The Little Pony Legend: The Crystaling and To Where and Back Again

by MaggiesHeartLove

The Chrystaling part 1

"Okay. Library... Library... Where did they put the library?" Starlight Glimmer asked herself as she wandered around aimlessly through the castle hallways. She felt so small compared to the rest of the household, with its massive tall ceilings and long endless hallways with a variety of doors that all looked the same with no sign to indicate where they led. She opened the first door which she believed was the library, or would at least lead her to it. When she did, all she saw was yet another line of hallways in opposite directions. The unicorn sighed in annoyance.

"This castle looked a lot smaller from the outside." she said before closing the door and turning to open another one with her magic when she did she heard the sound of running water. Inside, Spike was brushing his teeth in front of a mirror, wearing a towel around his waist and fuzzy slippers. He turned and waved at the unicorn, his mouth covered in toothpaste, making his greeting sound muffled.

"Morning, Starlight!"

"Whoops!" Starlight Glimmer quickly shut the door and shielded her eyes. While technically Spike never did wear cloths, and he didn't appear embarrassed about seeing the unicorn, Starlight didn't like the feeling of interrupting someone while they were in the bathroom. At least she caught him brushing his teeth instead of anything else. "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 from the door and pointed with his toothbrush. "Next door on the left!" he said, his voice still muffled.

Starlight turned her head to the door that was right in front of her. She was already standing in front of the library this whole time. "Oh. Thanks!" using her magic, Starlight opened the door and walked right in to see Princess Twilight looking over some scrolls. Once she noticed the company, she stopped and greeted her friend.

"Starlight, good morning, come in! What brings you here? Everything alright?" Twilight asked.

It had been no more than a month or two since Starlight had reformed and joined the new Air Nation. So far, she was accustoming nicely to their ways, especially the vegetarian lifestyle. Tenzin was a wonderful teacher in regards to her new elemental powers, and of course Twilight Sparkle and Avatar Korra were tasked with teaching the pony all about friendship. Them along with the rest of Team Avatar.

In that time, Starlight also reconnected with her long lost friend, Sunburst. It was a tac rocky at first, being rather hesitant to reveal her past to him, but in time she finally was able to, and to her amazement and relief, Sunburst didn't think any less of her. If anything, it made him happier they could be friends again, realizing how much she needed it.

Sunburst had definitely grown during their time apart. He was incredibly courageous, selfless, loyal and strong-willed. He was a great influence on the unicorn.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Fantastic, even." Starlight said, in response to Twilight's previous question. Though, Twilight could tell from the tone of her voice that this was not the case.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow, which would get her to confess.

Starlight sighed before replying, "It's Sunburst."

"I thought everything was going great between you two." Twilight said, already sounding concerned.

"It is. I'm glad we could be friends again and we're getting along great. Better than ever, actually. It's just been six months now and I was, sort of, possibly considering…" the unicorn trailed off, her face tainted with purple colored blush.

Twilight Sparkle studied her body language from afar. Her lowered ears indicating shyness, rubbing leer hoof, not looking directly in someone's eye as she spoke. It didn't take much time for Twilight to connect the dots. The princess squealed with delight. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! You're going to confess aren't you?!"

Starlight Glimmer's blush depend. Ever since they were foals, Starlight was always in love with Sunburst. In fact, that was why it was so incredibly hard for her when he left for Canterlot due to his parents sending him away before she could even say goodbye. During the time they had spent together, Starlight realized her feelings for her old friend had grown even stronger than before. She had long since wanted to tell him, but was scared of how it would effect their rekindled friendship.

"Well, that's the plan. I'm more nervous about it really. I mean, I've loved him for so long but…I don't know if I'll be any good at this relationship stuff. Not to mention, what he doesn't feel the same way about me?"

"What are you talking about? He's been spending practically very day with you, and me and Flash have noticed the way he looks at you." Twilight said with a wink.

"I guess. But, I'm still relearning all this friendship stuff, I don't know the first thing about romance. And, since you and Flash Sentry have been around for so long I thought, maybe…you could give me some advice?"

Twilight wrapped her hoof around her friend, smiling compassionately, "Starlight, there is only one thing you need to know when it comes to loving someone. Love is about placing another's needs before your own. It's about going the extra mile for that person, even if it means giving something up. It's about sacrifice and teamwork. But most of all, it's not about feeling butterflies in your stomach, you have to choose to make those sacrifices. That's what a committed relationship is really all about but so many others forget it."

"Wow. That's…pretty deep."

"Well, I speak from experience." the princess said with a light chuckle. "Besides, you don't have to worry about him not feeling the same way, he definitely does! You did say he spent years trying to find you again. Why would he go through so much trouble if he didn't care?"

"I guess." Starlight said, her ears lowering shyly, her cheeks blushing. "Can you at least give me advice on how to tell him without tripping over my words at least?"

"Of course, I can. Why don't we do a little role playing? I'll be Sunburst and you try and tell him how you feel." Twilight assumed the position, cleared her throat and attempted to speak in a much deeper tone to resemble that of a male pony. "Ahem--"Hey, Starlight. What's up?" Now you try." she said in her normal voice again.

Starlight gulped nervously before speaking, "Uh, hey Sunburst. You look…nice."

"Thanks, I just had my uniform washed." Twilight spoke in her deep voice once more.

"So, anyway, there's something I've been…meaning to tell you."

"What is it? You know you can always tell me anything."

Starlight could feel her heart pounding hard against her chest, drops of sweat dripping from her brow as she tried to say the words. "Well…you see…I…I…I….I can't do this!" the poor flustered unicorn shielded her face like a frightened puppy dog and rested her stomach on the castle floor.

"It was a good try." Twilight said sympathetically, stroking her friend's mane.

"It's no use. If I so much as look into Sunburst's eyes I'll panic." Starlight's ears perked up and set stood up quickly when an idea formed in her head. "I know! You can make me a list of things to say. I'll rehearse them so that way I won't chicken out if I run out of words."

"I don't know." Twilight said with uncertainty, "A confession like this should come from the heart, not a list."

"Please, Twilight?" Starlight pleased, her lower lip quivering and her eyes becoming as big as a puppy dog's. Twilight still thought this wasn't necessary, but the unicorn was still learning. Maybe she could comply this one time.

"Fine. I'm still against it, but if it'll put you at ease."

"Thank you!"

Twilight rolled her eyes and levitated a quill and scroll to start. "In the meantime, why don't you go 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! Why don't you go with them while I make your list."

"Throne room! Got it!" Starlight quickly galloped out of the library and headed for the throne room…only to return a few short seconds latter, "U'm, which way is the throne room again? All these doors look the same." the unicorn said with a nervous laugh, making Twilight sigh and roll her eyes with a smile.

Starlight Glimmer entered the throne room and, just as Twilight has stated, all of Team Avatar was present. Each of the Mane Six sat on their respected thrones while Asami and Mako stood beside them. The only one not present was Bolin, who was already off working with Kuvira in the earth kingdom.

"Well, I think we should leave ASAP." Rainbow Dash said as she sat on her respected throne. "I don't want to miss the Crystalling!"

"Be patient Rainbow Dash." Mako said as he stood beside her, crossing his arms. "We have to wait for the invitation to get here first."

"Frankly, I'm not exactly clear on all the customs and traditions of the Crystal Empire, especially when it comes to a Crystalling." Applejack said, sitting on her respected throne.

"What's a Crystalling?" Starlight Glimmer asked just as she walked in.

Rarity was the first to answer her question, "Well, that's just it, darling. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's 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."

The raven haired Asami Sato attempted to explain to the unicorn the knowledge they managed to gather. "We so know it's got something to do with the new baby."

"And a party!" Pinkie Pie said rather quickly as she poked her head from underneath the rounded table, surprising both Starlight and Asami. The pink pony smiled widely, her nose practically touching a still surprised Starlight.

"And the Crystal Heart." Fluttershy said.

"And a party!" Pinkie exclaimed, just as quickly as before, frightening Fluttershy so much she instinctively blasted a gust of wind at the pony, sending her flying across the room to hit a wall. "I'm okay!" Pinkie called out.

"And some kinda cool energy." Rainbow Dash said last, only to have Pinkie Pie appear on the table.

"And… a party!" the pink pony cheered while exploding confetti everywhere. Rainbow Dash gave her friend a deadpan glare, and Starlight looked at the pegasus in confusion. Rainbow simply shrugged. There was just no fully understanding that pony.

"It's not hard to understand. Most things in the Crystal Empire aren't." Spike said as he and Korra entered the room. The human alicorn was carrying an ancient purple colored vase with beautifully artistic images painted around it. Spike jumped onto his throne and unfolded a scroll he was carrying, revealing an image of himself holding the Crystal Heart. "Like how I'm a big hero there, for example!" the dragon smiled proudly.

The dragon was met with indifferent looks from the rest of the group, while Rarity stifled a giggle, slightly breaking the silence. Korra only rolled her eyes and placed the vase onto the table. "Plus, me and Twilight did do a lot of research on Crystallings."

"Oh, can I explain it? Please!" Spike pleaded, giving her his big puppy dog eyes.

Korra simply shrugged and smiled, "Fine. Go ahead."

The dragon smiled with glee before clearing his throat and told everyone the process of a Crystalling by using the images depicted on the vase. Each side had a drawing of the events that took place during this ceremony.

"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!"

"What do you mean it increases the Crystal Heart's power?" Starlight asked the Avatar.

"The energy it uses to protect the Crystal Empire. Without, the entire place would be lost to the Frozen North."

Asami's gaze fell to the floor, crossing her arms sadly. "I wish Bolin was here to see it." she said sadly. Her boyfriend had taken a job, helping to stabilize the Earth Kingdom with Kuvira, Varrick and the Earth Queen. She was very proud of him, but his job did keep her away from home, not to mention he was helping settle a very difficult land dispute at the moment, so there was no way he could be there on time with the baby coming so soon, and the Crystalling happening short afterwords.

Mako placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Me too. But, we'll be sure to take a lot of pictures to send him."

"I'm on it!" Pinkie Pie said, right before taking a picture with a camera she somehow managed to obtain. A powerful flash practically left the two blind. Once their vision had cleared, they both glared in annoyance at the pony, who smiled apologetically.

Back at Air Temple Island, P'Li hummed a happy tune while folding her laundry in the room she and Starlight had been sharing ever since she moved in. She spotted the now anthro unicorn walk into the room. "Hey, Starlight. Back already?"

"Yeah, just went to see Twilight at her castle. Got a little turned around in the process."

P'Li gave a light chuckle. "Yeah, that thing looks a lot smaller on the outside."

"I know, right!" Starlight said, also chuckling. However, P'li noticed the hint of nervousness in there as well.

"Still worried about Sunburst, hu?"

"I'm sorry to bring up my love life. You know, because you…" Starlight trailed off, not wanting to remind her friend of her past relationship.

P'Li smiled in reassurance, "It's okay, I know what you mean." she said while taking a seat and inviting Starlight to sit beside her at the corner of the bed. "You've chosen wisely, you know. Sunburst is a wonderful stallion. Smart, kind, courageous, loyal."

"I know. I can't but feel nervous about telling him."

"That's perfectly normal. Back when me and Zaheer were still very young, I had a hard time confessing my feelings too."

Starlight looked at her in surprise. "You did?"

"Oh, absolutely! I was a nervous wreck. But, we both know how that story ended so, not the best example. My point is, just as Sunburst didn't think any less of you after you told him about you becoming…"

"Totally evil?" Starlight said with regret.

"I was going to say a little bit exaggerative." P'Li said, prompting the two to laugh, "I'm sure he won't think any less of you if you tell him how you feel. You have nothing to be afraid of."

Starlight smiled as she hugged her friend, "Thanks, P'Li."

"Anytime. I may not be he best at romantic advice, but I'm always here if you ever need a hug. Or someone to talk to." P'Li said while stroking the pony's mane.

The next day, Starlight could already feel her body shaking as she approached Sunburst's new home in the city. She knocked not the door, and once hearing him invite her in she turned the knob and walked right in, seeing her friend organizing several police files on his kitchen table. He was wearing a plain white shirt with short sleeves, which exposed his perfectly toned human arms, being currently in his anthro form, and wearing dark pants and some slippers. On his forearm, was his cutie mark. While mares had their on their cheek while in anthro form, a stallion's was on their arm.

Starlight had to mentally slap herself back to reality before greeting him. Her face red. "Hey, Sunburst, can I talk to you…everything okay?" she asked, noticing that it wasn't just police files he was reading. One of the papers in his hand appeared to be a letter of some kind. As he read it, he didn't look at all too thrilled to read what it said.

"Oh, yeah. Fine." he suggested, placing the papers down on the table. "It's just that..."

"What's wrong?" Starlight asked. She knew something was bothering him.

Sunburst sighed, tracing his fingers across his orange sunset hair. "I…got a letter from my dad."

Starlight blinked in surprise. She had not seen Sunburst's parents ever since he left for magic school and she left the village. She only remembered the two were very talented unicorn ponies who excelled in magic and always pushed Sunburst to do the same. Naturally, their blood ran through his veins for her got his cutie mark in magic. However, after they were reunited, Sunburst had mentioned that his mother passed away three years ago due to illness, and had not spoken to his father in a long time, even long before his mother passed, who was the only one he kept in touch with before her passing. His relationship with his father had become rather distant, and she knew why.

"What did he want?" she asked, rather hesitantly, not wanting to step on any toes.

"He said he wants to see me. Probably to make amends. We've barely spoken since I dropped out of magic school five years back, and even less since my mom passed."

"Where does he live now?"

"At the Crystal Empire. He didn't say much, only that he's been living there for a few months. Says here he's hoping to make amends."

"That's great!"

"There's just one problem." Sunburst said as he scratched the back of his neck, "He already knows I dropped out of magic school, but…I never told him about me being a cop."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know how he will take me using my magic for law enforcement instead of studying to be a wizard like he was."

"Well, maybe he won't. You are still technically using your magic, and you're really great at it."

"Maybe." Sunburst's ears pressed down against his head. "My dad's always been the…stubborn, type. It's been a long time since we've talked. I'm just not entirely sure if I can handle facing him again."

My dad wasn't all too happy about me leaving magic school. He and mom wanted me to carry on the family tradition of powerful unicorns."

"I can relate." Starlight said as she took a seat opposite him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I was so scared about telling you all about my past mistakes. I'm still not proud of them."

Sunburst smiled and placed his hand over the one she currently had on his shoulder. "Hey, you're not that pony anymore. I've known you for years, I know the kind of pony you really are, Starlight."

Starlight blushed at his compliment. "Thanks, Sunburst." she was silent for a moment before speaking once again, "You know, if I learned anything from our reunion, it's that sometimes you need to face your fears instead of running away from them."

"Well, listen to you being all wise." Sunburst said, flashing her a charming smile which made her blush deepen. She playfully punched his arm.

"Stop it!"

"But, you do make a good point. Who knows, maybe he's over it." he said. But, even Starlight could see the hesitation in his eyes. He wanted to see his father, but was too scared to do in fear of how it will turn out. Even she herself felt nervous for him. It was then, she realized she didn't want to leave him to do this alone. She wanted to help him. She wanted to be there for him. She wanted him to know he wasn't alone on this. It can be hard to pick up where two folks left off, and the way things were with Sunburst and his father, she could understand how anxious he must be feeling. Without even a second thought, Starlight said….

"Why don't I go with you to see him?"

Sunburst's ears perked upwards in alert. "Really?"

"Yeah, for moral support."

"I don't know, Star.Nnot sure if you remember much about him but he's not exactly the jolly type. Maybe it's best if you just sit this one out."

"No. I want to." Starlight firmly stated, "You've always been there for me, I want to do the same for you."

Sunburst blinked in surprise. "I…I don't know what to say. Thank you." he wrapped his arms around his best friend, hugging her tightly. Starlight lost herself in his embrace, until the reality of the situation hit her. At that moment, all of her confidence withered away, being replaced with the same worry and concern Sunburst was just feeling.

"What are friends for?"

Starlight grunted angrily once again when she found herself lost in the massive castle…again. "Ugh! I am never gonna find my way around this place!"

A door opened and Spike walked out, seeing the distressed unicorn. "Gee, Starlight, what's wrong?"

"I don't know, Spike. Things have gotten all turned around. I just told Sunburst I'd go with him to see his dad at the Crystal Empire and now, I'm not too thrilled to see him again."

"Then why did you say you would?"

"I don't know! It just slipped out! All I wanted was to be there for Sunburst, but I was so caught up in wanting to help him I completely forgot one little detail."

"What's that?"

Starlight Glimmer sighed as she explained to Spike more about her childhood with Sunburst, as well as her history with his family. "When Sunburst and I were foals, he knew everything there was to know about magic. He always knew just what to do. And he was always there to help me. But, his parents were always pretty hard on him. They weren't always too keen on me being around. They were incredibly talented unicorns, coming from a long line of them. I guess it's not surprising that Sunburst got his cutie mark in magic and... went off to Princess Celestia's school the moment his parents found out. But when he left…"

"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." Spike finished, which only made Starlight feel worse. "Um…but that's all in the past now." he said, trying to take back his blunt response.

"That may be so, but it's not really stuff I'm super eager to tell Sunburst's dad about. If he didn't like me then, I can't imagine what he will think if he knew what I ddi. Not to mention he was so upset about Sunburst leaving magic school, he'll probably blame me for it."

"Why would he blame you? It wasn't your fault he decided to leave. And I bet if he saw Sunburst now he'd be proud."

"That's another thing. What if he ends up thinking I'm not good enough to be friends with his son? Sunburst is a part of the Republic City Police department now and… I can't even find my way around Twilight's castle."

"You know, you thought the exact same thing before you told Sunburst about your past, remember? He didn't hold it against you, so maybe his dad won't either."

"Maybe."

"I'm sure once you see him everything will turn out fine. Besides, if Sunburst's dad is that good at magic, maybe he'd appreciate your, uh…" Spike cleared his throat, trying to find a much more appropriate word to use, "exploits. You should talk to Twilight about it. I'm sure she'd want to hear what you have to say."

"I know. But I don't want Sunburst to think I don't want to be there for him." the unicorn grunted in frustration, "Urh! This friendship stuff is harder than it looks."

"That's why you have us, to help you through it." Spike said, comforting his friend.

"Spike! Come quick!" Twilight's voice called out from the balcony, where she and Korra waited eagerly, looking out into the distance. Starlight and Spike arrived not too long after she had called for her assistant. A cold wind blew in their direction, carrying what appeared to be a snowflake that sparkled in the sunlight. It was unusual for there to be a gust of cold wind during this time of day, or during this time of the year.

Still, the two princesses smiled excitedly once the snowflake landed on Korra's hand. The snowflake was made of paper, the edges designed with crystal styled hearts. It also doubled as an envelop, opening up in four pieces with a note inside.

"It's a Crystalling invitation!" Spike said excitedly upon seeing the letter.

"Shiny and Cadie are parents!" Korra exclaimed with joy.

"And I'm an aunt!" Twilight exclaimed, equally thrilled and levitated the letter, "Korra, look! It says Cadance wants you to be the official Crystaller for the baby!"

"Are you serious?!" Korra snatched the letter back, reading the words once more. She gasped, a hug smile grew on her eyes and her eyes sparkled as she leaped up into the air, "Whoohoo! I'm a godmother!"

Starlight smiled for her friends, "I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Hey, this is perfect!" Spike said, remembering their previous conversation. "You and Sunburst can come with us to the Crystal Empire. That way you can see the Crystalling and see his dad."

"Sunburst's dad?" Twilight asked, her eyes blinking in surprise, which made Starlight gulp nervously.

"Wait, wasn't he the one who basically pushed Sunburst into the next train to Canterlot before he could even say goodbye which eventually led to your slow descend into madness?" Korra asked, remembering the time Starlight had told her the story, to which Twilight, Mako, Bolin and Asami already knew about beforehand.

Starlight's ears lowered sadly. "Yeah, that's him. As if trying to tell Sunburst how I felt wasn't scary enough."

"Did he invite you to see him?" Twilight asked.

"No, I mostly invited myself. I just saw how nervous he was and, I don't know what came over me!"

"I do." Korra said, softly lifting the pony's chin up. "It's called being there for your friends. One of the first things one learns when it comes to friendship."

"I guess." Starlight replied, looking down with uncertainty until Twilight wrapped her hoof around her.

"Don't worry, since this is your first real test in friendship, we'll be right there to help you so your visit with Sunburst's dad goes off without hitch, and we'll finally get to meet the baby! I can't wait!"

Starlight smiled awkwardly during the tight hug. "Right…me neither." she said, though really there was no hiding the fear and worry in her voice.