Feeling the velvet cushions, which she sat on and the low hmmm of the train’s engines, she used her magic to flip the pages of the book she was reading.
Spike, who sat next to her, looked out the window at the passing landscape, as it turned from green to white, indicating that they were approaching the Crystal Empire.
Spike looked at the cover of the book that Twilight was reading, “the Crystal Empire and everything you wanted to know.”
Twilight was so engrossed in her book that she didn’t hear the announcement that the train had entered the frozen North.
“Hey Twilight, we’re almost there.” A now teenaged Spike nudged the alicorn.
The purple alicorn let out a heavy sigh and looked up from her book and noticed that the train was not moving anymore, where ponies get off of the train, Spike stood up to leave and Twilight put her book away and followed him.
Twilight and Spike stood on the platform of the crystal station, when Twilight saw her brother, Shining Armor.
“Shining, I’m so happy to see you again.” Twilight jumped up and down.
“I’m happy to see you again too.” Shining ruffled his sister’s hair with a laugh.
“Twilight has been talking a lot about seeing her niece again.” Spike interjected as they began to walk.
“I’m sure, Cadence has had hooves full with Flurry, even though she is 5 years old now, Flurry is still a hoof-full.” Shining told Twilight.
“No worries, big brother, I know what to do.” Twilight confidently spoke as she her brother and Spike walked down the hallway of the Crystal castle.
Then they come to a door, Shining opened the door with his magic to reveal a now 5 year old Flurry zipping around the room.
“Flurry Heart, you come down from there!” Her father demanded as the younger alicorn was perched on a light fixture.
“No, you can’t make me.” Flurry taunted, sticking out her tongue.
Twilight flew up to the young alicorn and hovered beside her.
“Hi, Flurry, won’t you come down for your auntie Twilight?” The older alicorn asked.
Flurry looked at Twilight, and her mouth brightened into a smile that was as big as her wing.
“Auntie Twilight, I didn’t know you were coming today.” Flurry threw her hooves around her aunt’s neck.
“I’m happy to see you too, Flurry, I’ve missed you.” Twilight softly spoke as the two alicorns came down from the light fixture, and landed on the ground.
Cadence, who had come into the room and was standing in the doorway with her husband look very angry, that her daughter disobeyed her husband.
“Flurry Heart, how many times have I told you when I’m gone, you listen to your father, do we understand each other?” Cadence scolded.
“Yes, mother.” The young alicorn hung her head in shame.
“Cadence, I’ve missed you.” Twilight spoke up when her sister-in-law was done with her lecture.
“Twilight, I’ve missed you as well, how have things been in Canterlot?” Cadence asked with an excited looking in her eyes, completely forgetting that she was still mad at her daughter.
“Wonderful, sure the princess life is hard to adjust to at first but Princess Celestia has been giving me pointers.” Twilight answered.
“Don’t you worry Twilight it will get easier.” Cadence reassured Twilight.
“But we are glad you’re here, we haven’t gotten a night out since Flurry Heart was born, and now that she’s 5 years old, we’ve decided to take a night for ourselves.” Shining added.
“Yay, I get to spend the day with Auntie Twilight and Uncle Spike!” Flurry gurgled, flying up to Twilight and giving her a hug.
“Well, I’d be happy to watch her for you.” Twilight said happily.
“All right, then we will leave you to it.” Cadence said as she and shining left the room and gently closed the door behind them.
“So, what do you want to do?” Spike asked.
“We could, play dress up.” The young alicorn spoke as she landed back on the floor.
The teenage dragon looked at Twilight and rolled his eyes, Twilight just shook her head at him and went over to the dresser that is stood in the corner.
Spike simply looked around the room, there was a bed in one corner, and next to the bed there’s stood a crystal nightstand and even the walls, the floor and even the ceiling were entirely made out of Crystal.
“Wow.” Spike admired his surroundings.
“Spike, you’ve been to the crystal empire almost 100 times, but you’re saying you’ve never been in one of these rooms?” Twilight inquired, now wearing a pirate costume.
“Yeah, I’ve never been in one of these rooms, they are simply incredible.” Spike stared at the ceiling in amazement.
Twilight simply shrugged and went back to picking out a hat for her pirate costume.
“Err, I am an evil pirate.” Twilight playfully growled at her niece who also was sporting a pirate costume from the same chest.
“And I am a pirate princess.” Flurry playfully tackled Twilight, Spike looked on as both alicorns rolled around on the floor, laughing.
Spike let out a heavy sigh as he moved to the door, keeping his eyes on the 2 alicorns on the floor. He opened the door with one claw and silently slipped out.
“Auntie Twilight, where is Uncle Spike?” Flurry asked getting up off the floor.
“Well, sweetie, he’s a teenager, and teenagers don’t like to play or at least that’s what your uncle tells me.” Twilight responded sweetly.
“Aww, well, but we can still keep playing, right?” Flurry asked with a disappointed look in her eyes.
“Yeah, we can still keep playing.” Twilight reassured her.
“Ok, I bet you can’t catch me.” Flurry taunted as she flew around the room.
Twilight took the air and tried to catch up with her niece but she was too fast for her.
“Hey Flurry, you are really fast, looks like your lessons with your mother have been paying off.” Twilight called.
Flurry unsteadily landed back on the floor and looked up at her aunt.
“Yeah, they have, but mommy is pretty hard on me and disciplines me when I’ve done something wrong.” The young alicorn’s ears flattened to the side of her head.
Twilight gently floats down to Flurry and putted a hoof around her neck.
“Listen, I understand that it’s hard training to become a princess, and I also understand that you want to prove yourself to your mother, but you need to listen to her, I noticed that you didn’t listen to your father when he told you to come down from the light fixture.” Twilight comforted her niece.
“Well, yeah, I don’t listen to daddy, I don’t even listen to the royal guards when they tell me to stop playing in the garden when it’s past my bedtime.” Flurry softly cried.
The door to the room opened with a creek, and Spike walked back into the room with a claw full of gems.
“Look what….” Spike trailed off when he saw Twilight and Flurry hugging on the floor, the younger alicorn was softly crying.
Flurry looked into Twilight’s eyes.
“Mommy and daddy think I’m one big disappointment, because I can’t do anything right.” Flurry cried into Twilight’s coat.
“Sweetie, no, we don’t think you’re a disappointment, sorry, we’ve been so hard on you, we didn’t know that.” Cadence’s voice came from the doorway.
“How….how long have you been standing there?” Flurry asked looking up at her mother.
“Long enough to hear that you believe that we think you’re a disappointment, but we don’t think that, we love you.” Cadence spoke again coming further into the room.
“But I thought you and dad wanted me to become like you so that one day I can rule like you are now.” Flurry broke down in tears again.
“Flurry, we never meant to hurt you, we don’t want you to be like us, yes, we want you to rule someday, but that day will come when you are ready.” Cadence gently spoke as she came closer to her daughter.
Flurry went over to her mom and hugged her tightly, they stayed like this for a little while with Spike and Twilight watching on in amazement.
“Thanks, auntie Twilight, I had a lot of fun today.” Flurry spoke as she hugged Twilight.
“I’ll see you in a few months, sweetheart.” Twilight whispered before she left to go back to the train station.
Spike looked back at Flurry and Cadence still hugging on the floor, with Flurry still softly, crying in her mothers hooves, Spike gently closed the door and smiled to himself, as him and Twilight kept walking out of the castle and to the train station.