the table. "No! I-I don't see what that has to do with anything. W-Why would you even ask that?" Starlight started pouring more tea into her teacup when she was talking nervously. I mean, did something happen to you after you left for magic school?"
"What?" Sunburst asked nervously. "Um, no. L-Like you said, I'm an..." he then cleared his throat. "...i-important wizard."
They then left silence. Spike and Mutt were hiding behind some books, and Spike was reading the checklist.
"I'm sure there's something on Twilight's list that can help here," said Spike.
"You know, maybe I should go check on things for the Crystalling," said Mutt. "Mostly to get away from this awkward conversation."
"Good call," said Spike. "Go on ahead."
Then Mutt went towards the door, but stopped when he saw a family picture when Sunburst was younger. In the picture were four ponies. Himself, his parents, and his older sister. But the sister was actually Sunset Shimmer. He then took a picture of that framed picture, and then headed out the door.
Underneath the palace, where the Crystal Heart was, Shining Armor was taking deep breaths as Rarity was fixing his mane. She already took care of the stubbles on Shining's chin. Then through a close door, came Celestia, Luna and Cadance.
Shining walked up to Cadance and said, "Okay. I chose the honor guard, picked the purity crystal, and I know exactly who I want to be our crystaller. So, all we need is..." He then forgot the last thing.
"The baby?" Cadance asked. That made Shining Armor's face freeze up in shock. That was until Twilight and Pinkie came in with the baby.
"We're here!" Twilight announced. Shining then put a hoof to his chest and exhaled in relief. Twilight had the baby, and Pinkie Pie in a barrier she was surrounding.
Then Mutt came in and said, "Hey, guys. Thought I would see how things are going."
"Hey, Mutt," said Twilight. "How's Starlight and Sunburst's reunion going?"
"Awkward," said Mutt, like how Rob Schneider said in the movie 'Grown Ups'. "Although, when I was there, I learned two things about him."
"And that is?" Twilight asked.
"One; Sunburst was that one stallion that picked up me, M.C. and Joshua, thinking we were knew creatures," said Mutt.
Twilight face hoofed and said, "Gah! I thought that colt looked familiar in Starlight's past!" She then breathed out and said, "Okay, what's the other thing?"
"Check out this family photo of his," said Mutt, showing the picture he took of Sunburst's family. One pony caught her eye. "Sunset Shimmer?"
"Yeah, that kinda makes sense," said M.C., looking at the picture.
Then Cadance grabbed the baby out of Twilight's force field, and Twilight put Pinkie down. Then the baby started whimpering, knowing that Pinkie Pie was taken away from her.
"That doesn't look good," said Nyx.
Then the baby let out a huge cry in the Royal Canterlot Voice. Everyone there was being caught off guard by the cry. M.C. and Mutt were covering their ears. Then when the crying stopped, the Crystal Heart started cracking up, and then it broke apart.
"That is definitely not good," said Joshua.
Then the baby flew down into her mother's left foreleg, and everyone was looking at the shards of the Crystal Heart.
"Ah'm guessin' that's gonna make it harder to do the Crystalling," said Applejack.
"It's worse than that," said Twilight, looking out the curtain. "Without the Heart, the Crystal Empire's about to be buried under a mountain of ice and snow!"
Then a huge storm was starting to cover up the Crystal Empire. Everyone was nervous, except for M.C. and Mutt, because they had their ears covered, trying to get rid of the ringing in their ears. All that was left was the baby giggling.
TO BE CONTINUED...