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Chapter 1: Day Off2,647 words
Chapter 2: Relationships Change3,399 words
Chapter 3: More Bonding6,108 words

Chapter 2: Relationships Change

It was the next day and the train station at Ponyville was filled with creatures saying their goodbyes to Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack.

“Hope you’ll visit again soon, Headmare Twilight,” Silverstream said, “It was nice having you help with some of the problems at the School of Friendship.”

Twilight chuckled, “Of course I’ll visit, Silverstream. And about the problems back at the school, it wasn’t that big of a deal. And I’ll tell Gallus that you miss him when I get back.” She winked. Silver blushed and started sinking back into the crowd. Most of the Young 6, except Gallus who’s a guard in training in Canterlot, said their farewells and left to go back to their work.

“Oh, come back soon, girls.” Fluttershy smiled.

“Well, we’ll be back by the end of the week.” Applejack confirmed, “Right, Rare?”

“Absolutely. But now, we must get going.” Rarity responded.

Twilight nodded, “Mhm. I can’t miss the train to the Crystal Empire and Rarity and Applejack needs to get to Canterlot. By the way, I’ve informed the castle and Spike about your arrival.”

“Well, I’m sure we aren’t that important that the whole castle should know about it.” Rarity said while primming her mane.

Applejack groaned at her, but quickly let it go, “Anyways, we’ll see ya’ll later!”

“Ta-ta!”

“Bye, girls!”

“See you later!”

“Bye!”

Applejack and Rarity entered the train to Canterlot while Twilight entered the train to the Empire. Both trains set off and it was going to be a long trip, so they settled in their cars and waited ‘till they arrive. Meanwhile, back with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie.

“Twilight! Applejack! Rarity!” Pinkie shouted, “Don’t forget us!” She tripped over a rock running after the train and pouted before trotting back to the two pegasi. Pinkie sighed, “So, what do you two plan on doing?”

“Not sure since I was supposed to hang out with AJ and Rarity after Twilight left.” Rainbow replied.

“Well, today’s Tuesday, and Discord will be coming over for tea today, so I’ll excuse myself,” Fluttershy said as she started flying home, “Bye, girls.”

Dash looked at her and sighed, “Guess it’s just you and me, Pinkie.” She looked back to her pink friend, but found her staring at nothing, “Pinkie?” She waved her hoof in front of her and after a couple of times, she finally woke up from her trance.

“What?! Oh, oh! Sorry, Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie apologized, “I just remembered that me and Cheese had a previous arrangement and that we were supposed to meet up right about now... Welp, gotta go! Bye, Dashie!” Pinkie bounced off.

“So, it’s just me... Wish I had something planned for today like my friends.” Dash said to herself out loud. But unknown to her was that somepony, who was just passing by, heard all that. That pony thought to himself and decided to do something about it as he flew off.

After a few hours of being on the train, they finally arrived at Canterlot. Applejack and Rarity got up and off to the Canterlot Castle. As soon as they arrived at the front, the guards opened the gate and let them in.

They both unpacked in their personal guest rooms and after being done with that. They went into the throne room and were greeted by Spike, who was now a few feet taller, much to their surprise.

“Applejack! Rarity! You guys made it!” He exclaimed as he went up to them and hugged them. They both returned it.

“Of course we did, darling. Twilight said that she needed help so we volunteered.” Rarity clarified.

“Y-yes. What Rarity said.” AJ stuttered.

“Alright. I’ll go get the list from Twilight’s Room,” Spike said, “Be right back.”

The white unicorn noticed her friend’s stutter, unlike Spike, and decided to question it after he had left the room, “Applejack, darling. Are you okay?”

The country mare looked at her questioningly, “What dya mean?”

“Well, you stuttered with your words and I want to know why.” She explained.

“Oh,” AJ started, “It was nothing really.”

Rarity raised a brow, but decided not to push further, “Well, if you say so, darling.”

After finishing their little conversation, Spike came back in the room holding a very long scroll that was filled with lists of things they needed to do for the day as both Rarity and Applejack whispered, “Oh, boy.”

Laughter could be heard from outside of Fluttershy’s cottage. Inside was a draconequus and a pegasus mare talking with each other. They even snuck in some flirts in their little chat.

“So Fluttershy, what have you been doing these days?” Discord asked as he sipped his tea, “I mean, ever since Twilight left to Canterlot you and the girls have been a bit sad. And I’m curious because today you don’t seem as upset.”

Fluttershy giggled, “Oh, that’s because Twilight came over for a visit yesterday. And because of that, I feel really happy to see her again,” She sighed, “Last time we saw each other was for business, but this time it was for fun like usual.”

Discord slightly frowned but nonetheless was happy that Fluttershy was happy, “Well, as long as you’re happy, my dear. I just want to see that radiant smile of yours because that’s all I need to be happy as well.” He smiled and Fluttershy smiled at him in return.

“Enough about my life, what about yours? Have you been able to expand your circle of friends yet?” The pegasus mare asked.

His face started drooping, “It’s kind of hard to do so if you’re the all-time, powerful Lord of Chaos. Every time I approach someone, they always run away.” The draconequus sighed as he looked at the opposite direction.

Fluttershy frowned for her friend, “I’m sure not every pony is afraid of you,” She said as he looked back at her with a raised brow, “You’ve changed a lot over the past few years, you’re a whole new creature. And if a timid pony like me can be your friend, then other ponies can certainly be your friends too.”

Discord smiled at his friend’s compassion, “Thank you, Fluttershy. You always know just what to say.” They both leaned into a hug as Discord secretly thought, “Though I wish we could be something more than that.”

And little did he know, a small blush painted on Fluttershy’s cheeks as they were hugging.

It took a few hours longer to get to the Crystal Empire than to get to Canterlot. Twilight just made it as she got her luggage and left the train with a polite, “Thank you.”

She started walking and she eventually made it to the front of the palace. She was greeted by her sister-in-law and her brother, though the Princess of Love got to her first, “Twilight!”

“Cadence!” Twilight shouted as she ran up to her. They hugged each other and did their little greetings with each other.

“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake,” They both chanted, “Clap your hooves and do a little shake.”

“Oh, it’s so good to see you again, Twilight.” Her sister said.

Shining Armor walked up to his wife and said, “We’re really excited to catch up and we have some exciting news for you.” He said the last part as he winked at Cadence.

Twilight’s eyes lit up and she asked, “Ooh! What kind of news?”

“For that, you’ll have to wait.”

“Oh, well.”

The couple led her to the Crystal Heart and she gasped when she saw it.

No.

It wasn’t shattered or anything like the last time. The heart had just turned into a black shade of its natural aqua. And it also had some tiny cracks.

“What could have caused this?” She asked in shock.

Shining shook his head, “We still don’t know yet, Twily. But hopefully, we’ll figure it out in this meeting.”

Twilight sighed, “I hope so too. The last thing we need is for another evil villain to be on the loose.”

Cadence nodded her head in agreement as they entered the castle. Though as soon as they entered, Twilight got tackled by a little filly and the filly giggled as her aunt lifted her up with her magic.

“Hey there, Flurry.” Twilight cuddled the yearling and she earned back a hug.

Flurry hugged her B.A.E / Best Aunt Ever as she replied, “Hi, Aunty Twily! I miss you...” The baby alicorn cooed.

“Awe, I miss you, too, Flurry,” Twilight said back as she placed her niece back on the floor, “But I can’t talk right now, I wish I could, Flurry, but I have a meeting with your parents... Surely, you understand.”

The baby nodded, “Of course, Auntie. I can talk to you later! Bye-bye!” And with that, the alicorn flew and teleported away as Twilight waved goodbye.

She looked back at the family and said, “Now, let’s get back to work.”

Twilight was in front of them while they were walking. She closed her eyes for a mere second and the next thing she knew was that she had bumped into something, or rather someone. She rubbed her head and saw Flash Sentry.

She hadn’t seen him in so long. Almost a year or probably longer. She used to have a crush on him but got over him back at Ponyville. But now that she’s seen him again, she’s taken a liking to him for the second time now.

She was so lost in trance that she hadn’t noticed that he was lending a hoof and was talking to her, “Your majesty, are you alright?”

Twilight shook her head out of the trance and nodded her head, “Yes. Thank you, Sir Sentry.”

He looked a bit surprised since they hadn’t talked in more than a year, “You remember my name?”

“Well, of course. I may have not seen you in over a year, and I may not be Pinkie Pie. But I certainly still remember meeting you on my first Princess Summit.” She blushed.

Flash might have been blushing as well, but the armor headpiece would’ve blocked it. He snapped out of it and said, “My apologies for wasting your time,” He bowed to the royals, “But I must get back to my station. I’ll see you later, Princess.”

He walked away and Twilight walked back to her brother and sister-in-law, “It’s been so long since I’ve seen or even talked to him.”

“I can see you’ve taken a liking to him once again, Twilight.” Cadence said with a sly face which made Twilight blush.

Though his brother doesn’t really like the idea of Twilight dating. But after a moment of thinking, Sentry was one of the best guards here and he is very nice. So if they started dating, he would approve. After all, he prefers Flash to any other pony or creature to date his own sister.

“Well now, let’s go back to our meeting.” Twilight said to change the subject.

Once they got to the meeting room with no interruptions, they started talking about the elephant in the castle.

The ‘Black’ Crystal Heart.

“So you’re saying that this happened out of nowhere?” Twilight asked.

“Yes,” Cadence answered, “We were just about to leave the castle when we saw the state the Crystal Heart was in.”

“But how come the Empire hasn’t turned into a winter wasteland yet?” The Princess of Friendship asked, “If the Crystal Heart wasn’t working anymore, then it shouldn’t be able to protect the Empire...”

“We aren’t exactly sure why the Crystal Heart is like this, nor why it can still protect the Empire,” Shining started, “But one thing we do know is that the Crystal Heart has not been able to spread Light and Love like it used too.”

Cadence nodded, “We got the ‘spreading love’ under control, but it turns out my magic doesn’t spread light anymore.”

Twilight gasped in horror at this new information, “If you can’t spread light anymore, there isn’t any balance in Equestria! And if there’s no balance, there’s no harmony!” She started hyperventilating until her brother came behind her and stroked her back to calm her down.

Once she calmed down, they got back to the subject.

Pinkie bounced over to a hill that Cheese asked her to come to. And once she made it, there was no pony there, “Hmm, I swore this is where Cheese asked me to meet him... Where could he be?”

She thought until she heard laughter from a tree above her, “Cheese?”

He jumped down and smiled brightly, “Pinkie!”

“Cheese!” Pinkie yelled as she embraced her fellow party pony. They separated and she asked, “How long will you be staying?”

“Until after Hearts and Hooves Day, I have another invitation from Appleloosa.” Cheese responded with a tip of his hat, “Sadly.” He whispered the last word so that Pinkie wouldn’t hear.

“Oh, that’s a bummer.” She sighed, “We could’ve had so much fun together!”

“I know, and that’s why I wanna spend the whole week with you! Not a moment to waste!” Cheese declared with a dramatic pose.

Pinkie placed one of her hooves on her chest in awe, dramatically, “Awe, that’s so sweet, Cheese! So let’s get started on the activities!” She shouted as she pulled him with her while thinking, “I hope you’ll ask me out on Hearts and Hooves Day, Cheese...”

As they were running through town, they were blushing the whole way.

Applejack, Rarity, and Spike finally finished Twilight’s Royal Duties such as the Grand Opening of a new restaurant, judging the Royal Art Contest, and etc.

And since they finished their duties for the day, they decided to have a break. Rarity went off to the Canterlot City to explore while Applejack and Spike were left in the throne room in awkward silence.

And Spike was the one to break that, “Hey, AJ...”

“Howdy, Spike,” She tipped her hat, “We haven’t really properly talked to each other since I’ve got to the castle. Anyways, how have you been doing?”

“I’ve been great, being the Royal Advisor to Twilight has been pretty great.” He replied, the nervousness hinted in his voice.

“That’s good. My, you’ve grown quite tall in a few moons,” She looked at him up and down.

He laughed, “Yeah, ever since my molt, I’ve been growing faster. You’re still pretty even though you’ve aged.”

She blushed furiously and her head shot up as soon as she heard him say that, “What’d you say?”

Realizing that he called her ‘pretty’, he instantly blushed and said, “I mean, you still look great though you’ve aged! Hehe, not that I’m calling you old, you’re still very young and-“

She cut him off by placing her hoof on his mouth to stop him, “Stop. I know you’re not calling me old, Spike. I was just surprised you called me- never mind...”

“Phew! For a second I thought you were mad at me.” He sighed in relief, not realizing her tomato-red face, “Uh, wanna go to the balcony?”

“S-sure.” AJ stammered, “The sky tonight’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is.” Spike agreed, “Though it isn’t as pretty as a certain pony I know...” He thought.

They just kept talking to each other happily until Applejack brought up an old subject.

“Do ya still like Rarity, Spike?” She asked

He looked at her with a raised brow, “You kidding? No way, I got over her moons ago! Long before Twilight’s Coronation. But I do have a new pony in mind...” He whispered the last sentence, but AJ heard it.

“Who’s the new pony ya like?” She asked with uncertainty.

“I can’t say, but she’s very beautiful, hard-working, strong physically and emotionally, kind...” He sighed, “But I doubt she’d ever like me back...”

AJ placed an affectionate hoof on his shoulder, “Oh, come on, Spike. I’m pretty sure she likes ya back.”

“You think so?” He asked.

“It’s possible,” She answered, but deep down, she had wished that pony was her as she thought, “Oh, Spike. I wish I could be your special somepony...”

Rarity had left the Castle to explore more in Canterlot. There had been a lot of changes since she was here last time because now more creatures live here. Though in her sight-seeing, she wasn’t looking where she was going and she bumped into someone.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” She apologized to whoever she bumped into, “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

The pony she bumped into replied, “Well, I say that’s one way to reunite with my favorite pony from Ponyville.”

The white unicorn’s eyes perked up as she’d recognize that voice from anywhere. She looked up to see the one and only, “Fancy Pants.”

He could only chuckle at her reaction, “Jolly good to see you again, Rarity.”

She shook her head and said, “Oh, Fancy. I’m so sorry for bumping into you.”

“No problem,” He brushed the dust off of him, “I say, have you had dinner yet, M’lady?”

She faintly blushed when he called her ‘M’lady’, “N-no. I haven’t, I was just about to go get some.”

“Well, would you like to come and have dinner with me? My treat.” He offered.

Her eyes widened in excitement as an opportunity opened up for her, “W-why, of course. So, where are we going?”

“We’re going to go have lunch at the new restaurant that just opened up.” He replied as they started walking towards the building that was just a few yards from where they were.

“Oh, dear.” Rarity gasped.

Fancy stopped and turned around, “Is there something wrong, Rarity?”

“O-oh, it’s not that big of a problem, but it’s just that...” She started, “I don’t have the money to afford the food there. I was just there for the grand opening and I saw that the food there was really expensive, so I don’t think I can dine there...”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind paying for the dinner.” He said.

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to trouble you.” Rarity asked.

“It’s no trouble at all, Rarity,” He assured her, “Come now, we must get going.”

Rarity smiled at the generosity of her old Canterlot friend, but she was surprised that Fleur wasn’t anywhere in sight. Fancy and Fleur barely separated, so this made her curious. But she waited until they were already inside before she asked.

“I’d like to get a Bruschetta and two glasses of wine, sir,” Fancy ordered, “ And what would you like, Ms. Rarity?”

“I’ll just have a French Tartiflette and a glass of cold water, please?” Rarity ordered.

“It’ll all be ready in 5 minutes.” The waiter checked as he left.

“I hope that won’t cost you, Fancy...” Rarity said.

“No worries, Rarity. It isn’t a big deal.” He replied.

“I hope so, but now I want to ask a question.” Rarity informed.

“Of course, darling.”

“Why isn’t Fleur here? Every time I see you, you’re always with her...” She asked.

Fancy’s expression saddened, but he still kept a professional look, “Well, just two weeks ago, I found her cheating on me with another stallion. So, I ended things with her.” He simply explained.

“Oh, dear. I’m very sorry for bringing up the subject, but if I may ask...” He looked at her, “Who did she cheat on you with?”

“I don’t actually know. She never revealed who it was, but I did catch her doing it with someone else. But she covered him up before I could see.” He slammed the table lightly in anger.

“Oh, I hope you find a new pony that won’t do things behind your back.” Rarity said sympathetically.

“I hope so, too. Say, are you free tomorrow morning?” He asked, “I want to invite you to a party back at my place.”

“Oh, I’d have to check my schedule, but I’m pretty sure I’m free for the morning.” Rarity replied, holding back a squeal.

“Well, then I’d love to see you again tomorrow at 9 a.m.” Fancy said.

“I’ll be there.” She declared.

After finishing their conversation, the food came and they ate peacefully. And after they finished, they parted ways.

And once Rarity reached her room in the castle, she took a pillow from her bed, covered her face with it, and screamed in happiness. Applejack heard the scream and came into the room, “Rarity? What’s got you so happy? Something amazing happened?”

Rarity smirked, “You can say that.”

Author's Note:

As promised, 1 day or 2 days after! Here it is, chapter 2!
Hope ya'll will enjoy it!