CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Games Ponies Play
"Are you sure you can handle this Spike?"
"Would you relax Twilight?" Spike replied in an assuring tone, "I've got everything under control. You all go and do your thing in the Crystal Empire, and I'll do my thing here."
He produced a bowl of cake mix and a chef's hat, placing the latter on his head while stirring the mixture and licking his lips. Twilight narrowed her eyes at him while I folded my arms.
"As long as that 'thing' involves taking care of a house full of critters." I said sternly, "That should take priority over filling your face with gems."
Spike grinned sheepishly and put the bowl down.
"Uhh yeah," he said, "totally. But as I said, it's all under control. Now get going already!"
He shut the door and we turned to leave. Suddenly a loud cacophony of noises erupted from within the library. Howling, barking, hooting and screeching filled the air. Twilight stopped and turned around to go back but Rainbow Dash flew up.
"Come on you two!" she said hurriedly, "We're gonna miss our train if you don't move your flanks!"
Twilight groaned and we both followed Dash, albeit somewhat reluctantly in Twilight's case.
We arrived at the station to find the rest of the girls there, as well as John and Spark Plug. Ace and Haywick weren't there; the former choosing to stay in his lab, while the latter had to work a shift at the hospital. Neither Pinkie nor Fluttershy seemed to mind the absence of their husband-slash-special somepony.
"All aboard for the Crystal Empire!" a conductor yelled.
We lined up and got into our carriage, taking our seats. John made himself comfortable and allowed Applejack to clamber onto his lap. I sat down next to Twilight, who leaned into me affectionately. The others made themselves comfortable in their own ways.
"So what's with the sudden trip up north?" John asked, "What's so important that we're being sent to the Empire again?"
"If Sombra has come back," I said, "then I swear that I will kick his arse this time."
"It's not that," Twilight said, "though it would be fun to see you try. But seriously though, I got a letter from Cadence saying that the Crystal Empire is one of the cities chosen to host this years Equestria Games, and that she wants us to welcome the inspector when she comes to... well, inspect the city to see if it deserves to hold the event."
"The Equestria Games?" I asked, "I'm assuming it's a sporting event of some kind, like the Olympics where we come from?"
"It's only the biggest sporting event in all of Equestria!" Dash said proudly, "And if any city deserves to host it, then it's the Crystal Empire. When I was a filly, Cloudsdale lost out on hosting the Games to Fillydelphia. I remember the crushing disappointment I felt, and it hurt."
She sighed for a moment before letting out a small growl.
"These Crystal Ponies lost a thousand years to an evil king's curse." she said, "They've had enough bad news. No way we're letting them experience the pain of losing out on these games."
"Exactly." Twilight replied, "Princess Cadence is counting on us to do our part to convince the Games inspector to choose the Crystal Empire. And we are not gonna let her down, are we?"
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pinkie screamed dramatically.
We stared at her blankly.
"What?" she huffed, "I was just answering Twilight's question."
We all laughed as the train set off.
***
"Come on girls," Twilight moaned, "I'm still not sure we have this cheer ready for the inspector. Let's try it again!"
The others groaned.
"Fine." Applejack huffed, "But Ah think we're ready, given how many times we've done this already."
They assembled in the middle of the carriage and made a pyramid.
"Two, four, six, ei—"
The squealing of brakes filled the carriage as the train slowed to a halt. The sudden halt caused the girls to be flung around like ragdolls, ending up plastered against a wall or in somepony's lap.
It was because of this I learned that Applejack was a lot heavier than I thought she was. How John copes I don't know.
The door to the carriage opened and the conductor poked his head through, casting a worried glance at the sight of ponies sprawled all over the place.
"Er," he said hesitantly, "we've arrived at the Crystal Empire. Please watch your step as you leave the train."
He left the carriage, but I still heard him snickering. John, Spark and I helped the girls to their hooves and we got off. It was at this point I noticed something.
"Hey John," I said, "I've just realised that the girls don't have their cute-as-fuck Crystal colours."
John looked at Applejack, who simply shrugged.
"It was probably a one-time thing." he replied, "After all, they're not Crystal Ponies. But it's still a damn shame though."
Applejack tossed him a curious glance.
"Because those colours accentuate your beauty," he said quickly, "and make you look more lovely than you already are."
Applejack smiled and turned her attention back to where she was going, while John let out a sigh of relief.
"Nice save." I muttered.
He simply grinned, and the two of us followed our wives and friends out of the station and into the heart of the city.
"Wow," I said as we began walking down the main road, "this place looks a lot different than the last time we were here."
"Indeed it does," Rarity replied, "it looks more livelier."
"And crystallier!" Pinkie said excitedly, "Look at all the decorations they're putting up! The whole city looks set for one big party!"
"Well once we help them win the Games," Dash said, "they'll have every right to party, wouldn't everypony agree?"
We all nodded.
"That's my Dash," Spark Plug said dreamily, "always thinking about the positives. But she's right, we are gonna get those games. What better way to remember my first time in the Crystal Empire than by helping them win the right to host a major event?"
We all nodded again as a group of foals approached us, some of them holding flags in their mouths. They were all laughing merrily while they played their game. Dash smiled at the display but then suddenly stopped them, pointing at a random Crystal filly.
"I remember that feeling of excitement at the prospect of my city hosting the games," she said, "only for it to be replaced with soul-crushing disappointment when we lost out."
The filly's face fell as her smile turned into a pout, her flag falling out of her mouth and onto the ground.
"That." Dash said forcefully, "That right there is what I don't want to see again."
The filly by now looked ready to cry. Spark quickly stepped forward, placing himself between the two.
"Don't mind her little one," he said calmly, "she's still a bit upset about the time Cloudsdale lost out. But I assure you that, with our help, the Crystal Empire will host the Equestria Games."
The filly cheered up immensely, as did the rest of her friends. Spark picked the flag up in his magic and dusted it off. The filly took it from him and smiled warmly before the group galloped away. Dash sighed and rested her head against Spark's.
"Sorry," she muttered, "I really need to stop dwelling on the past."
Spark nuzzled her and she blushed. The display over, we all resumed our walk through the city.
***
"So where the heck is Cadence anyway?" I asked Twilight, who seemed to know better than the rest of us where it was we were going. She looked back at me and smiled.
"She's at the spa," she replied, "making herself look presentable for when the inspector arrives."
"So the inspector is going to award the Games to the city which has the best-looking leader?" I said, "That seems a bit... unfair."
"Why do you think that?" Twilight wondered.
"Because if you were in charge," I said smoothly, "they'd be begging you to let the Empire host the Games."
"Oh you." Twilight giggled as she bumped me with her flank, "You always know the right way to butter me up."
I grinned and wiggled my eyebrows. I looked back towards John and Applejack, who were having a hushed conversation with each other. I was going to try and make out what they were saying, but I stopped myself — after all, if they were whispering, it must be private. And if it was important, they'd share it if they wanted.
Our group soon arrived at the spa, which was clearly twice the size of the one in Ponyville (not that I'd know how big that place is... eh heh heh). We entered the building, although John had to literally be dragged in by Applejack, and saw Cadence in a chair. She definitely looked a lot better than the last time I had seen her.
She caught sight of us and grinned. Twilight rushed over and gave her a hug, and then the two of them did their usual greeting.
"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves, and do a little shake!"
The two of them fell over giggling.
"It's so good to see you Twilight," Cadence said, "and the rest of you as well."
"Likewise, Princess." I replied, "And what do you know? The fate of Equestria isn't hanging in the balance this time."
Cadence smiled.
"You're right," she said, "and how many more times do I have to ask you to call me Cadence? You obviously keep forgetting about your title, Duke Geo."
I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.
"Yeah," I mumbled, "I do."
Cadence giggled and addressed everyone else.
"I'm sure you men and stallions aren't interested," she said, "but you girls are more than welcome to make use of this spa's facilities. You can get a hooficure, get your mane done, or make use of this wonderful mud bath."
"Mud bath?!" Pinkie squealed, "That's the one for me!"
She leapt into the air and propelled herself towards the mud bath. Twilight's eyes widened in horror as she gasped.
"Pinkie, no!" she shouted.
Pinkie cheered as she landed in the mud bath. However the mud had the consistency of jelly, so instead of splashing she simply got stuck in the top for a moment before sinking."
"How relaxing." she said happily before disappearing under the mud with a large grin on her face. Twilight groaned and took a deep breath, bringing a forehoof to her face. She held it there for a moment before exhaling and bringing her hoof out so that she was pointing at nothing in particular.
"Just a little technique Cadence taught me," she said as she saw me watching her, "to help alleviate stress."
"Oh, okay." I replied. "So Cadence, what exactly do you want us to do while we're here? And more to the point, what will you be doing while we're doing it?"
"When meeting with important guests," Cadence explained, "it was tradition for rulers of the Crystal Empire to weave crystals into their manes in a very specific way. The Games inspector is known for doing her homework, so she will almost certainly be expecting my look to reflect the importance of her visit."
The door to the spa opened and a Crystal Pony wearing a uniform and carrying a saddlebag came in. She bowed before Cadence and cleared her throat.
"Your Highness," she said, "I come bearing two pieces of crucial information. The first is from your manestylist. She regrets to inform you that she has the flu and does not want to do your headdress out of fear of passing it to you."
"Oh," Cadence replied, "that's not good. Does anypony here know how to do it?"
The other ponies present shook their heads.
"I guess I could try it," Rarity said hesitantly, "if nopony else is able or willing to, that is."
"That would be most appreciated Rarity." Cadence said with a sigh of relief. She levitated a piece of rolled out parchment in front of her and added, "Here are the instructions you need."
Rarity took the scroll and looked at it.
"Well this seems like it could be—" she unrolled the scroll to find that it was twice as long as she was, "— oh my."
She shook her head.
"No," she said sternly, "I can do this. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I will certainly try my best. I mean, how often does a simple mare like me get a chance to style a Princess? The inspector isn't due for a while now, so I will have plenty of time to get this done. And maybe I will find a few shortcuts."
"Um, well..." the messenger said, "... that's the thing. The second message I have is from the inspector, Miss Harshwhinny. She will be arriving on the next train due into the city... which is in, er, fifteen minutes from now."
We all looked at her blankly.
"Oh dear," Cadence muttered, "this isn't good."
Before a panic could set in, Twilight took control of the situation and managed to calm everyone down.
"Okay everypony, settle down." she said, "Here's what we're going to do. Rarity, you work on Cadence's headdress as best as you can, and meet us at the castle when you're done. Meanwhile, the rest of us will meet with the inspector and keep her busy. All right?"
Everyone nodded.
"Sounds good to me." John said, "Let's get going."
We left Rarity fussing over Cadence and began the mad dash back to the station.
"Everypony be on the lookout for an Earth pony mare with flower print luggage." Twilight said, "That'll be the inspector."
"Gotcha." I replied.
We got to the train station just as the train arrived. We waited for the passengers to disembark. Sure enough, I saw a pony with flower prints on her luggage. She was peach-coloured with a green mane and a chicken for a cutie mark.
Seems odd, but whatever.
"It's the inspector," I said as I pointed at her, "over there."
Twilight and the girls rushed over.
"Excuse me!" Twilight yelled. "Miss?"
The mare stopped and turned round.
"Yes?" she said in an abrasive tone, "Can I help you?"
"Umm," Twilight replied, "we've been sent by Princess Cadence to formally welcome you to the Crystal Empire."
The inspector narrowed her eyes for a moment before she suddenly grinned from ear to ear.
"Well ain't that the cat's meow!" she said cheerfully, "My very own welcomin' committee! And y'all even got a couple of them human fellers I've heard so much about!"
John and I matched her grin in size.
"My my," the inspector said, "such a warm welcome. I'm thrilled that the Princess has gone to all this trouble just for me."
"It's no trouble," Twilight replied, "none at all. Now if you'd like to follow us to the castle, we can give you a tour."
"I'll get your bag." I said, "Save you carrying it."
"Why thank you kindly!" the inspector said, "Boy howdy, y'all humans are mighty nice."
"It's just the way I was brought up ma'am." I replied, "Please, follow us to the castle."
We started walking, the inspector following close behind.
***
As the group walked away from the station, the train departed. Standing on the platform was another earth pony mare in a formal suit. She looked around impatiently and huffed. At her forehooves lay a bag...
... with a flower print pattern on it.
***
"My golly," the inspector said cheerfully, "the crystal castle!"
She let out a gasp.
"Why, I've seen pictures but I never expected to see it with my very own eyes!" she gulped before adding, "From the inside..."
"She seems nice." Fluttershy whispered.
"It's just an act," Dash replied, "she's just trying to catch us out. Don't fall for any of her mind games."
Their attention turned to Twilight who was addressing the inspector, who in turn seemed to be getting extremely nervous.
"We have prepared something for you," said Twilight, "so if you would like to take a seat, we can show you what we've done."
"Do you mind if I take a quick run outside first?" the inspector asked, "It was an awfully long train ride and my legs could really use a stretch."
Oh, well..." Twilight replied, "we were just about to start."
"Oh!" the inspector said, "Well never you mind. You go on ahead and do your thing, girls. I'm listening."
"She was probably testing us to see if we could remain in control of a complex situation." Dash whispered to Fluttershy as she held up a forehoof, "Looks like we passed. Bump-"
"-cha!" Fluttershy replied as she bumped her hoof with Dash's.
"We'd like to thank you," Twilight said cheerfully, "for this opportunity to introduce you to this wonderful kingdom!"
Oh, well," the inspector said with a dismissive wave of her hoof, "the pleasure is all mine."
"And since we're not even from here ourselves," Twilight continued, "then who better than us to let you know just how welcoming this place can be?"
For the second time that day, she and the rest of the girls formed a pyramid. Except this time they were stationary. They then began a complicated looking dance routine, which ended with Dash flying around them and making a heart shape out of her rainbow trail. As they danced, they chanted.
Two, four, six, eight!
Name a place that's really great!
One, two, three, four!
Keeps you coming back for more!
Two, seven, nine, three!
The place that we all wanna be!
Four, three, two, one!
The Crystal Empire, that's the one!
The inspector applauded and whistled as the girls finished.
"Such a grand reception!" she said excitedly, "Though I must say that I'm surprised the Princess even knows me!"
We all exchanged curious glances. Dash tapped the side of her head with a forehoof, which implied that this was another one of the inspector's attempts to catch us out.
"Speaking of the Princess," the inspector continued, "where is she? Shouldn't she be here by now?"
"That's a darn good question actually." Applejack said as she glanced around, "Where tha heck is Cadence?"
"Well if she ain't here then it's no problem." the inspector shrugged, "Say, is that a balcony?!"
She ran off onto the balcony, where we heard her let out a huge sigh of relief.
"We could show her around the castle ourselves!" Rainbow Dash said. Spark Plug nudged her.
"But from what you've told me," he said, "you've barely been around this place yourselves."
Twilight's eye twitched and she performed her stress relief exercise from the spa again before finally speaking.
"Okay, listen." she said, "Geo and I will go back to the spa to find out what's keeping Rarity and Cadence. The rest of you, keep the inspector busy by any means necessary."
"Right!" they chorused.
They went out to the balcony to fetch the inspector while Twilight and I left the castle and headed back down the main road towards the spa. Along the way we passed a pony pulling a bag along.
"Hello there!" Twilight said merrily as we passed.
"Hello yourself." the mare replied curtly before muttering, "First hello of the day."
As Twilight and I walked down the road, a carriage passed us. We then heard a splash and a groan of displeasure.
"Seems like somepony is having a bad day." I said.
Twilight simply nodded.
Rarity must have seen us coming, because as we approached the spa the door swung open and she poked her head out.
"W-what are you two doing here?" she gasped.
"We finished the welcome committee song," Twilight replied, "and we just wanted to introduce Ms. Harshwhinny to—"
"No, no!" Rarity shrieked, "Princess Cadence isn't ready. Something has gone terribly wrong!"
"But," I said, "we need to speak to the Princess."
"You can't!" Rarity said harshly, "Y-you mustn't! She's in the middle of a delicate conditioning rinse that must go perfectly if there is to be any hope for her mane!"
"Oh come on," Twilight scoffed, "how bad can it be?"
"Imagine her mane," Rarity deadpanned, "turned into a porcupine."
"Eww." Twilight and I said together.
"Please," Rarity begged, "I will bring her back from the brink of tragedy, but you and the others have got to buy me some time! There is no other way!"
Before we could reply she slammed the door in our faces. We looked at each other and shrugged before making our way back to the castle to join the others.
"Well..." I said, "that was a bust."
"Agreed." Twilight replied, "I just hope the others are having better luck keeping the inspector entertained."
***
The inspector walked slowly behind the group of ponies plus one human in front of her, doing her best not to panic. Pinkie Pie had appointed herself as the tour guide, and was now attempting to regale the inspector with her knowledge.
"So, you see this here?" she chirped, "This is, um... a big, round room. It's known for its roundness, and bigness, and did I mention that it's round?"
"I think they call it a rotunda...?" the inspector replied nonchalantly, "A small, confining, rotunda..."
Pinkie blew a raspberry and waved a hoof dismissively.
"Whatever." she said, "Round is round, am I right?"
"Easy Pinkie," Applejack whispered, "let's play this safe! We got her in a good mood, so let's not do anything to ruin that."
"You know..." the inspector said, "I love this sort of architecture. I-I-I detect a neo-gothic inspiration in the design, yes?"
Pinkie looked at her blankly.
"Hey!" she squealed, "Look at me!"
She then started making a variety of silly noises. John rolled his eyes and smiled.
***
Twilight and I arrived back to see Pinkie pulling a face and making various random sounds while the inspector looked back at her with a dumbfounded look on her face. Applejack caught sight of the two of us and waved us over.
"About time y'all came back!" she snapped, "Where the heck is Cadence? Ah thought ya said she'd be with ya?"
"There's a... slight problem with her headdress." Twilight replied, "Rarity is trying to fix it, so we're on our own for now."
As she said this I had a brainwave, and snapped my fingers.
"What about your brother?" I asked, "Surely he could help?"
Twilight gasped.
"Of course!" she said, "If anypony can help, then it's him! Now if I know Shiny, and I do, then he'll be at the new stadium. Let's go."
"Think you can handle the inspector?" I said to Applejack. She simply groaned and rolled her eyes before walking away.
"Is it me," I said, "or does AJ seem to be in a bit of a mood?"
"I'm getting it as well," Twilight replied, "but we don't have time to figure out what's wrong. I'm sure she'll tell us in her own time. Come on, let's go find Shining Armour."
***
Twilight hummed merrily to herself as we approached the stadium. Crystal Ponies were running around a track, at the side of which stood Shining Armour with a cap and a whistle. Other athletes were talking amongst themselves, but they acknowledged our presence with a wave and a smile. Shining caught sight of us and waved.
"Twiley!" he shouted, "Good to see you little sis. And you, Geo."
"Likewise." I replied as I patted him on the shoulder.
"Hi Shiny!" Twilight said, "Listen, you've gotta help us."
"Is everything okay?" he replied.
"I left the other ponies giving the Games Inspector the worst castle tour ever." Twilight groaned, "Any chance you could help out?"
Shining turned his attention to the ponies running around the track.
"Come on, gang!" he bellowed, "Are we gonna gallop, or are we gonna trot?!"
He turned to Twilight.
"A castle tour, huh?" he said while putting a hoof to his chin, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can give you a hoof with that."
He turned back to the athletes again.
"Come on everypony!" he yelled, "Let's move, move, move!"
He turned back to Twilight and I.
"Don't worry Twiley," he soothed, "everything's gonna be okay."
Just then, I caught sight of John approaching. Just as I expected, everypony else was with him. At the front of the group was the inspector, who had a comically large smile on her face. She gasped excitedly and ran onto the track.
"I'm outside!" she laughed, "Oh my, it feels so good to finally stretch these old legs!"
"Uh," Shining said, "what the—?"
"Yeah," Dash said as the group reached us, "it turns out that the crystal castle doesn't have a gymnasium."
The inspector was now racing around the track, even managing to lap the athletes already on it.
"Hey!" Shining shouted, "Watch it!"
The inspector ignored him and continued running, crashing into hurdles and forcing everypony to get out of her way.
"Woo-hoo!" she cheered.
"Make her stop!" Shining demanded.
"Wait!" Dash exclaimed, "That's the Games inspector! Just let her do her thing, trust me."
"Oh, these hooves!" the inspector yelled, "I'm outside!"
"Why would she do that?" Shining wondered.
"I have no idea," Dash replied, "but that's why she's in charge of choosing who gets the Games, and we're not."
Another loud crashing noise got our attention, and we saw that the inspector had somehow managed to get a pail stuck on her head. With her vision obscured she ran straight across the field and out the gates, into a wide open area.
"Look out!" Shining yelled.
"Yeah okay," Dash said flatly, "we need to stop her."
The inspector continued running while yelping hysterically. Dash and Fluttershy took off after her.
"Where's she going in such a hurry?" Fluttershy said.
The two of them managed to close the gap. Dash reached out for the pail and gripped it in her forehooves.
"Closer... closer..." she grunted, "Yes, nearly... I think we've got her... Yaaaaaaah!"
The inspector suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Dash, still attached to the pail, continued forwards. The pail came off the inspector's head with a squeak as Dash hit the ground.
"Hoo-eee!" the inspector said as she trotted on the spot, "Oh, that felt good! There's nothin' like a great run to shake the cobwebs off these old bones."
She looked at Dash, who was sitting on the ground panting heavily.
"Well hey there, speedy!" she said, "These wide open spaces y'all got here remind me of home. This is great!"
"Oh!" Dash said in between gasps for air, "So you're enjoying your visit? I'm glad to hear it!"
While they were talking, the rest of us managed to catch up.
"Oh good golly, yes." the inspector replied, I just love to travel and see new places. Such a beautiful spot you got here, too!"
Shining grinned.
"Thank you so much!" he said as he held out his hoof, "I'm Shining Armour. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The inspector gasped.
"The... the Prince?" she swooned.
"What's going on now?" Twilight asked quizzically.
"From the looks of it," Dash replied, "just locking up the games for the Crystal Empire is all. Ain't no thing."
"My oh my..." the inspector mused, "I've never met a Prince before... never thought I would in my life, either."
"That's a surprise," Shining chuckled, "because you'd think that in your line of work you'd meet princes all the time."
"Hardly." the inspector scoffed, "I'm just an ordinary wild mustang from Mustangia here to enjoy a little vay-cay. Never thought I'd also be meeting royalty to boot."
She giggled as a look of horror appeared on Twilight's face.
"You..." she gulped, "you are Ms. Harshwhinny, the Equestria Games Inspector, aren't you?"
"Inspector what-now?" the mare replied, "No, my name is Miss Peachbottom. But y'all can call me Peachy."
"Oh no," Dash yelled, "we got the wrong pony!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pinkie screamed, "Uh wait, that's not right. I actually meant... YEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!"
Twilight began breathing heavily.
"Blast." I muttered, "It would seem we jumped to the wrong conclusion when we saw your luggage. You see, the mare we're looking for also has flowers on her bags."
"You know," Peachbottom replied, "I did see a smartly-dressed mare on the train. Maybe she's still at the station?"
"Hopefully." I said, "Come on everypony! Let's get going! We can still salvage this if we work fast!"
John was the first to leave, using his training to get a headstart by sprinting. Even with Applejack around his neck he managed to stay ahead of us, and soon we arrived back at the station.
We looked around frantically for any other ponies with flower print luggage, but to no avail. Throwing arms and hooves up in defeat, we convened in the middle of the station.
"Okay," Dash said assertively, "here's what we're gonna do. We split the Empire up into five sectors."
"And each of us search a sector." Fluttershy concluded, "But... won't that take up even more time?"
"We could search everywhere." Pinkie chirped, "Well... Except for the spa. What's the point of checking there? That's where Cadence is. If Ms. Harshwhinny is there then it's game over, right?"
The rest of the girls looked at her, and then to each other, before they all gasped in shock.
"To the spa!" Dash cried.
***
At the spa, Miss Peachbottom was enjoying a massage. On the table next to her was a formally-dressed mare enjoying a hooficure.
"Every city and empire wants to host the Equestria Games." she moaned, "So, I have to go through all the big phony-baloney song and dance, though of course, I'm never getting the real inside scoop. It's rather frustrating."
"Oh golly, I've been having a swell time since I got here." Peachbottom replied, "I'm actually thinking of extendin' my stay."
"And what exactly," the other mare snorted, "has made your visit so special?"
"Oohohohoooh gosh," Peachbottom said, "where do I start?"
***
We arrived back at the spa. To our dismay we saw that Miss Harshwhinny was indeed in the spa. On the other side, we could make out the silhouette of Cadence behind a screen.
"There she is!" Dash whispered, "And we're in luck, I don't think either of them knows yet that the other one's here!"
We went inside and saw Rarity with a huge grin on her face.
"Ahh, there you are!" she said excitedly, "I'm pleased to report that I fixed my problem. Presenting Princess Cadence, better than new!"
Cadence stepped out from behind the screen, revealing that her mane had been done up in a most extravagant fashion. I'm no expert, so I can't really describe it, but it still looked good. Though with all those gems in her mane I was glad Spike wasn't with us.
Suddenly a loud voice cut through the air.
"Princess Cadence?"
Another pony came over. Just my luck I would have to recognise her as the one Twilight and I passed earlier in the day. This must have been Miss Harshwhinny.
"So this is where you've been!" she said sternly, "I will have you know that this is by far the worst welcome I've ever had!"
"I-I can't believe it..." Cadence stuttered, "What was wrong with your welcome?"
"There wasn't one!" Harshwhinny said... well, harshly.
"Okay," Cadence said, "what is going on?"
Twilight prepared to explain but Dash beat her to it.
"Princess," she exhaled sharply, "we gave our welcome to the wrong pony, left the right one waiting at the station, and completely ruined everything."
Cadence looked at us. Her eyes fell on Pinkie.
"Cinnamon bun?" Pinkie said with a nervous squee.
"When I was a little filly," Dash explained, "I wanted so badly for Cloudsdale to win the Equestria Games. But it didn't happen. So I thought I could make up for that disappointment by helping the Crystal Empire win the chance to host the Games. But it looks like I ruined your chances instead."
"Not so fast, speedy." Peachbottom said as she trotted up alongside Harshwhinny, who glanced at her.
"I have just finished hearing about how this pony was just treated to the warmest, finest, most fabulous reception she ever had."
"Darn tootin'!" Peachbottom said excitedly while Harshwhinny simply pointed at us.
"Courtesy of these fine ponies, and people, right here." she finished, "Which, in my expert opinion, amounts to the first ever unvarnished, unrehearsed, and unbiased appraisal of a potential host of the Equestria Games. Which can only mean one thing..."
Dash's eyes widened in glee.
***
Cadence stood proudly on the balcony of the Crystal Castle as she addressed the crowd below through a microphone.
"The next host of the Equestria Games is..." she paused for dramatic effect, "the Crystal Empire!"
Loud cheering broke out at this announcement as Rainbow Dash hugged the same filly we'd met earlier.
"We did it!" she said happily, "I told you we would!"
"Congratulations, crystal ponies!" Cadence said.
The sheer exhilaration from the Crystal Ponies over this announcement super-charged the Crystal Heart, which proceeded to shoot a beam of light into the sky that burst into an aurora of colours. I was cheering as well, though John and Applejack seemed unphased by it all.
I shrugged it off. If anything was wrong, they'd tell us. In the meantime, it was time for us to go home.
***
Back at the station, Dash was still feeling giddy with excitement.
"You know," she sighed contentedly, "it feels good to help others get something you always wanted but never had. It's almost as good as getting it yourself... almost."
"And just imagine," Twilight said, "We'll still be able to come back here and watch the games when they're played."
"You're right Twilight," Dash replied, "that'll be awesome!"
Suddenly, the strap holding a pile of luggage steady snapped and gave way, causing a mountain of bags to almost hit Fluttershy.
"Oh my goodness." she squeaked, "That was close."
"All aboard!" yelled the conductor.
We all got into the carriage and took our seats. I leaned back in mine and prepared to go to sleep while Twilight clambered onto my chest and nuzzled my face.
"Huh," Dash mused, "it's a major bummer that Spike had to miss out on all this. He would have had fun here."
"I'm sure he's having a great time watching all the critters back at home." Twilight replied.
"Ya think he's still got a handle on things?" Applejack queried.
Twilight performed her stress relief exercise again.
"If he's staying calm and collected," she said, "then I bet he's doing a terrific job as a leader."
A noise from within the carriage got our attention.
"Did y'all hear that?" Applejack said worriedly.
Everyone looked around the carriage while Twilight and I simply exchanged a sly wink.
***
"And I think you know the rest." I said.
Spike grinned sheepishly.
"Yeah, I do." he said, "You came back and told me what happened. But I think it's great that the Crystal Empire won the Equestria Games. Are we going to go back when they're on?"
Twilight nodded.
"Cadence has invited us as VIP guests," she said, "so of course we're going... though I'll need to find somepony to watch the library for a while."
"Worry about that later," I said, "and let's go to bed. It's been a long day, and I'm tired."
Spike yawned and stretched before scratching himself.
"Good idea." he muttered as he headed upstairs, "Goodnight!"
"Goodnight Spike." Twilight and I said together.
There was a creak as he got into bed, then silence.
"What do you think tomorrow will bring?" I asked, "If today was a day for grand announcements, then I wonder how tomorrow will be any different."
"I think we'll be getting an announcement from John and Applejack tomorrow," Twilight said, "because I think I've figured out what's wrong. She's become moody like I was... when I was pregnant."
I gasped.
"It's just a theory," she said quickly, "for all I know she could have gas. Let's just wait for them to tell us, okay?"
I nodded and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"If that is the case," I said, "then I know for certain that AJ will make a wonderful mother."
"And what about John?" Twilight asked, "Do you think he'll be able to act mature enough to be a proper father?"
I looked at her. Her stern demeanour quickly faded as she burst out laughing. I soon joined in.
"You had me going there." I said, "For a moment, I thought you were being serious."
Twilight's laughter stopped and her serious face returned.
"Well I'm being serious now when I say that John will be a great dad." she said, "He took a beating to prove he was a great friend, so I can only imagine what he will do to prove he can be a dad."
"Agreed," I said with a yawn, "now let's go to bed."
Twilight nodded and allowed me to carry her upstairs to our bedroom. No words were said as we fell asleep in each other's loving embrace and awaited the dawn of a new day.
... a day that would change our lives forever.