//------------------------------//
// The Crystalling PT2 
// Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S6 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

Flash Sentry had faced many challenges in his life. Most had tested his physical and mental will, while others trialed his character, defining everything he was. By now he had grown to a point where nothing would be an issue for him to face. But on the day of the newest princesses Crystalling, he learned just how wrong he was.

Currently, Flash and his friends were staring down at the shattered pieces of the Crystal Heart, all now sensing the oncoming doom brought by the frozen north. "So..." he turned to Rarity as she spoke up, "Not only can we not take part in a fabulous ancient ceremony, but we're also about to be frozen solid!"

Twilight nodded as a frown graced her face, "Without the Crystal Heart's magical protection, the entire city's about to become a winter wasteland!"

Heart turned to his mentor, "I don't suppose gluing it back together is an option?"

"Oh, it's an option," Flash replied, "Just not a very good one."

Sweetie Belle kicked one of the Crystal Heart shards, "I can't believe a foal was able to do something like this."

"And ponies wonder why I'm terrified of my magic," Soul whimpered as she tried to levitate two pieces of the heart, unable to push them back together. "How can one pony's power bring about this much trouble?"

"I'm just as shocked as you," Ruby sighed as she picked up one of the pieces, "I always believed the Crystal Heart was unbreakable. It was able to protect against the Umbrum, Sombra and the weather itself. But to be shattered by a mere scream..."

"There's gotta be something we can do to fix it." Apple Bloom chimed in.

"The Crystalling was in part designed to strengthen the Heart, and keep it from needing to be fixed," Ruby instantly replied.

"Well, it has been a thousand years since the last Crystalling," Flash added. "That's plenty of time for the power to fade." He then turned to Twilight, "There has to be some other way to keep the weather at bay."

"Yeah!" Applejack continued, "What about when King Sombra ruled the Crystal Empire and the Crystal Heart was missin'? The city wasn't covered in snow then!"

"The Heart wasn't missing," Twilight responded as Cadance, Shining and the baby trotted over to her. "It was still in the castle. Sombra had just hidden it."

"I'm afraid Twilight is correct," Celestia sighed, "And the storm clouds are already forming."

She opened the curtains so everypony could now see the black clouds, along with lightning crackling within them. Rainbow flew up to the window, a smirk of her face. "Aw, that's nothing! I can totally fly up there and bust those puppies, no problem!" She turned to fly out, but Celestia shut the curtains before she could.

"I wouldn't advise that, Rainbow Dash. Those storm clouds are not like the ones you know."

Luna nodded in agreement, "This is the far north, where the weather has a will of its own, and now it will only grow stronger, enveloping everything in its path."

"Including the Crystal Empire!" Cadance reminded them.

"And us along with it." Twilight finished as Pinkie ran over and threw her arms around the alicorn, shaking in terror. The same fear could be seen on everypony's face, Flash being the only one not terrified.

"Well then," they turned to the Knight of Friendship. "We're just gonna have to find a way to fix the Crystal Heart and save the empire...even if we have no idea what to do."





Meanwhile...

Sunburst and Starlight were still awkwardly staring at each other, pure silence filling the area as Spike was staring at Twilight's list.

"There's gotta be somethin'..." the drake mumbled as his eyes stared at the paper, the transformed Hiveena and Thorax sitting just beside him.

The unicorns had moved from the table, Sunburst now sitting on what they assumed was his work stool, the wizard now speaking up, "Listen, I know Princess Twilight is keen on the two of us rekindling our friendship, but...it's been so long. I don't see how anything on that list is going to help."

"I know, right?" Starlight chuckled, showing the first genuine smile she had worn since arriving in the empire. "It's not like there's some spell that would just...magically compel us to pick up where we left off."

"Well...actually, there's several." Sunburst replied as he got off his stool and moved over to one of the bookshelves, pulling several books, "Mistmane's Material Amity, Rockhoof's Rapport, Flash Prance's Fellow-" He stopped when he saw the look on Starlight's face, "Ship." He shut the books and let out a cough. "But I...I get the feeling the princess isn't looking for a spell."

Starlight giggled as she shook her head, "Definitely not."

"Got it!" They heard Spike yelled before he started reading. "And if all else fails, ask them to share an embarrassing moment from their past, maybe even something they regret!"

The unicorns glanced back at one another with wide-eyes, the two changelings feeling a pulse of panic explode off the two. "Uh...I don't see how that would help," Sunburst said first.

"Um, yeah!" Starlight added, her genuine smile fading into a fake one. "We should just...get out of your mane." She spun around and went to the door, grabbing Spike as she did this, "It's pretty obvious this isn't going how Twilight hoped, and I'm sure you have plenty of important work to do..."

"What?!" Sunburst yelped as his eyes darted around, "Oh!" He nodded and floated a book over. "Uh...yes! Heh...um, no rest for the...wizardly."

Starlight's ears folded as she ran out the door, "Come on, Spike." The dragon groaned as he was pulled outside, Starlight shutting the door and running down the street until she was firmly out of sight of the house. And as she got there, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Dude-"

"AUGH!" Starlight screamed as she fell over in surprise.

"That was painful." Hiveena added as her and Thorax appeared in a wisp of green flames.

"Sorry Starlight," Thorax said as he helped her up.

"Seriously, that was hard to watch." Hiveena grumbled as she crossed her front hooves, "I have never seen a more awkward conversation. And I once had an affair with a stallion whose wife walked in on us."

"Lady Hiveena!" Thorax barked back, making Hiveena shrug.

"What?! I was just being honest."

Thorax rubbed a hoof down his face, Spike patting his side before turning to Starlight. The unicorn showed the biggest frown, slowly looking away. Her hooves began to move on instinct, trotting away from the scene as Spike began to follow her.

And as they left, Thorax felt himself shiver, "Geez, it's gotten cold."

"Yeah...it has." Hiveena added as she felt herself shake as well before looking up and seeing a barrage of dark clouds, "That's not normal."





Back at the castle...

The harsh freezing winds of the far north blew into the building, sending a chill up everypony's spine. And as they shook, Twilight turned to her mentor, "There must be a spell that can restore the Crystal Heart!"

"Perhaps..." Celestia replied while glancing over at her sister.

"But it isn't something that either of us know."

Cadance handed her child to Shining. "The library here at the castle is nearly as extensive as the one in Canterlot. There's a good chance we can find something there!"

Twilight nodded in agreement before looking back at the Royal Sisters. "Can you hold off the storm?"

"Yes...for a time." Luna responded, "But even our magic will eventually succumb to the power of the Frozen North."

Celestia took to the air. "We will do what we can, but you must hurry!"

"Then I'm coming with you!" Flash suddenly yelled, making everypony turn to him.

"Are you nuts?!" Shining yelped, "Didn't you not hear what Celestia just said? That storm is way more than any normal pegasus can deal with." In that moment, he was blinded by a light that exploded off of Flash. When the light faded, the pegasus was revealed to be wearing his new Shining Guardian form.

"I'm not your average pegasus," he replied while taking out Lightbringer. In a flash, it morphed into it's evolved form. "In this form, I've got just as much power as any alicorn."

"But your new powers are still untested," Twilight reminded him, only to see a certain determined stare on the pegasi's face. The sight made her sigh as she added, "Be careful and don't overdo it."

Flash nodded back, only to feel a suddenly spike of warmth. "Yeah! Let's do this!" Heart roared as he morphed into his fire form.

"Heart, you're staying here."

Heart's face fell as he turned to his new teacher, "What?! Why?! I can shoot fire out of every part of my body. Name one other pony here that could do a better job of keeping that storm away from the city!"

"Heart..." Flash tried to make sure to not raise his voice, kneeling down as he put a hoof on the colt's shoulder, "This isn't a game, and you're far from being ready to take on something like this."

"Oh please! Compared to what I faced in the war, how is this any worse?"

"Because back then, I didn't have to worry about you getting killed," he instantly replied, "But now, there's no super healing in place. If you get hurt, badly hurt, it's not going to magically heal overnight."

"I'm willing to take that chance," Heart responded.

"But I'm not." Flash turned away from him. "Besides, your power has more important uses."

Heart blinked at this, "It does?"

"Absolutely. We need a safety net. If the weather gets too strong for us, your fire abilities could mean life or death for the ponies here." He turned back to Heart, "I can't have you exhausting yourself until it's absolutely necessary for you to use your powers." He winked at his student, "Remember the third rule?"

Heart let out a long sigh, nodding as he changed back to normal. "Alright."

Flash nodded back before flying up to the princesses. "Flash Sentry, reporting for duty." The two nodded as they took to the sky, Twilight watching them head into the storm. Celestia and Luna were firing magic from their horns while Flash used Lightbringer to slash the clouds back, pushing the storm away as Twilight turned to the others.

"I don't know how long it will take to find the right spell, but we should probably tell the crowd outside to get somewhere warm!"

They all nodded as Cadance told them spoke up next, "And try not to mention the Crystal Heart. We don't want to start a panic."

Applejack did a small salute. "Yes, ma'am! Come on girls!" With that, she headed out with Fluttershy, Rainbow and the CMC.

Once they were gone, Twilight did a long gulp. "I'm gonna need all of your help. The crystal library is enormous!"

"You can count on us, Twily!" Shining added as his daughter giggled, her horn sparking before she vanished in a bright flash. Seconds later, she reappeared clutching onto Pinkie's face.

"AAAHHH!" She screamed in surprise, her reflexes causing her to pull the baby off before she realized what she was doing. But before she could stop herself, the foal was thrown off her face and flew through the air. Shining gasped and dived to catch her, but before she could hit the ground, she puffed away.

"What the-where'd she go?!" the stallion yelped as he and Cadance then heard a giggling noise coming from inside the castle.

"This way!" The Princess of Love cried out as she ran into the building, everypony else following after her.

Heart let out a groan as he helped chase down the foal, "I'm really starting to not like babies."

"How do you think I feel?" Soul barked back, "I might end up giving birth to one of those in a decade or two."

They then saw the foal flying through one of the corridors, her magic flaring as she lifted several vases off their pedestals. She giggled when she saw them float around, clearly thinking this was some kind of game. A spark of magic came next, dropping the furniture as Rarity and Ruby dove to catch them. And as the rest continued to chase the foal, she found herself cornered in a dead-end hallway.

"Gotcha!" Heart cheered before he and Soul leapt at her, only for the baby to suddenly vanish, making them both faceplant the wall. Another light made them turn around, now seeing the foal laugh at them before flying away again.

"Darn it." Soul added, "I wonder if Starlight and Spike are doing better."





"Well Spike, looks like my biggest fears came true." Starlight whimpered as she and Spike trotted through the streets, "I wouldn't be surprised if Twilight decides to give up on me entirely."

"Aw, its not your fault." Spike patted her on the shoulder before holding up the scroll, "I'm the one who said all we needed was this list."

He quickly destroyed it with a burst of fire while Starlight shook her head and replied, "It's not the list, Spike. Or you. Or Twilight. I'm the one Sunburst doesn't want to be friends with."

"I don't remember him saying he didn't want to be friends."

Starlight came to a halt and sighed, "He didn't have to say it." She stared down at the ground, shame on her face as she let the cold chill of failure wash over her.

Spike's face shined a small frown before it morphed back into a smile, "Well, Twilight obviously thinks you're worth being friends with, and I do too!" He hugged her, "And don't forget about Heart, Soul, Flash and all the others."

Starlight barely moved at his gesture, a smile slowly forming on her face as she responded, "Um...thanks Spike." The dragon pulled away. "At least I have a few friends, even if one of them has dragon breath." She winked, causing Spike to raise an eyebrow before he exhaled.

Seeing the air in front of him, Spike's eyes went wide, "Uh...that's not dragon breath! It's freezing!"

Starlight blinked at the breath, making her shiver before a voice called out, "Took you long enough," They turned to see Hiveena and Thorax walking up, both also shaking from the cold, "It's been getting colder and colder by the second since we left Sunburst's house."

"But I thought the Crystal Heart was supposed to keep the cold weather out," Starlight replied.

"It is..." Spike said with a long gulp, "Unless something's happened!" He quickly cut into a sprint for the castle, "Come on!"

The others began to follow him, only for Hiveena to look up and point at a bunch of bright lights flashing from within the clouds. "What's that?"





"Flash Cutter!" Flash swung his sword, unleashing an extra powerful blade of light that cut through a dark cloud, only for it to almost instantly reform. "Augh! They just keep coming!"

"Stay strong Flash!" Celestia responded she blasted a cloud away. "We must try and buy as much time as we can!"

"Easier said than done," Flash replied as he pointed his sword's crossguard at the clouds. "Flash Force!" The laser struck the cloud, carving through it and destroying half a mile of the oncoming clouds. With that done, he lowered his weapon and looked back, noting the metal currently covering his wings. "Let's see what these can do." As he said that, the lights on the wings began to glow before the tips suddenly opened up. Before Flash could say anything, light exploded out of the opening, propelling Flash forward at high velocity. "WHOA!" Flash yelped as he was sent flying into the clouds.

Celestia and Luna went wide-eyed as they saw Flash zip into the clouds. The light was so bright that it illuminated them, allowing the two to watch as he shot through the dark clouds. And as he flew through them, the clouds vanished due to the heat given off by his wings.

Flash then popped out of the clouds, swerving everywhere as he yelled, "Augh! Somepony stop this crazy thing!" The alicorns nodded to each other before flying up to him, both managing to grab him in their magic. Feeling his body being yanked by their magic, Flash tried to cut the power to his wings, the light vanishing before the tips closed and he turned to the rulers. "Thanks." He said before seeing the clouds behind them start to get close again. "Look out!" As he yelled this, his horn started glowing, unleashing a beam of magic that appeared similar to his Flash Force, the laser cutting the cloud in half.

And as the beam ended, Flash suddenly felt a pulsing feeling in his head, making him clutch it with his hooves, "Ooooow," he moaned.

"Are you okay?" Celestia asked, Flash shaking his head in response.

"A little woozy...but I'm fine." He looked up at his horn, "Looks like Twilight might have been right about this thing."

"And it looks like it takes a toll on you," Luna noted as she blasted away another cloud. "Best not to test the limits of your new powers right now. Stick to using your Celestic Gear."

"Yes ma'am," Flash's saluted as he pulled out Lightbringer, "But the three of us might not be enough."

"Then how about four?" The three turned to the sudden voice, now seeing a blast of green magic shoot past them and hit down another cloud.

"Hiveena?" Flash yelped as they saw the changeling princess fly up.

She gave them all a flat stare, "So...mind explaining what the heck's going on?"

"No time to explain," Celestia retorted. "For now, just know that if we don't hold these clouds back, the whole empire could be buried."

Hiveena shined a big grin at this, "Finally, something exciting to do here." With that, she started blasting away the clouds, laughing every second as she did this. The others shared a glance, only to quickly shrug as they got back to work.

"I hope Twilight finds a way to fix the heart soon," Flash commented as he slashed away at the clouds.





Back at the castle again...

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and the CMC were now trying to convince the ponies gathered to leave to non-successful results. "We're just saying that it might not be the best idea to stay outside!" Rainbow Dash yelled out at them.

"Yeah!" Scootaloo added, "I mean, it's freezing out here. Just go home so I can go inside and warm up!"

"I camped out all night for this spot!" An older crystal pony told her while sitting in a deck chair. "I'm not about to just give it up!"

"Still, when you think about it, the view is just as good a little further back." Fluttershy chimed in.

"Like inside your house," Sweetie finished for her. "With a nice open fire, a cup of hot chocolate and a good book to read."

The crystal ponies blinked at her, one of them wearing a jacket covered in badges now speaking up, "The Crystalling ceremony is one of our most sacred traditions!" He yelled, "And when that foal is held before the Crystal Heart, I plan to be as close to the action as possible!"

"Honestly, ah don't know if there's gonna be a Crystallin'." Applejack responded, the crowd glaring at her as she let out a sigh, "The truth is, the baby's an Alicorn, and her magic's plum crazy. So ya'll might not wanna be that close after all."

"A baby Alicorn?" Deck chair mare suddenly screamed with stars in her eyes. "Wow! I can't wait to see that!"

"Oh, those little wings are probably so cute!" the jacket pony exclaimed.

A tall crystal pony with a large moustache was standing beside him, his eyes showing a smile that was hidden by his moustache. "I know, right?"

"Well that didn't work," Apple Bloom sighed, "Any other ideas?"

"Look, I am a hundred percent sure the Crystalling isn't happening." Rainbow yelled out, only for a golden beam of light to shoot through one of the castle walls. This was followed by another, filling the darkening skies with light.

The crystal ponies watched in amazement as moustache stallion turned to Rainbow. "No Crystalling, huh? Then why are they starting the fireworks show?" The crystal ponies began to cheer while the girls watched in continued horror, Rainbow face-hoofing before covering her face, Fluttershy patting her on the head.

"Come on Twilight," Applejack whispered. "Find that spell."





Twilight had barely started looking, having been too preoccupied by her niece's constant games. She and Ruby were currently speed reading through several books while Cadance searched the shelves. At the same time, Shining, Pinkie, Rarity, Heart and Soul were chasing after the foal as she flew around. "Young filly," Shining cried as he chased her into another row of shelves. "Come back here!"

The baby flew over another shelf as Pinkie appeared in front of her, "Come to your Auntie Pinkie Pie!" The earth pony cooed as she bounced after her, but the baby quickly zipped past her.

Heart was huffing in exhaustion as he and Soul kept running, "I thought...newborns....weren't supposed...to do anything...but cry!" The foal stopped in front of a bookshelf as Heart accelerated, only for the baby to pull another disappearing trick, causing him to smash into the shelf. "Wow wit WHOA!" He cried as he slammed the book wall, though luckily they were fused to the ground, not knocking it over but instead burying him in books. "Awww..." he pushed his head out, spitting out a book, "I think I'd rather face Shadow again then this thing."

Soul watched as the baby continued to fly around, giving the older ponies a run for their bits before glancing at Twilight and Ruby. "Please tell me you found something."

"I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to be looking for," Ruby replied as she slammed another book closed. "I know Princess Amore must have anticipated something like this happening, so I'm sure she looked up ways to fix the Crystal Heart if it ever got damaged." She let out a long moan, "If only she'd told somepony where she kept it." She turned to Twilight as the mare slammed another book shut.

"Bridle Buck's Boat Chants," She put it down before grabbing some more and reading their covers. "Hayhoof's Intonements, Mystic Maps and Mazes." She goaned as she looked up at Cadance. "Anything up there?"

"Not yet!" Cadance replied as her daughter popped up beside her, "I'm not even sure how these are organized!" She started skimming the shelves until she reached a spot that didn't have any books, only for the empty space to be filled with the teleporting foal. The princess smiled at her, slowly reaching out to grab her-

"BABAA!" She sneezed, causing her to shoot out a blast of magic that Cadance ducked under while the foal was thrown through the bookshelf before teleporting away.

She reappeared behind Twilight and circled her three times before flying off as her father chased her. "Shining Armor," Cadance called out. "I thought you were taking care of the baby!"

"I'M TRYING!" Shining screamed as he chased her around a corner, only to see she had completely vanished. "Huh?" A popping sound signaled the baby appearing behind him before flying off, right as Rarity jumped out from behind the bookshelf.

"Gotcha!" She yelled while magically holding a net, only for the foal to teleport again. "Oof!" She slumped down and sighed, "Or not..."

It was at this moment that Spike, Starlight and Thorax arrived at the library, now seeing the chaos. "Whoa!" They heard Pinkie cry as the mare slid into a pile of books, then ducking down to avoid one of the baby's blasts.

"What's going on?!" Starlight asked before Pinkie was suddenly dragged passed them by the baby.

"You want the long or the short version?"

"Short?" Starlight replied as she watched Pinkie now flying while holding the foal.

"The baby's an Alicorn and she accidentally destroyed the Crystal Heart, so Twilight and Cadance are looking for a spell to put it back together and save the Crystal Empire from turning into a giant wasteland of ice and snow."

"Oh....okay." Starlight responded as Shining leapt at the baby, but the alicorn flew up, the stallion now slamming into Pinkie.

Cadance flinched at the sight before looking back at the shelf, her eyes now landing on a thick black book with a golden trim. "What about this?" She flew down to Twilight and Ruby with it, "Trotter's Tome of Reliquary?"

Ruby's eyes went wide at the sight of the book, "I think I remember seeing Amore with this a few times." This made everypony grow hopeful as Twilight opened it up and flipped through the pages, a frown on her face until she landed on a particular page.

"I think this is it!" She showed the page to the others, Cadance and Ruby reading it.

"Spell of Relic Reconstitution! I can't believe we found it!"

"It's a good thing, too!" Twilight closed the book. "Without this, I don't know what we'd do!"

It was in that moment the baby appeared above the table and flew through the books, knocking them over as Pinkie leapt after her, this time catching her. But as she did this, the foal sneezed again, unleashing a blast that headed straight for Rarity. Luckily, the mare pulled a mirror out of nowhere, deflecting the beam toward Soul and Heart. Both managed to duck under it so it flew over their heads, straight for Shining Armor. He then created a shield that deflected the blast at Starlight, Spike and Thorax, the unicorn reacting with her own barrier that the beam bounced off to Twilight.

The princess quickly ducked down so the blast didn't hit her, only for the beam to hit the book. Twilight gasped as she saw a big gaping hole in the book, the others all wide-eyed as Pinkie squeaked out, "Oops."

Twilight's brain blew a small fuse as she yelled, "NO! That spell was the only thing we found in the whole library that was even close to what we needed!"

Starlight shrunk back at the statement, making her tear up, "I'm so sorry Twilight!"

Twilight turned to her and shook her head as she opened to destroyed book. "No, it's not your fault Starlight. None of us were expecting any of this."

"So...what do we do now?" Heart asked.

"Panic?" Soul suggested before Cadance turned to Twilight.

"Do you think you can remember the spell?"

Twilight slammed the book shut and turned Cadance in disbelief, "I only read it through once!"

Ruby then took the book from her hooves, "And by the looks of things, the spell had several complicated steps. There's no way anypony could remember every detail of it that easily."

"Well then, you haven't truly seen Miss Twilight Sparkle in action," Rarity told the knight. "If anypony can exactly remember something she read for the first time two minutes ago, it's her."

Twilight glanced back at the burnt book and sighed, "I'll try...but I'm not sure how long it'll take."

It was at that moment that a harsh wind blew into the room through a hole the baby had made, causing them all to shiver until Heart went into his fire mode and let out a soft heat. They glanced at the hole, now seeing the dark clouds filling the sky as Pinkie turned to Twilight, "Is quickly an option?"

"I'll help if I can," Cadance told her before turning to Shining. "But we should evacuate the city just in case!" She took the baby in her magic and flew her onto her back. "You need to lead everypony to the train station before the tracks freeze over!"

"We will." Shining replied before nodding, "But between you and Twilight, I'm sure you'll remember the spell." He and Cadance crossed horns before he rushed out of the room, Rarity, Pinkie and Ruby following after him.

"Heart, go with them." Twilight added as she turned to the colt, "They may need your abilities to keep them safe." Heart nodded and flew after the group, Soul staying behind as she was suddenly given the baby to hold while Cadance and Twilight gathered around the table. "I only hope this spell is the one we need."

She took out a scroll and started writing as Starlight trotted up to her. "Is there anything I can do?"

Twilight looked up at her. "I don't think so. Though uh, I'm just sorry about your lesson."

Starlight shook her head, "Oh, that doesn't matter now. Sunburst and I don't have anything in common anyway. He's a big important wizard, and I'm re-learning everything I ever thought I knew."

She leaned against the table and sighed as Cadance turned to her. "Sunburst? I don't recognize the name."

"He's that guy that keeps sending me and Hiveena invites," Thorax reminded her as the baby turned to him, the changeling quickly morphing into a dog, making the foal clap.

Cadance rubbed her chin in thought before saying, "If he's an important wizard, you should bring him here. Maybe he'll know what to do if the spell fails."

This caused Starlight to gasp. "Of course!" She quickly rushed out the door while Twilight turned to her dragon assistant.

"You better go with her, Spike." Spike nodded and ran away just as thunder sounded out through the castle, making them turn to the hole in the wall, "There's no way they can keep this up." She looked back down at the scroll. "We've gotta figure this out now."





"YEAH!" Hiveena screamed as she fired a barrage of magic beams, "WOOHOO! This is the most fun I've had in months!"

"Glad you're enjoying yourself," Flash told her. "But can you please stay focused on the situation at hoof?!"

"Right," Hiveena sighed before taking down another bunch of clouds.

"We won't be able to keep this up much longer sister," Luna added.

"Don't give up Luna! We must persevere!" Celestia called back as she cut down a cloud, "Please hurry Twilight!"





Back on the ground...

The others were now trying to evacuate the crystal ponies, Applejack screaming, "Ya'll can't stay here!"

"What's it gonna take ta make ya'll listen ta us!" Apple Bloom yelled as the moustache stallion ignored her and turned to deck chair mare and jacket pony.

"Did I mention this was a Royal Crystalling? When the crystaller holds the young one aloft, all of the Empire will share their joy and light, and the Crystal Heart will beat stronger than it ever has before!"

"It really is a moving ceremony!" Jacket pony shed a tear, which instantly froze.

"I really don't think it's going to happen," Fluttershy told them as Rainbow shivered.

"Come on, it's freezing out here!"

"JUST GO INSIDE ALREADY!" Scootaloo screamed while deck chair mare rolled her eyes.

"Uh, this is the Crystal Empire. We've seen snow before."

"Not like this!" Everypony looked up to see Shining Armor atop the stage with Ruby. "We don't have time to argue! Princess Cadance has decided to evacuate the city!"

This statement caused the crowd to gasp, moustache stallion beginning to cry, "But the Crystalling...!"

"I don't know if we'll ever have another Crystalling again!" Shining responded with a deep frown gracing his face, "The Crystal Heart...is shattered."

Another more powerful gasp filled the air, the crowd turning to one another in fright, deck chair mare yelling, "It's not safe here!"

Applejack face-hoofed as she barked, "That's what we've been tryin' to tell you!"

"Everypony listen," Ruby called out as Heart flew above them, showing off his flaming form. "Follow this young pegasus. He'll light the way to the train station and keep you from getting too cold." She nodded up at Heart as the colt flew down and began to unleash a constant stream of fire that hit the ground and melted the snow and ice. Shining teleported to the front of the group, leading the colt as Ruby and the Ponyville ponies took the back of the crowd, making sure nopony got left behind.





At the same time...

Starlight and Spike had now arrived at Sunburst's house, the two jumping inside and pushing the door shut, which wasn't easy due to the heavy winds battering against it. The mare then turned to see her former friend organizing his books. "Sunburst!" He looked back at her, "Haven't you looked outside?!

Sunburst raised an eyebrow before looking out the window, "Snow?" He dropped his books, "That's...not right. The Crystal Heart-"

"Is gone!" Starlight interrupted, "The baby, Shining Armor and Cadance's baby...it's an Alicorn!"

This statement made Sunburst's eyes go wide as his glasses slipped down his nose. "Really?" He pushed them back up.

"Really!" Starlight nodded. "And her magic is a little berserk and well, I guess she destroyed the Heart! But Twilight thinks she can fix it and Princess Cadance thought you could help!"

This statement made Sunburst pale, his eyes shrinking as he yelped, "Me?!"

"Yes, you!" Starlight replied as a smile appeared on her face, the mare trotting up to him as he began to backpedal, "You're an important wizard in the Crystal Empire, aren't you? It just makes sense that you could help!"

Sunburst's back then hit his bookshelf, knocking several books off. "Right," he looked away and picked up his books. "Right...right right right." As he shelved them away, he turned back to Starlight. "You know, I'd like to help, I-I-I really would. I just...I just have so much, um, important wizard work to do around here."

"Huh?!" Starlight yelled as her and Spike went wide-eyed, the mare now trotting up to him, "Sunburst, I know you're busy, but didn't you hear what I just said?!"

"Oh, I heard you, but-but like I said, when you're an important wizard, the work just piles up."

"Sunburst!"

The unicorn sighed before turning back to her, removing his glasses and cleaning them. "Look Starlight, I want to help. I really do....but I can't. I wish I could, but I just can't help you."

"What do you mean?!" Starlight replied while placing a hoof on his shoulder, only for Sunburst to glare at her and pull away.

"Are you serious?! Fixing an ancient relic?! I-I-I can't even come close to doing something like that!"

"But I thought you were an important wizard!" Starlight instantly replied.

Sunburst's eyes narrowed, making him yell, "Well you're wrong, okay?! I'm not an important wizard! I'm not even a wizard at all!"

With that, he ran out the room, leaving a very shocked Starlight and Spike behind. The room went silent as they let the information sink in, with the only sound being that of the category five blizzard raging outside. And as Starlight stared at the room Sunburst had ran into, she slowly walked inside, now seeing Sunburst sitting on the other side of the table, his back turned away from them.

He glanced back at her for a second before turning away, "I know it's hard for you to understand, but not all of us end up achieving greatness."

"What?!" Starlight yelped as she trotted up to the table and sat down, "Why wouldn't I understand that?"

"Really?!" Sunburst growled as he turned to her, "You're the protégé of the Princess of Friendship! I don't think she picks just anypony for that!"

Spike chose this moment to chime in, "Technically, she's more of a student than a protégé."

Starlight quickly glared at him, making the dragon shrink back as Sunburst rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He turned back to Starlight, "I'm sorry I'm not the big important wizard you were expecting."

"Sunburst," Starlight tried to reach out to him, "I don't care if you're a wizard or not. I'm just surprised. You always knew so much about magic. I mean, look at all these books!"

Sunburst looked away, sighing as he replied, "Yeah well, reading about magic is one thing, but you don't know what it was like at magic school! To know so much and not be able to do any of it!" He slammed his head onto the table, Starlight letting this info sink in before her face slowly turned into a frown.

"Well, you don't know what it was like to be left behind!" Sunburst looked up at her. "And then getting so bitter that you steal the cutie marks from an entire village and then get defeated by Twilight and her friends, so you travel through time to get back at them, but they beat you again and teach you about friendship, but you're so terrified ponies will find out what you did that you can't make any friends!" Halfway through this outburst, Starlight had started crying, now completely blinded by the water in her eyes that she didn't see the shocked look appearing on Sunburst's face.

The unicorn stared at her as she wiped away the tears, his glasses sliding down his nose. "You traveled through time?"

Starlight went wide-eyed at his question, unable to believe that was what he was focusing on, through Spike chose this moment to elbow her in the ribs. "See? I told you he'd be impressed." She let out a nervous smile as Sunburst got off his stool.

"I'm sorry we lost touch." He said as she got off her chair, "Maybe if I had reached out, you could have helped me at magic school, and I could have helped you to..."

"Not become totally evil?" She sighed before looking away, "Yeah...let's just say I know what it's like to have something you're not exactly proud of."

Sunburst frowned as he replied, "When you showed up thinking I was some big wizard, I...I just couldn't tell you. I'm sorry. I should have told you the truth."

Starlight nodded back, "Its...its fine. At least we worked it all out. I think Twilight would be proud of us."

"Well..." They turned to Spike as he looked out the window. "If you ever want to tell her about it, we should probably leave right now!"

This made Starlight gasp as she turned back to the stallion, "I forgot to tell you! They're evacuating the city!" She jumped up and started pushing Sunburst toward the door. "You need to get to the train station unless you've got a spell here that will drive back the Frozen North and fix the Crystal Heart so the baby can have her Crystalling!"

"The crystalling?" Sunburst whispered as he heard her words, only to go wide-eyed, "Of course!" With that, he jumped away from Starlight and ran to his bookshelf, quickly pulling books off as the two shared a glance.





Back in the skies...

The four ponies fighting the storm were now starting to get onto their last legs, Flash asking Hiveena, "Still having fun?"

"Shut up!" Hiveena barked back while destroying a cloud, only to shiver as she felt some ice creeping up her hooves and wings.

Flash then turned to the royal sisters, seeing they were also getting overwhelmed, Celestia yelling being blocked out by the heavy wind racing past his ears. He looked down next, now seeing Shining and Heart leading the citizens of the empire out of the city, Heart unleashing as much fire as he could make to help keep the path clear and dry. But that image was soon blocked out by the clouds surrounding him, the weather growing worst by the second.

"Ahh!" He heard Luna cry.

"GYAH!" Hiveena yelled.

"FLASH!" He heard Celestia scream, appearing to be using her royal Canterlot voice to be heard. "We must fall back!"

"No!" Flash replied as he continued to swipe at the clouds. "I'm...not...giving...up!" Unbeknownst to him, the gems on his armour were beginning to glow. "Twilight...will find a way." The light spread around the rest of his body and armor as he closed his eyes. "She needs more time. That's why...I WON'T QUIT!" He opened his eyes as the the light exploded off his body, vaporizing the clouds around him and the three mares. Celestia, Luna and Hiveena suddenly found themselves inside an orange construct, a warmth embracing them while also melting the ice off their bodies.

At the same time, Heart melted more of the road while Ruby tried to make a crystal barrier on either side of the path. But as this happened, Heart's flames began to shrink, the snow around him not evaporating. As he did this, the snow around him just turned to water instant of being vaporized, making him damp.

"I won't be able to keep this up much longer!" He told the others as his flames grew weaker.

"Just keep trying!" Shining yelled as a frozen Rainbow landed next to him, her wings now almost fully cover in ice.

And as she appeared, a bright light suddenly exploded out of the clouds. Everypony flinched at the sight, closing their eyes for a second, waiting for their sights to adjust before looking up and going wide-eyed.

While this happened, Twilight and Cadance were standing in front of the shattered heart, both trying to remember the spell to fix it. Soul and Thorax were continuing to keep the baby occupied, Thorax jumping between multiple different animal forms to keep her from getting bored. But as Twilight continued to scribble on the scroll, a bright light suddenly flew through the curtains surrounding them. "What's that?" Soul asked before Cadance opened the curtains and let the light in, blinding most until their eyes adjusted at a new sight.

Twilight could barely believe her eyes, the alicorn reminded of something from when she, Flash and the Rainbooms defeated the Sirens. Flying above the Crystal Empire was a giant alicorn made entirely out of orange light. It was around the same height of the one that had defeated the Dazzlings, maybe even a little bigger. Within the avatar was Celestia, Luna and Hiveena, all glancing around as they floated inside the beast's main body.

"What the heck is going on?" Hiveena asked before looking up at the head of the alicorn, now seeing Flash hover there.

"Is this one of his new powers?" Celestia asked.

"Incredible..." Luna whispered.

Flash opened his eyes, blinking as he stared at the clouds surrounding the empire. As he did this, the horn on his head glowed, now unleashing a light into the avatar's horn. Magic then exploded out of the horn, striking the cloud and cutting into it before completely evaporating that part of the cloud for a good mile.

The avatar then spun around, dragging the beam of light with it as it destroyed more clouds surrounding the empire. As the light flew overhead, it heated the empire, making the snow and ice melt, warming everypony up as many began to sigh in relief at the sight.

But as the avatar did a full circle to destroy every cloud surrounding the city, Flash's body suddenly ceased up. An overwhelming feeling of exhaustion overcame him as the avatar suddenly exploded, its light vanishing. He let out a long moan next, his armor instantly disappearing as his wings gave out.

And as he began to fall, a black blur swooped under him, "Gotcha!" Hiveena said as he let out a groan, "Not bad Sentry. Not bad." Celestia and Luna then hovered over, both asking if he was okay.

At the same time, Shining Armor looked up at the clouds and saw that despite Flash's efforts, they were still growing closer. "We're not out of this yet! This way!"

"Just a little bit further, y'all!" Applejack added, "The station's just ahead!"

But as she said this, she turned to see Starlight, Sunburst and Spike stopping in front of them, blocking their escape as Hiveena and the sisters flew down, "We have to go back!" They heard Starlight cry out.

"I know how to stop this!" Sunburst added, the group blinking at the unicorn as Celestia smiled at them, seeing the confidence on their faces.





After the avatar had vanished, Twilight had gotten back to work, knowing she had no intention of letting Flash's hard work go to waste. "Um..." she stopped writing and looked it over, "I think that's everything."

Cadance looked the spell over, showing a slight grimace, "It looks right to me, but..." She turned to her sister, "There's only one way to find out!"

Twilight nodded and turned to Soul. "We may need some help with this."

"Me?!" Soul yelped, "B-b-but you know I can't control my magic! How could I cast something like that?!"

"You won't need to cast it," Cadance replied, "Just keep your mind clear and fire your magic at the heart after us. The blank magic will mix with ours and help power them up." Cadance could still see the unsure look on the filly's face, the princess moving over to place a hoof under her chin. "I know how you feel. I was a pegasus before transforming just like you. Having all that magic completely out of nowhere can feel daunting, but I realized the first step to learning how to control your magic is believing you can."

Soul shrunk away at her words, "But I...I can't...." Her eyes darted to Twilight, seeing a calm smile and nod from her teacher. Looking back at Cadance, she took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright. I'll...I'll try."

"That's all any of us can do," Twilight told her before she and Cadance sparked their horns. Twilight was the first the fire her spell at the shards, causing them to glow and slowly float into the air. Cadance then began to mix magic in, Soul closing her eyes as she cleared her head before shooting a thin stream of magic out at the shards were starting to slowly put themselves together and began to take shape.

Thorax turned back to normal as he held the baby in his hoof, both him and the foal intrigued by the light show. The three pumped as much magic as they could into the Crystal Heart as it slowly came together piece by piece. And as the last part connected to the rest, they kept the spell up for a few more seconds to make sure it was properly repaired before cutting the magic.

They then saw the repaired relic, smiling at the sight before the magic faded. And as it did, the crystal fell apart, its pieces hitting the floor.

"No...the spell failed," Twilight gasped as her ears drooped down.

Soul let out a sniff, tears trying to appear in her eyes, "I'm sorry Twilight. I didn't do enough magic and-"

"It's not your fault," the Princess of Friendship interrupted. "This was my spell, and it failed."

"But-"

"Don't blame yourself for this." Twilight said as she put a hoof on the filly's shoulder, shaking her head, "We just have to figure out a different solution."

"So...what do we do?" Thorax asked as Cadance took the baby. "Keep trying, or get out of here while the getting's good?"

"I wish there was another way to repair the Heart," Twilight sighed. "But I don't know what else to do."

"An old student of mine believes he does." Twilight turned to the voice and saw all her friends trotting in, Celestia and Luna stepping aside to reveal Sunburst. And as he moved over to the shards, Twilight spotted Flash riding Hiveena and gasped.

"Flash!" She yelped as she ran over and levitated him off the bug. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine," he moaned out, "Just...tired."

As he said this, Sunburst turned to Twilight, "The baby did this?!" Twilight nodded and showed him the scroll she had been working on.

"We tried putting it back together with-"

"The spell of Relic Reconstitution," Sunburst finished before scrunching up the scroll and throwing it. "No, that won't do it." He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a book and a scroll. "The Crystal Heart's been around for millennia. Restoring a relic like this is way beyond one spell." He showed the book to Twilight, "You need to combine it with something else. Something unique to the relic itself." He paused as he said this, only to see the alicorn just staring at him, "Something that strengthens it and provides it with power?"

Twilight blinked at him before a bulb went off in her head, "The Crystalling!"

Sunburst nodded back. "Combining that spell with the light and love of everypony gathered for the ceremony." He turned to the window, seeing the weather now getting closer. "Thanks to Flash, we don't have to worry about the weather for a bit." He then handed the scroll to Cadance and Shining. "This is a spell named Fledgling's Forbearance, which should curb the little one's power fluctuations." He smiled down at the baby, who giggled and started playing with his beard.

"You must be Sunburst," Cadance responded, "Starlight said you were a powerful wizard."

Sunburst shook his head, "Oh, I'm no wizard." This statement got a bunch of gasps and cries of 'What?!' from those around him, Hiveena laughing.

"What, you're surprised?!" Ruby glared at her as Starlight spoke up.

"But he studied magic his whole life! You should see his house! And since nopony has any better ideas, what do we have to lose?!" Celestia nodded in agreement as Shining took the baby in his magic and smiled at Sunburst.

"I had planned on asking Twilight to be our crystaller, but since it seems like she'll be busy..." He floated his daughter over to Sunburst, his eyes going wide as he took her in hoof.

"Oh! I would uh...I'd be honored!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Twilight added as she pointed to the window.

"Let's get out there and save the Empire!" Flash yelled as he tried to gallop, only to trip due to his exhaustion. Luckily, Heart was there to catch him.

"Maybe let the rest of us handle this," Cadance told him before she, Shining, Sunburst, Spike and the rest of the Mane Seven, changelings and CMC all ran outside. At the same time, Twilight, Starlight, Soul, Celestia, Luna and Ruby gathered around the Crystal Heart fragment. Twilight started using the spell again with Celestia and Luna helping, the Crystal Heart once again taking shape.

Soul took a deep breath as she fired a blast of blank magic while Starlight grabbed the scrunched up scroll and opened it up, she and Ruby reading it through and nodding before the two unleashed the spell. Flash and Heart sat there, watching in amazement as the spell put the relic back together, both praying Sunburst's plan would work.

Outside, the group ran onto the stage with Sunburst in the center holding the baby. Cadance and Shining kissed their daughter before casting the spell Sunburst had given them, the baby now glowing and floating out of Sunburst's hooves. At that moment, Rarity took out the box holding the purity crystals that Sunburst took in his magic before holding it aloft. "Citizens! May I present the newest member of the Crystal Empire!" Everypony looked up at the baby as she spread her wings and giggled, the glow from the spell exploding off her, causing the crowd to cheer.

"She's beautiful!" Moustache stallion cheered.

"Oh!" Jacket pony wiped away a tear, "It's just so moving!"

As he said this, he bowed, causing the ground around him to glow. The rest of the crystal ponies did the same, the street soon shining before making the city start to glow. Sunburst lowered the purity crystal to the ground next, touching the making the light on the streets absorb into the crystal. The unicorn then galloped off the stage through the curtain, running up to the Crystal Heart as the six mares worked to keep it together.

"I can't...hold it...much longer." Soul whimpered as Sunburst ran up to the relic.

"You don't have to!" He yelled before stabbing the crystal into the Crystal Heart. As soon as he did this, the crystal was sucked inside, completing the spell. The magic users ceased their spell, stepping back as the light from the Crystalling spread throughout the Crystal Heart and caused it to glow. It shook for several moment before spinning.

Faster and faster it spun, becoming a blur. "Is it supposed to do that?" Heart asked, the adults nodding back.

"Oh yeah," Flash replied, "Just watch. You're gonna like this." As he said that, the Crystal Heart unleashed a shockwave of magic the flew out in all directions, turning everypony it touched into a crystal form. Even Thorax and Hiveena were transformed, the wave continuing to fly out and get rid of the snow and ice that were beginning to build up once again. Within seconds, the clouds approaching the borders of the Crystal Empire were pushed back, all vanishing thanks to the magic of the repaired Crystal Heart.

At the same time, the baby began to float down and land in her parents hooves before the two rubbed their heads against hers. "Best Crystalling ever!" They heard Deck Chair Mare announce before they walked back inside, seeing Twilight and Flash at the bottom of the stairs while Heart and Soul were examining their new looks.

As this happened, Starlight glanced back at Sunburst with a smile, "For a pony who isn't great at magic, you did pretty well."

"Indeed," the unicorns turned to Celestia. "I'm glad to see you've found a way to share your unique gift, Sunburst. You may be more of a wizard than you think."

Ruby then bowed to him, "You just saved the Crystal Empire and its ponies. You have my never ending gratitude."

Sunburst blushed as he saw the thanks from Celestia and Ruby before turning back to Starlight, the two smiling at one another as they saw everything had turned out alright.





Everything after that was a complete blur for the group. After the excitement of nearly being frozen alive, everypony was happy that the rest of their visit went smoothly. Flash and Ruby had even got to show Heart the Hall of Knights. And as time passed, it soon began the time to return home. As this happened, it was the exact same moment Grand and Twilight's parents arrived by train.

"Sorry we're late," Grand told them while holding what looked like a birthday present. "Next time I'm shopping by mail so I don't miss anything."

Night Light nodded in agreement, "You would not believe the crazy weather that delayed our train. Came out of nowhere."

Velvet giggled as she trotted over to Shining, staring at the foal in his arms. "But it was all worth it to see this peaceful little angel!" She looked the baby over, now being overwhelmed by her cuteness. "Awww, so sweet!" She reached out, "Come to your grandmare!" The baby giggled and reached out to her, the others chuckling.

"Eeyup," Applejack added, "Peaceful now, anyway."

Twilight nodded back, "I suppose that spell really did the trick!" In that moment, the baby started charging up a sneeze. This caused everypony to scream and duck for cover, Heart and Soul jumping onto Flash's back and trying to hide behind his wings.

But then the baby sneezed...and it was just a normal sneeze, the ponies un-clenching as Shining looked down at her.

"We have Sunburst to thank for that."

Cadance let out a sigh of relief, "I just hope he takes his role as crystaller seriously. Something tells me that the baby will need a pony like him to look to for magical advice."

"Cadance, darling," Velvet took the foal in her magic and floated her over to her hooves. "Aren't we gonna name the poor little dear, or are we gonna spend our entire visit just calling her 'the baby'?"

Cadance and Shining shared a smile, both nodding as Cadance replied. "We were thinking...Flurry Heart."

Shining turned back to everypony. "You know, to remember the occasion."

"Oh, goodness," Rarity sighed, "How could anypony forget?!"

Scootaloo nodded in agreement, "Yeah! I'm gonna be having nightmares about it for weeks..."

Twilight then trotted over to her niece, "I think it's lovely."

She kissed Flurry as Flash let out a chuckle. "But it's probably best of keep that spell on hoof in case she needs another tune up. Or heck, keep it for the next one."

The new parents were surprised by this statement while the others laughed, Cadance and Shining clearly not planning to extend their family any time soon. After that, the group said their goodbyes before getting on the train. The last one to board was Starlight, Twilight checking on her through the window to see her and Sunburst talking until they hugged. And as Starlight headed for the train, Twilight pulled her head in and frowned.

"What's wrong, Twilight?" Spike asked from the seat across from her.

Twilight shook her head. "I don't know Spike. I think I have a lot to learn about being a teacher."

Flash and Spike shared a glance before the dragon asked, "What are you talking about? Your lesson went perfectly! Starlight and Sunburst got over their past and rekindled their friendship!"

"No thanks to me. I know a lot happened. I just...I wish I could have given my pupil the attention she deserves." She looked back as Starlight walked into the carriage and sat down beside Soul and across from Fluttershy and Sweetie.

Flash then placed a hoof on her shoulder, "Hey, this is your first time being a serious teacher. I know I've still got a long way to go before I'm ready to properly teach Heart." He turned to his student, who was talking to Rainbow and Scootaloo. "But that doesn't mean I shouldn't try."

"He's right," Spike added, "I know she needed to be put on the right path, but giving her the space to make her own decisions worked pretty well." He sat back and smirked, "Isn't that how Celestia taught you?"

Twilight blinked at him, only to remember how Celestia taught her. The memories made her go over Starlight in her head, knowing that simply giving Starlight the answers to her problems would have taught her nothing. If Starlight was going to learn about friendship, she needed to learn the same way Twilight had originally learned about it: Experiencing it.

The alicron glanced back at Starlight, seeing her stare out the window, waving at Sunburst as the train began to pull away. She then smiled back at Spike. "You know, I never thought about it that way...but I guess you're right."

Flash and Spike chuckled back, "Maybe you're a better teacher than you thought."

"And you'll get better in time," Flash finished as the train chugged down the tracks. Their adventure in the Crystal Empire had been an exciting one, but there were many more adventures awaiting them back home. And no matter what these now trials were, together they would have no trouble overcoming them.