> Paradoxes, Timelines, and Consequences
>  by Frost Bear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Chat with Rarity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity woke up with a hiccup.

She had a nightmare about Starlight and Spike being siblings with Twilight as their mother. That part of the nightmare didn’t terrify her. The part that shook her to the bone was how gorgeous Twilight was! Out of all of her friends, she wanted to be the most beautiful one. Twilight had already gained notoriety in royalty. It wasn’t fair that she got unimaginable beauty!

Yes, she was jealous, Rarity accepted that as truth. Thankfully it was just a dream and Twilight should still be her plain, nerdy, adorkable self.

“Hi Rarity!” a teenage dragon greeted her.

“Hello Spike,” Rarity walked by to tend to her dresses until she noticed the obvious, “SPIKE?!”

Spike turned around, “Yeah? Oh, right, I have to tell you what happened with Starlight.”

Rarity waved a hoof, “I’ve grown to no longer care for that story. What I want to know is how you got so old and how did Twilight get so… so…”

“Pretty?”

“Pretty? Pretty?!” Rarity sputtered, “Stunning, spectacular, sensational! Those are words I’d use to describe Twilight’s sudden glamor! Pretty? Pretty is as good as an insult to what I’ve seen!”

Spike raised his claws in defense, “Woah! Hey! Calm down Rarity. It’s really not that good of a story.”

“Entertainment value has nothing to do with this vital piece of information,” she stomped her hoof, “I demand you tell me her secrets right now!”

“Alright,” Spike sighed, “But you’re not going to like it…”



[Three years post-adoption]


Twilight groggily slumped her way to the bathroom mirror. The previous night was harsh. Her temporary job pushed her to the limits. How Miss Cheerilie stayed cheerful with so many papers written by foals was a mystery to her. Twilight hopes the red ink didn’t stain her coat. At last she reached the vanity. As usual to her mourning routine, she levitated the hair brush and parted her mane from her eyes and horn.

Twilight immediately dropped the brush.

She expected to see an unkempt mane and unwashed face. Instead the mirror reflected the very essence of beauty.

Her lavender coat was untarnished and shined like a new dawn. Her eyes sparkled with alluring amethysts. Twilight felt she had grown much taller since the previous night. She also noted that her horn had grown longer and sharper, making a frightening thin point at the end. Worse was her mane and tail now held what seemed to be slightly flowing through etherial wind. Not enough to be noticed right away but it would be noticeable if she held still for a prolonged period of time. 
All the world will now see Twilight as a beauty that is equal to, or perhaps greater than, the princesses.

Twilight screamed.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!”

Spike came rushing down the hall! He burst through the bathroom door, “Twilight! Is everything ok?!” 

he paused as he gazed at the goddess in front of him. There was a short amount of silence and awkward blinking before the two started screaming.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

“HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?” Spike pointed at Twilight.

“I DON’T KNOW!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

Starlight Glimmer angrily waltzed into the bathroom to check on the commotion that was disrupting the neighborhood.

“What’s going on in here?” Starlight rubbed her eyes before looking up and down her mother.

Starlight’s face went pale as she looked at Spike then back to Twilight.

The three of them screamed and panicked over the sudden transformation that they could not explain.



“Excuse me, Spike, but… that doesn’t tell me how Twilight became the way she is,” Rarity interrupted.

Spike shrugged, “None of us know. Twilight said she’d have to visit the princess and figure out what happened from her.”

“Still, no one ever noticed or cared Twilight suddenly became more beautiful than the princesses?” she thought for a moment, “Or… the princess, considering the time you three were in.”

“Twilight made up a story about a cosmetic spell she read about in an old book. No one bothered looking into it so that’s what we went with.”

Rarity hummed as she folded some fabric over a rack, “I’d imagine her sudden beauty made her students pay better attention,” she pondered that thought for a moment, “How did she become a teacher anyhow?”

Spike was organizing several threads chuckling, “That sort of involves how she adopted Starlight.”


[Adoption day]


“What do you mean ‘you can’t adopt this filly?!” Twilight roared angrily.

The mare who owned the orphanage flinched, “I-I’m sorry miss but the law clearly states you have to have disposable income to care for a child!”

Twilight felt the heat steam off her. If she had turned into a fire pony, she didn’t notice. Her anger over not being allowed to adopt Starlight distracted her from how terrifying she was. Spike shielded Starlight from wild embers. His dragon hide proved effective against Twilight’s flames.

“I… Don’t even know how you manage to adopt a dragon of all things,” the mare bit her tongue, seeing Twilight react like she said something she wasn’t suppose to, “A-And your name doesn’t appear on any forms I’ve seen! There a ‘Twilight Sparkle’ in Canterlot, but she’s far too young to even be considered a teenage parent! Then there’s the ‘Twilight Sparkle’ of Las Pegasus, who is of… unsavory profession. I really need to find proper papers for you to legally be a mother.”

Twilight sighed, “Where should I start?”

The mare sighed with relief, “Town hall will give you all the assistance you need. If they can’t find proper documentation they will surely be able to make you a legal citizen.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, “That’s legal?”

The mare nodded, “I know, it’s an insane loop-hole they never noticed when making the immigrant law. All you have to do is say ‘I lost my identification’ and they’ll issue you a new one.”

Twilight walked away to head to town hall. Spike stayed with Starlight Glimmer until Twilight came back. Spike is unsure what Twilight went through at town hall but he did hear her grumble about the complications of relying on a faulty law that needed to be revised in the future.

Twilight plopped a stack of paper on the table, “There! Full citizenship and legal documents on my adopted son, Spike the dragon! Now you can let me adopt Starlight.”


“She filed papers to adopt you?” Rarity asked Spike.

“Yeah, it was never confirmed in the legal system until she did that. Before I was legally considered a pet… or slave. Either way, those papers make our relation a lot better now.”


The mare examined the papers, “Yes, well… there’s still the matter of a disposable income. Which gives me good reason to take young Spike out of your custody.”

“What?!” Twilight yelled.

“Please calm down miss!”

Twilight bursted into flames, “Listen! I had to go through many files, papers, quills, and ink to get legal citizenship. The least you can do is allow me to take my child to a warm and love…ing… home… oh,” Twilight puffed out once a strong realization hit her, “I… don’t have a house in this town…”

“Well that’s unfortunate but I believe I have a solution that will benefit both of us,” the mare suggested, “You see… The local school teacher left town and we don’t have a suitable replacement. If you are willing, the job pays 30 bits a week and I can offer a house for you and your family.”

“That’s very kind of you! But… Why would you offer me this?”

“Honestly, we’re desperate in this town. Professional teachers prefer to avoid this town due to frequent monster attacks.”

“I assume the later is why the orphanage has good business?”

“Oh yeah! Same sex couples love this town for the available foals we have! uh, just a shame these poor dears lost someone dear to them already.”

“Well as luck would have it, I’m experienced in teaching and protecting towns from monsters,” Twilight stated proudly.

“Oh my! Are you some sort of warrior alicorn princess?”

Twilight fumbled over herself, surprised by the question, “Er… no, nothing like that. I’m… just a normal alicorn who has crossed paths with dangerous monsters before.”

The mare smiled, “Well, I’m glad you accepted the offer!” she stamped a couple papers, “Your adoption of Starlight Glimmer is accepted! I’ll help you start class tomorrow mourning,” she hopped off towards the door, “Please follow me to your new home.”

Twilight, Spike and Starlight followed the mare down the street. The downward hill they were going on was steep and several homes looked more worn down the further they went. Eventually they stopped at a nearly condemned home that had a literal bite taken out of it. Starlight shivered and hid behind Twilight’s leg.

“That’s going to be our house?” Spike spat undignified.

Twilight shot a glare at the mare.

“It’s the best I can give you! I know it’s a fixer-upper but surely an alicorn won’t have trouble with these conditions, right?”

Twilight gritted her teeth, “I’ll see you tomorrow…” she stormed to the house.

Starlight and Spike shortly followed.


“That place was a dump at first, but after Twilight got her first pay check things got better,” Spike stated as he pulled an empty cart around the corner.

“That’s dreadful,” Rarity gaged, “Can’t imagine living in a place missing most of its foundation.”

Spike laughed, “Ha, yeah, Twilight was boiling mad the first week. She annihilated the first monster that came to town!”

Rarity stopped in her tracks, “Monster attacks? Hmm… thought only Ponyville was victim to that.”

“Rarity, if that was true then why would anyone live in this town?” Spike put on a serious expression.

“Applejack has told me the crops grow quite well in this area.”

Spike shook his head and pulled the cart.

As the two made their way to the gem field, they came across Twilight and Starlight. Starlight was giving a display of her magical talent. She froze Scootaloo’s chocolate bar to a perfect eating temperature without melting in the sun.

“I understand it was Twilight who taught Starlight magic?” Rarity questioned.

“That’s right!” Spike gasped, “The day she got her cutie mark was the best day we had together!”



[One year post-adoption]


“That’s very good, Starlight!” Twilight cheered for her daughter.

“Mom, I’m only doing basic levitation,” Starlight whined.

Twilight nodded, “That’s true, but even simple levitation can become one of your most powerful spells when applied the right way.”

Spike flicked a gem into his mouth, “Believe it, I saw her lift an ursa minor back to its cave with just levitation!”

Starlight gasped, “Is it true, mama? Did you really levitate an ursa minor!”

Twilight giggled, “Don’t forget what I told you, Starlight.”

A high pitched whistle came from the kitchen.

“Oh! The tea’s ready! Keep practicing, I’ll be back.”

Twilight ran to the kitchen while Starlight continued to practice her levitation spell.

“Wow! Mom beat an ursa minor with just levitation! I wish I could be that good.”

“I’m sure you’ll get there eventually,” Spike munched on a ruby.

“But I haven’t even gotten my cutie mark yet! How am I ever going to be as good as mom if I can’t even earn a cutie mark?!”

“Don’t rush it. Cutie marks come and go all the time. You just have to keep trying until you get it.”

“Easy for you to say,” Starlight frowned, “Dragons don’t get cutie marks. They just spend all day eating gems on the couch.”

Spike sat up with a hiss, “You want to start something, Starlight?”

Starlight levitated a toy wand to her, “Let’s play a game. I’ll be the powerful mage Glimmer-Star and you’ll be the evil dragon king trying to steal my gems.”

Spike chuckled to himself, “Your gems?” he then noticed Starlight take his bowl of gemstones, “HEY! That’s mine!”

Starlight ran off with the gems, “Come and get them, evil dragon king! Hahaha!”

Spike chased Starlight around the living room. Twilight came in with the tea, almost dropping it when Spike and Starlight wormed their ways around her legs.

“Spike! Starlight!” Twilight yelled.

Starlight hopped on the coffee table. Spike dove after her.

Using quick thinking, Starlight levitated books near her. They acted as stepping stones for her. She managed to evade Spike’s grasp and create a tower out of books. Starlight landed on the very top of the tower with a triumphant grin.

“Try to get your gems now, dragon king!” Starlight blew raspberries at Spike.

“Starlight Glimmer! You get down here this instant and give Spike his gems back!” Twilight scolded.

Starlight bowed her head and levitated the book she was standing on to get down, “Sorry, mom… I was just trying to have fun,” she levitated the bowl of gems back to Spike.

A bright flash shinned in the corner of Twilight’s eye. She looked over Starlight’s flank and found a cutie mark had appeared. She gasped and pointed it out for Starlight.

“Oh my goodness!” Starlight squealed with delight, “I got my cutie mark!”

Twilight hugged her daughter, “Oh I can’t stay mad at you when you just got your cutie mark. Tell you what, we’ll celebrate tomorrow if you promise not to take Spike’s gems again.”

“I promise…” Starlight sighed.

“Good! Now let’s get you some tea. It’s going to get cold.”

Twilight levitated the pot to Starlight who levitated two cups. One for her and one for Spike. Twilight poured the tea. Starlight levitated a cup to Spike. Spike took the cup and accepted her apology.

“Oh and you’re grounded for the rest of the day,” Twilight declared.



“Look out!” Starlight shouted.

She crashed right into Spike, “Starlight! I know you’re doing that on purpose!”

Starlight held an innocent face, “Me? But I was just showing my new friends some fancy magic.”

Off to the side; Rose, Lilly, and Daisy laughed as though someone told a funny joke.

“Yeah right, your fancy magic always ends up biting me in the butt one way or the other. I’m a little busy here.”

Starlight tilted her head, “I thought you grew out of that crush?”

Rarity blushed a little. She forgot Spike had a heavy crush on her. She didn’t know how to feel about being romantically involved with a teenage dragon.

“I did,” Spike snorted, “Doesn’t mean I can’t do things for an old friend. Besides, I did say I’d tell her about our past when she woke up.”

Starlight giggled, “Ok, BBBFF, I’ll be sure to tell mom about you and your old crush.”

“Old?” Rarity growled.

“Chill, Rarity, she didn’t mean anything by that.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry Rarity. Time travel and all that gets confusing. You understand, right?”

Rarity thought for a few seconds and nodded, “I suppose it is rather strange thinking us the same age when I knew Twilight when… well, when she was our age.”

“Hey Starlight!” Rose called out.

“I’m coming!” Starlight yelled back, “Sorry, my friends and I are going to visit the Doctor to check out his latest invention. Derpy said it’s pretty neat.”

“No problem, take care,” Rarity waved Starlight goodbye, “What a marvelous mare she’s become. Twilight certainly knows how to raise children.”

“Heh, she sure does.”

“And Spike…”

“Yeah?”

“Did you really grow out of that crush you had on me?” she gave him puppy dog eyes.

Spike muttered something inaudible under his breath.

“Didn’t quite catch that.”

“Yeah… yeah, I did,” Spike moaned, “It was just a school yard crush. We actually aren’t that compatible when you think about it. Dragons are known for their greed, after all.”

“Ah yes, the opposite of generosity,” Rarity coughed, “Thankfully, we can still be very good friends.”

“That’s great! This went easier than I expected,” Spike scratched his throat.

“Pardon?” Rarity gave a curious look.

“I just suppose after all the adventures we went on together, we’d be closer and things would get emotional between us.”

“We were never that close. Although, I appreciate the sentiment.”

The two arrived at the gem field. Many holes had already been dug. Sign of diamond dogs.

“Ugh… diamond dogs… one of my worse nightmares. Nothing but dirt and drool.”

“You handled yourself well last time we came across them,” Spike pushed the cart he had down hill.

“Dealing with them is no trouble. Being around them is disgusting,” Rarity shivered.

Spike gave a light laugh, “Say what you want, no one has had nightmares like Starlight.”

“Oh?” Rarity peeped her intrigue, “Do go on.”

“Remember when I said the town we lived in suffered from monster attacks?”

Rarity nodded as she searched for gems.

“Starlight lost her original parents to monster attacks,” Spike said darkly, “She was afraid of loosing Twilight because of that.”

“If I recall, Twilight stated she knew how to handle monster attacks.”

“Eeyup,” Spike confirmed while digging up gems, “Some nights, a vicious monster would attack the town and Twilight would defend it. Either driving the monster away or… taking care of it in a permanent way.”

Rarity gulped, “Remind me not to anger her.”

“I’d be running away if you angered her,” Spike teased, “Anyhow, whenever Starlight had a nightmare, Twilight would comfort her to bed. She promised Starlight she’d never lose her. That she’d always be there when she needs her.”

Rarity levitated a cluster of diamonds into the cart, “So Starlight’s biggest fear was…”

“Loosing Twilight,” Spike nodded, “Something that happened much later.”

“Oh dear, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Twilight cried just as much as Starlight that day,” Spike threw gems into the cart, “She didn’t speak for a week.”

Rarity placed a hoof on Spike’s arm, “Then I’m happy she returned to you two.”

Spike smiled.

“Now let’s get these gems back to the boutique, shall we.”

The two (mostly Spike) pulled the cart out of the field and headed back to Rarity’s shop. During their walk, they ran into Twilight and Rainbow Dash.

“Hi Rarity! Hi Spike!” she echoed as she zoomed by.

“Wait up Egghead!” Rainbow yelled.

She stopped in front of Rarity and Spike, “Oh hey, what’s up?”

“Not much. Been telling Rarity about Starlight.”

“You tell her about your trip to Cloudsdale?”

Rarity grinned at Spike, “Cloudsdale you say? That sounds interesting.”

“Oh,” Spike scratched his chin, “I sort of stayed home for that day. Figured nothing happened so I didn’t ask too much about it.”

“His first question was ‘did you get me anything?” Rainbow snickered.

“If you know so much about it, why don’t you tell the story!”

“Sure, I’ll catch up with Twi later.”


[Two years post-adoption]


“Now remember what I taught you,” Twilight reassured Starlight, “Deep breaths, focus and feel the magic. Remember, I’m right here if you need me.”

Starlight looked down a little nervous. Cloudsdale was the highest city in Equestria. A fall from this height would be lethal. Fortunately, Twilight was able to fly.

“I don’t know mom,” Starlight muttered, “This seems like a bad idea. Couldn’t we do this at home?”

“Trust me, Starlight, sometimes you learn better by acting than reading.”

“Bu-but… it’s so high!”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m right here if you need me,” Twilight pushed Starlight off the edge.



“Goodness gracious!” Rarity shouted, “How could Twilight do such a thing?!”

“Um… That’s how most pegasi learn how to fly,” Rainbow gave Rarity a confused look.

“It’s simply barbaric!”

“Huh, so that’s why Starlight came home with a blanket around her,” Spike clicked his tongue.

“You going to let me finish or what?”

“Very well,” Rarity rolled her eyes, “please do go on.”



Twilight wrapped Starlight with her magic and levitated her above the clouds.

“See, right here for you,” Twilight smiled.

“Wow!” Starlight gazed at the view in front of her, “This is amazing! Is flying always like this?”

Twilight giggled, “Well you’re not exactly flying. You still need to learn that on your own.”

Twilight levitated Starlight back to solid ground. Twilight gestured her to try again with a warm smile. Starlight closed her eyes and focused. Her horn began to glow. Her aura was small but it enveloped her slowly. When it finally enveloped her she raised herself off the ground. Starlight successfully hovered for a few seconds before opening her eyes. She squeed with joy when she found herself a few meters over the edge. Then she lost focus and her magic stopped.

Twilight instantly caught Starlight in her magic, “That was perfect! You’re doing so well!” she nuzzled her daughter.

“But I lost focus and almost fell,” Starlight frowned with disappointment.

“You’ll get the hang of it,” Twilight promised, “I know you will.”

Starlight flew around her mother. A happy expression painted on her face.

“Can we get some ice cream?” Starlight cheerfully asked.

Twilight laughed, “Ok, but don’t tell Spike,” she levitated Starlight close, “He might get jealous.”

The two happily flew to the closest ice cream parlor.



“They got ice cream?” Spike yelled, “Ah come on! I would’ve gone if I knew they were going to get ice cream.”

Rainbow laughed hysterically, “She was right! You did get jealous!”

Rarity shook her head, “If you’re quite done, we have to get to my boutique.”

“Yeah yeah, sure, just wanted to tell you that stor-“

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight fumed, “I told you NOT to tell that story with Spike around!”

“It happened nearly a decade ago! Spike’s a big dragon now. He can take it.”

“I still would’ve liked some ice cream,” the big dragon pouted.

“We’re going to be late for Starlight’s coronation!” Twilight huffed, “Spike, Rarity, you two finish what you’re doing and hurry to the castle! Don’t be tardy or I’ll throw you in the dungeon!”

Twilight flew off.

“She’s not serious is she?” Rarity whispered.

“She made Fluttershy Pinkie promise to be on time,” Rainbow answered.

“We better hurry, then!” Spike pushed the cart as hard as he could.


At the coronation, all of Ponyville was there to see their new princess. Some were surprise to see she was not an alicorn but the idea of a unicorn princess grew on them. Starlight had a glittering light blue dress with emeralds around the waist. Twilight and the rest of the mane 6 stood in front of the castle with matching outfits. Spike wore a tuxedo fit for his size. Rarity could help but notice one crucial detail.

“Didn’t I make these outfits years ago?”

“Yeah, we ordered several things from you. You always had the best stuff for a good deal.”

“Ah, so you two were Mr. and Mrs. Anon,” Rarity lightly laughed, “I thought those measurements were odd.”

Starlight slowly walked towards Twilight with a wide humble smile.

“It’s like her graduation day all over again,” Spike wiped a tear from his eye.

“You said she attended collage. What was her major?”

“Magic,” Spike snorted, “Specifically Starswirl Alteration Theory with a minor in Arcane Artillery.”

Rarity jerked forward, “That’s a rather… strange combination.”

“It was mostly Twilight’s idea,” Spike sighed, “She really needed Starlight to perfect that time spell.”

Rarity sighed, “The price of destiny. At least she can live happy now.”

Starlight reached Twilight and bowed. Twilight gave a speech and crowned Starlight with her own tiara. It was small and made of silver with an emerald in the center. A round of applause echoed through the town. Pinkie blasted her party cannon. In little to no time, every pony began to celebrate their new princess.

Princess Starlight Glimmer; daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle.
> Meet the Parents
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The train bounced up and down. The cars shifter and turned with every turn. Twilight’s stomach had butterflies fluttering in circles. She hyperventilated in a paper bag. One of the most terrifying challenges had come to test her abilities. Truly no task was scarier or more difficult to do than this. Today she was going to do the impossible. Today she was going to go through all of Tartarus, metaphorically. Today was the day she dreaded since she was thrown back in time.

Today…

She was going to tell her parents about Starlight.


On the opposite side of her, Starlight was over joyed for this visit. Where Twilight held panic and dread for visiting her parents. Starlight was impatient and excited to see her grandparents. Her constant questioning about them didn’t help Twilight one bit.

“What do grandma and grandpa do? Are they royalty like you? Did grandpa save grandma from a dark tower owned by a demon king?”

Spike chuckled, amused by Starlight’s innocence. He sort of didn’t want to tell her the truth right away but he also didn’t want Starlight to be disappointed with her grandparents. Having a princess for a mom put high expectations for her grandparents. Those expectation were things no one would be able to live up to.

“Calm down, Starlight, grandma and grandpa aren’t that big,” Spike confessed.

Starlight sat down with a smile, “That’s ok, I’m just REALLY excited to finally see them! We missed out on so much during my foalhood. It’d be nice to catch up on lost time.”

“Says the unicorn who’s developing time spells,” Spike grinned.

“Ha ha, when I finish my time freeze spell I’m going to make you wear so many silly hats,” Starlight glared.

The train stopped. The conductor announced they had arrived in Canterlot. Spike carried Twilight off the train while Starlight skipped gleefully down the station. Heads turned to see the odd family. Nobles pointed their noses in the air with a huff.  Average workers gazed at the stunningly beautiful alicorn under the dragon’s arm. The guards gripped their spears.

“Halt!” One of them shouted, “You’re under arrest for kidnapping!”

Starlight stopped and stared at the stallion, “Kidnapping? What are you talking about?”

She looked at Spike, “Oh, hey Spike, Can you put mom down?”

Spike nodded and set Twilight next to Starlight.

“There see? No kidnapping going on here.”

“You can’t fool us, dragon,” the guard snarled, “We’ll slay you if we have to!”

“You guys can’t even fight off changelings,” Spike folded his arms, “Fluttershy was able to fight off changelings. FLUTTERSHY! Do you honestly think you could stand a chance against a dragon?”

“I sure can!” the guards charged at Spike with their spears aimed right for him.

Twilight lashed out with unstoppable magic, “You two stay away from my son,” she growled viciously.

The guards yelped and ran away with their tails between their legs. The Canterlot ponies didn’t mind the fiasco. A recent incident involving princess Celestia and ice cream cake monsters made them unaffected by nearly anything.

“Feeling better?” Spike asked Twilight.

Twilight sighed, “Yeah… My parents aren’t that far from here. Let’s go.”

Twilight nervously slumped down the street with her two adopted children. Thankfully the neighborhood wasn’t bad. A little old, but not bad. Senior couples walked by and waved politely at the family. Spike and Starlight waved back while Twilight tried her best to remain calm.

At last, they reached Nightlight and Twilight Velvet’s house. Twilight’s knees shook. Her mouth was dry and her breathing became ragged. She stood there, not having the courage to knock or ring the bell.

So Starlight rang the bell while Spike held Twilight in place.

Twilight yelled and jerked away, being stopped by Spike. She sweated as hoof steps came closer to the door. The door knob turned and the door opened inwardly. Behind the door was Nightlight, Twilight’s father and Starlight’s grandfather.

“H-H-Hi d-d-d-dad,” Twilight nervously squeaked.

Nightlight looked at the alicorn. Then the dragon. Then the unicorn.

After a brief moment of silence, Nightlight turned around.

“Honey! It’s Twilight!” he shouted.

“What is it this time?!” Velvet yelled back.

“She looks a lot older.”

There were hoof steps coming from upstairs. Velvet rushed down the steps with a scowl. She glanced over Twilight, Spike, and Starlight. Twilight was sweating enough to fill a pool. Spike struggled to hold her in one spot. And Starlight held a smile that would make Pinkie Pie proud.

Velvet sighed, “Alright, come in. I’ll put some tea on.”

Spike pushed Twilight through the doorway. Starlight bounced joyfully to the couch in the living room. Nightlight grunted as he sat down to read the news paper. Velvet came back with fresh tea.

“You have some explaining to do, Twilight,” Velvet grumbled, “again…”

“Hehe, I know you don’t like it when I don’t tell you important things like saving the world and such…” Twilight fidgeted.

“Oh no, we love it when we’re the last one to hear our daughter fought a deity of chaos,” Nightlight sarcastically stated.

“Ah well… I have a very good excuse this time!”

Velvet sipped her tea, “I’m sure you do… like the last seven times.”

Spike coughed, “Should I say it this time?”

“N-No! I’ll do it! Just… give me time.”

Nightlight flipped the page of his paper, “We’re all ears. Go ahead.”

Twilight performed her breathing exercise, “Alright… so…” the pointed to Starlight, “This is Starlight Glimmer! She’s your… granddaughter…”

Starlight waved, “Hi grandma! Hi grandpa!”

The two grandparents stared at their unexpected granddaughter.

“So who’s the father?” Nightlight crudely asked.

Twilight spat out her tea, “D-Dad!”

“We’re just curious, dear,” Velvet rocket in her chair.

“Starlight’s adopted,” Spike stated.

“Hmph,” Nightlight leaned back into his chair.

“So you never found that special somepony? Oh Twilight, I raised you better than that.”

“She’d probably have no problem getting a stallion now,” Spike teased.

“SPIKE!” Twilight shrieked.

“That’s good,” Velvet chuckled, “So why did you adopt Starlight? Was to protect some sort of time loop?”

“Um…” Twilight blinked.

“That’s the exact reason,” Spike laughed, “How’d you know?”

Velvet shrugged, “Mother intuition.”

“Well… I guess I don’t have to explain everything then… right?”

Nightlight waved a hoof, “We stopped caring after not getting an invitation to Shining Armor’s wedding… and changeling invasion.”

“Your father means; the only thing that matters is you’re safe and we have a new granddaughter! We don’t need the details to the story.”

Twilight sighed with relief, “Thanks mom.”

“Now Starlight,” Velvet called.

Starlight happily hopped up to her grandma, “Yes?”

“Have you met a young stallion yet?”

“MOM!”

“GRANDMA!”

Nightlight and Spike laughed hysterically.

“They’re so much alike!” Spike slapped his knee.

“She really is your daughter, sweetie!” Nightlight held his sides.
> Royal (Un)Welcome
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Breath in… Breath out… Breath in… Breath out…” Twilight chanted during her exercise.

Twilight was set for meeting the princess today (after scheduling it under the name Mrs. Anon last year). She had hoped the time with her parents would calm her nerves and lessen the tension. Instead she was about to have a heart attack before stepping near Canterlot Castle’s gate!

“You ok in there Twi?” Spike knocked on the bathroom door.

“I’m fine! Everything’s fine!” Twilight jittered, “We’re about to meet both princesses, I’m more beautiful than them for some reason, and I adopted an ex-villain that altered the time stream several times!!!”

Spike kicked the door down, “That’s it, you’re so not ok with this!”

“I’m sorry, Spike, I want to make Starlight look perfect in their eyes but I don’t know if I can,” she sniffled, “What if Celestia decides to throw her in a dungeon or banish her or execute her?! I can’t let her do that!”

Spike covered her mouth, “Listen, if Celestia has a problem with it we’ll leave Equestria. I’m sure we’ll be welcomed in the Crystal Empire or the human world where Sunset is.”

“Thanks Spike, but I don’t want to do that. I’ll… try to talk Celestia out of any problem she has.”

“And get some answers about your super beauty.”

Twilight groaned.

“Mom! Are you ready yet?” Starlight yelled.

Twilight and Spike walked down the stairs. Starlight was as eager as ever. Today’s plan to meet the princesses was a surprise to her. She truly wanted to spend the day with her grandparents but knew there was plenty of time in the week they were in Canterlot.

“Now don’t go off on some epic quest while you visit the princess,” Velvet ordered.

“Don’t worry, mom, it’s just tea and cake,” Twilight waved goodbye.

Their little stroll to the castle was a little long but exercise was good for them. Especially Spike who gained a little extra weight last night.

Once they arrived at the castle, the guards escorted them to the garden where a round table and five seats greeted them. On the table was a lovely bouquet of lilacs, a pot of tea, and a large vanilla cake. Twilight levitated the tea pot and poured tea in three of the five cups.

“Shouldn’t we wait until the princesses arrive?” Starlight asked.

Spike sat down and took a slice of cake, “Nah, they’ll be ok with it. Besides, Twilight’s a princess too.”

Starlight furrowed her brow but decided to go along with it when Twilight took a seat as well.

It was a few minutes before Starlight started to hear two mares bickering to each other.

“I told you it was the left hallway!” an elderly voice cawed, “Now we’re late! Our guest is possibly starving for us!”

There was a elegant scoff, “Sister, our citizens should know they’re allowed to eat without our permission. Honestly, I have never seen everyone question their own judgment to the point where they can’t even decide where to sit! You really should reconsidered…”

The voices stopped as two graceful alicorns resembling night and day came into view. They both froze with their jaws hanging open. The white one wore a look of horror and shock while the dark one held a look of pleased amusement.

“I should had known it was you, Twilight,” Luna chuckled, “Only you know that I prefer vanilla over chocolate.”

Celestia sniffed the air, “Is that… banana leaf tea?”

Twilight smiled, “Both of your favorites. I thought it’d help you two prepare for the news.”

Luna jumped in her seat, “The news that you achieved a level of beauty that neither of us can hope to achieve?”

Twilight spat her tea out, “NO! Well… I do have questions about that but…”

“Twilight,” Celestia interjected, “who are your… new friends?”

Spike swallowed a large piece of cake, “C’mon princess, you know who I am.”

“This is Spike,” Twilight introduced, “and that’s Starlight Glimmer… my daughter.”

Celestia’s eye twitched.

“Greetings Mrs. Glimmer!” Luna shouted, “It pleases us to finally meet you.”

Luna violently shook Starlight’s hoof, “The pleases all mine, princess.”

Starlight vainly tried to hold on to her seat. Luna’s alicorn strength nearly tore her leg off! Starlight was excited to see the princesses but didn’t expect either of them to be just as happy to see her. Thankfully she had Spike to keep her from flying out of the garden.

“Apologies,” Luna bowed, “and please call me Luna.”

“No problem pri- Luna,” Starlight blushed.

Meanwhile, Celestia sat with a stunned expression. Twilight did her best to bring Celestia back to reality.

“Princess Celestia… are you ok?”

Celestia blinked twice, “Y-Yes… Twilight, may I speak with you? In private?”

“Of course, princess,” Twilight followed Celestia to the entrance of the hedge maze while Starlight and Spike stayed to chat with Luna.


“How long has she been your daughter?” Celestia questioned with a serious expression.

“Years,” Twilight stated.

“How? How is it even possible?”

“Starswirl’s spell. She perfected it.”

Celestia jerked away, “Time magic? Her?! Who could possibly… no, you didn’t.”

Twilight nodded.

“Oh Twilight,” Celestia sighed, “I’m so disappointed in you.”

“What?!” Twilight felt her heart stop.

“You shouldn’t have taught Starlight time magic. The consequences behind that is unimaginable! None can predict what sort of chaos altering time can cause.”

“I already seen what altering time can cause,” Twilight lamented, “I taught Starlight not to alter history. She really enjoys studying time magic and I support her.”

Celestia placed a hoof on her back, “Twilight, you must not encourage this time magic!”

Twilight raised a brow, “Why?”

“I just told you! The results are unpredictable!”

“Celestia… you need a vacation.”

Celestia stood slack jawed.

“I know what I’m doing. This was all for the better of Equestria.”

“For the better of Equestria?” Celestia barked, “I fail to see that.”

“Well, you never asked how I became Starlight’s mom. You did noticed that she’s the age I was yesterday, right?”

“Um…” Celestia looked to Luna, “I had other things on my mind…”

“Starlight was the mare that ran that ‘equal mark’ place I wrote to you about.”

“Oh… that sounds nice…”

Twilight frowned, “You didn’t read the letter.”

“I-I was about to but I had duties to attend to!”

Twilight sighed, “It’s ok, I understand,” she shook her head, “Starlight used to be a villain. She used the time travel spell to alter history. We fought, talked, and ended up adopting her past self.”

“Twilight, you are simply too young to teach ponies advanced magic," Celestia whispered.

“I raised Starlight since she was a filly. I taught her magic. I know what I’ve been doing.”

Celestia shifted uncomfortably, “But… she did do bad things when she was on her own?”

“Only to protect the time stream!”

“She still has potential to do wrong!”

“So does Luna!”

Celestia tripped over herself. She gave Twilight a stern glare.

“Leave my sister out of this,” Celestia growled.

“I’m sorry, princess, but no one threatens my daughter.”

The two stared each other down. Twilight’s knees buckled and Celestia’s eye twitched.

“I tried to make this a friendly conversation but there is clearly something wrong with me having someone to love.”

“I am not preventing you from love. I’m preventing you from making a mistake.”

“What mistake would that be?” Twilight challenged, “Luna was once a bad pony but now she lives happily with you. Starlight is practically the same.”

Celestia shuddered, “I believe you should not have stayed in the past. Who knows what damage you caused by adopting her?”

Twilight looked over herself, “You’re jealous!”

“I am not!” Celestia gawked.

“You are! You’re jealous that I’m prettier than you! I don’t even know how I became so beautiful. I just woke up like this.”

“We believe alicorn princesses retain traits of the forces they embody,” Celestia explained, “For me and Luna it was day and night. For you… I guess it’s magic?”

“That’s your hypothesis?”

“It is,” Celestia nodded, “And I am NOT jealous.”

“I’m sorry, Celestia, I wanted to show you my daughter in a civil manner but I guess that’s too much to ask,” Twilight walked to the table where Starlight and Luna laughed cheerfully.



“So, Starlight, how long have you been Twilight’s daughter?” Luna asked curiously.

“Since I was a filly,” Starlight chimed.

Luna raised her brow, “Interesting…”

“Yeah,” Spike sipped his tea, “me and Twilight were sent back in time and she decided to adopt Starlight.”

“And how did you two get sent back in time?”

“That… was my fault,” Starlight confessed, “I sort of had to do a lot of bad things to protect the time-space continuum.”

Luna chewed and swallowed a bite of her cake, “Tis fair.”

Spike and Starlight waited for her to continue.

It took some time for them to realize she didn’t have anything else to say.

“That’s it?” Spike asked, “You don’t mind that Starlight did bad things?”

Luna gave Spike a deadpanned look.

Spike remembered who he was talking to, “oh… right…”

“What? What’s right?” Starlight squeaked.

“Luna used to be a bad villain too.”

“Really?!”

Luna nodded, “I was once Nightmare Moon. My plan was to caste the world into darkness and rule Equestria alone.”

Starlight rubbed her chin, “Well… that’s not too bad. Equestria pretty much gets everything through magic so no one would starve or anything.”

“It does throw the universe off balance, though,” Luna scowled, “Without day or night there would be an imbalance in nature. Nocturnal animals would become restless, sleep schedules would be in confusion, the dead rising from graves, pony sacrifices, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!”

“Ok! I get it!” Starlight shouted, “But you’re here now? Everyone is ok with you?”

Luna sighed, “More or less. I fear there are still some who view me as a monster.”

Spike looked into his tea cup, “I know how that feels.”

“What do you mean, Spike?”

“One of my birthdays, I got a lot of presents and just wanted more and more,” he poured some extra tea into his cup, “Dragons grow faster when they hoard. Eventually I grew into a giant monster and rampaged through Ponyville,” he set the tea down, “Some ponies there still think I might destroy the town.”

The three looked at each other with sympathy. Spike sipped his tea, Luna chewed her cake, and Starlight gazed at her own hooves.

“I guess we’ll just have to move on,” she smiled, “That’s what I’m going to do.  I have a princess for a mom, my brother’s a dragon, and I’ve been studying advanced time altering magic!”

“I regained my throne and have gained new friendships with the citizens of Equestria,” Luna smirked, “The fear that once gripped them no longer holds them and see me as a guardian. Plus the modern ‘night life’ pleases me greatly. All I ever wanted was appreciation for what I do.”

Spike chuckled, “I guess I have nothing to complain about. Starlight’s right, even though Twi and her friends leave me at the castle while they go on adventures, I’ve been getting better at taking proper responsibility and become less selfish.”

Luna levitated her tea cup to the center of the table, “A toast. To redemption and living happier lives.”

Starlight levitated her cup while Spike leaned in with his. The tapped each other’s cups with a loud cling. Tea splattered around as the three of them laughed joyously.

“Spike, Starlight, we’re leaving,” Twilight stated firmly.

The laughing stopped.

“Um… ok,” Spike got out of his seat.

Starlight followed close by. She waved goodbye to Luna who waved back. The three of them headed back to Nightlight’s house.


“Sister, you seem distraught. What did you and Twilight speak about?”

“Nothing,” Celestia averted her eyes.

“Tia, I know when you lie,” Luna frowned.

Celestia looked away.

“Was it her new form? I must say, there has never been another as beautiful as she.”

Celestia grumbled under her breath.

“Sister? Are you… jealous?!”

“I AM NOT!” Celestia insisted.

Luna laughed, “Oh Tia! Of all the ponies to be jealous of, I never thought you’d have envy for your own student.”

Celestia blushed, “I’m NOT jealous! I’m not!” she cleared her throat, “Starlight Glimmer may pose as a threat.”

Luna ceased her laughter, “What do you mean?”

“Time magic is dangerous. It can alter history. With Starlight’s past, she may cause devastation to Equestria.”

Luna furrowed her brow, “Celestia… you’re jealous of Twilight.”

“I’m not jealous of my faithful student!” Celestia yelled, “Just because she’s prettier, smarter, younger, has more friends, is very talented, legally has two children…” she trailed off a list of things describing Twilight, “a-and managed to do things better than I would’ve… ok. I’m jealous.”

Luna patted her sister on the back, “First step is admitting it.”

“I’m starting to understand how you felt 1000 years ago.”

“Only difference is I’m actually listing to you.”

Celestia groaned, “You’re not going to let me hear the end of it, are you?”

“Not in a thousand moons,” Luna grinned.
> Pause and Effect part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“The haste spell is a basic enhancement spell that stimulates a pony’s adrenalin gland,” Starlight read, “Those who cast the spell feel as though time moves slower.”

Starlight pondered on her studies.

‘If I amplify the amount of energy the haste spell uses, what would happen?’

Curiosity got the best of her. Her horn glowed with radiant light.



“Starlight! Breakfast is ready!” Spike yelled.

“Great! What are we having?” Starlight asked right behind him.

Spike jumped with a yelp, “How long were you there?”

“A few seconds. I think I might have found a way to do the time stop spell.”

“Really? That’s awesome!”

“What’s awesome, Spike?” Twilight wondered in.

“Starlight thinks she’s close to her time stop spell.”

“That’s amazing!” Twilight’s stomach growled, “Um, let’s talk over breakfast.”

Twilight and her family sat around the dining table. Nightlight and Velvet were at the head of the table. Spike sat at the foot. Twilight and Starlight sat at the sides. Breakfast consisted of pancakes with rich maple syrup and melted butter.

“A hast spell?” Twilight raised her eyebrow, “I’ve heard theories but I didn’t think it would actually stop time.”

“Well…” Starlight played with her fork, “It doesn’t stop time. What happens is that it makes me go so fast that everything is slowed down from my perspective.”

Twilight and Starlight seemed to be the only ones at the table to understand their conversation. Spike picked up a little bit of what was being said. Nightlight and Velvet, however, couldn’t comprehend their daughter and granddaughter’s conversation. They still listened while eating their most important meal of the day. Thankfully, their exchange didn’t last too long and the grandparents could speak to them.

“We missed out on a lot, didn’t we?” Nightlight smirked.

Twilight’s ears fell back, “er, yeah, sorry about that.”

“Well that just means we have to start making up for it,” Velvet sang.

“What do you say, kiddo? Tour around Canterlot with your old man while your grandmother prepares a party?”

“Dad… are you sure you can handle Starlight on your own?” Twilight teased.

“Mom,” Starlight groaned, “I’m not a villain anymore.”

“I know, I know, Just don’t give dad a heart attack with an experimental time spell, ok?”

Starlight rolled her eyes, “You’re not going to make me Pinkie promise are you?”

Twilight gave her a stern glare.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my- OW!” Starlight grumbled as she performed the ritualistic gestures.

Spike and Twilight couldn’t help but giggle.

“Ok, you can go. I’ll stay here and help mom. Spike, do you want to stay or go with your sister?”

Spike chomped on his pancake, “I’m going to stick with Starlight. Grandpa might get in trouble with her.”

“Alright, have fun you three!” Twilight waved them goodbye as breakfast finished up.

Velvet and Twilight took the dishes away while Nightlight and his grandkids went through the front door.

“So where do you want to go first?”

“I kind of want to see the old library house mom had when she lived in Canterlot,” Starlight gazed towards the castle, “There’s also that museum we passed by yesterday. Could be interesting.”

“The Equestrian Natural History Museum? Bleh, come on, Star, we could find better places to go,” Spike whined.

“Oh yeah? Any suggestions bro?”

“The market is always a good place to visit but I think that’s best saved for lunch time,” Spike thought for a few moments, “There’s a hoofball game in Canterlot Coliseum later. Ugh, why does all the good stuff happen late?”

“There we have it!” Starlight cheered, “Mom’s old house, here we come!”

Starlight galloped off.

“Starlight! That’s the wrong direction!” Nightlight went chasing after her.

“This is going to be a repeat of the sock store incident,” Spike facepalmed as he went after them.

Starlight galloped down the road. She didn’t want to ask for directions right away. She wanted to enjoy all the time she had with her grandfather and brother. She’d enjoy nothing more than to make this moment last forever.

“Starlight, get back here now!” Nightlight shouted.

Starlight blew raspberries at him and focused energy into her horn.

Time slowed down. Starlight took in the slow moving pigeons. The view she had was bright and vibrant. Rooftops as far as she could see. Each a slate grey angled perfectly to run across. Starlight looked back at her slow moving relatives.

An idea came to her and she giggled.

With careful planning, she set up an obstacle course out of random junk lying around. Nothing too serious. Just something that would make the two boys trip and roll into a barrel of hay. Starlight noticed a little charcoal and took a piece of paper with it. She wrote “timeout” on the paper and stuck it on Spike’s face.

Satisfied with her set up, Starlight focused.

3… 2… 1.

Her horn flickered before everything went back to normal.

Spike was taken back by the paper in his face and fell on top of Nightlight. Nightlight in turn tripped over a log and caused the two of them to roll straight into a barrel. The barrel wobbled over the hill and rolled down at high speed. At the bottom was a chicken coop. When they crashed, chickens flew away clucking indignity. Starlight laughed madly as Spike clawed his way out of the barrel.

“Very funny,” Spike grumbled, “How long did it take for you to set all this up?”

“For me, quite a while, but for you a few seconds.”

“Don’t start abusing your power, dear,” Nightlight pulled himself out of the barrel, “Why is there hay in this barrel?”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Starlight rubbed her chin.

“Alright, you had your fun. Now we’ve going to have to walk several miles to get to the library!” Spike scolded.

“Can’t we take a cab?”

“After what you pull?” Nightlight snorted, “Sorry, young lady, but it’s either walk or I tell my daughter.”

Starlight’s eyes became pinpricks, “I guess I could use the exercise…”

After a few miles, Starlight huffed and puffed from exhaustion. Spike handed her a water bottle which she happily drank from. Once they finally reached the library, Starlight knocked on the door. Moondancer answered the door immediately.

“Can I help you?” Moondancer asked, surprisingly friendly.

Starlight smiled, “Hi, my name is Starlight Glimmer, Twilight Sparkle’s daughter.”

Moondancer raised a brow, “uh huh… Let me guess; you want to check out your mom’s old house and take some heirlooms?”

“Hello Moondancer,” Nightlight greeted.

“Oh! Mr. Nightlight! I didn’t see you there,” Moondancer glanced to Starlight, “She’s with you?”

“Yeah, she’s OOomph!” Nightlight was blasted by a beam of magic.

Moondancer tackled Starlight with a snarl, “Getting a changeling to steal my friend’s father’s identity is low. Even for scum like you.”

“Yo! Moondancer, chill!” Spike picked the angry pony up.

Moondancer responded by blasting his face, “And who are you? Some dragon getting paid in ‘royal treasures’? Buzz off! All of you!”

Nightlight weakly picked himself up, “Moondancer, it’s really me…”

“We’ll see what the dispel spell says about that,” she lit her horn.

Energy collected around her. Within seconds her spell spread across the area, disabling all magic being used. She snorted as she looked around. Then her eyes widened.

“Oh… it really is you,” she ran over towards Nightlight, “I’m so so so sorry I hurt you! I was just trying to protect Twilight’s old place from leeches and scavengers.”

“Leeches and scavengers?” Spike echoed.

“Ponies have been coming here since Twilight defeated Tirek. Mostly Canterlot unicorns.”

“And they use changelings to help them?” Starlight questioned.

“All the time! One even posed as me. ME!” Moondancer stomped fiercely, “What did they think was going to happen? ‘Oh I guess they’re ok since I said they’re ok’ Come on! You’d have to be incredibly stupid to think that.”

Starlight and Spike helped Nightlight up while Moondancer had her rant.

“Then there were these colts in dresses claiming to be the royal sisters and Cadence. They could’ve at least had the dignity to put on a pair of fake wings!”

“You done?”

“…yes.”

“We good to go in?”

Moondancer growled, “Fine. But don’t take anything!”

“Mom has some strange friends,” Starlight whispered to Spike.

Spike chuckled, “Moondancer’s actually the normal one.”

Starlight gawked at that.

The three of them walked into the old library house with Moondancer.

“So who’s you’re friend, Nightlight?”

“My granddaughter.”

Moondancer looked at Nightlight with confusion, “You’re not joking, are you?”

Nightlight shook his head.

“Mom had a little time travel episode,” Starlight squeaked.

Moondancer rolled her eyes, “Whatever. Twilight disappears all the time. I don’t care if she suddenly comes back as a hairless ape in a mini skirt.”

Spike loudly dropped a book.

“Be careful with that!” Moondancer snarled, “That’s a third edition copy of Clover the Clever’s-“

“Tome of Tricky Tricks, I know. I re-shelved it for years,” Spike groaned, “I know I look a lot different but it’d be nice to be recognized without me telling you who I am.”

Moondancer levitated the book to her, “I’d hoped being around Twilight for… how many years you’ve been with her… taught you how to treat a book.”

Spike waved his arms in the air and walked away. Nightlight followed him to see what was troubling him. Starlight went over to Moondancer as she was putting the book in its proper place.

“So… mom left you this entire building?”

“And everything inside,” Moondancer turned around, “If you’re looking for any ‘family jewels’ you’re not going to find them here.”

“I really have no interest in that kind of stuff.”

“Then what brought you here?”

“I wanted to see were mom was before she came to the past.”

“Seriously? That’s all you want?”

“Unless you have a book on time magic, yes that’s all I want.”

Moondancer pulled a few books from the top shelf. The books levitated in front of Starlight. One was regal gold with a compass rose on the cover. The second was a deep blue with three stars on the cover. The third book was beige and slightly damaged, looking more like a discarded journal than anything else. All three of them had locks forged on them.

“These are all that remains of Starswirl’s last spell research. He was obsessed with time in his later years so these little guys will most likely have what you want.”

Starlight’s mouth hung open, “You’re… giving them to me? Why?”

“Consider it an apology for attacking you earlier. Also, I… can’t open them.”

“You’re giving me books that can’t be opened,” Starlight deadpanned.

“I wrote to Twilight about them once. She said Celestia trusted her to keep them safe and that she’d be allowed to read them when she was ready.”

Starlight took the books, “Well, it’s the thought that counts most. Thank you. I truly appreciate it.”

Moondancer smiled.

Spike and Nightlight waltzed in.

“So how’s it going with you two?” Spike smirked, “Getting along ok?”

Starlight levitated the three book, “Moondancer gave me a few books to keep.”

“Ah, so she’s your new best friend,” Spike snorted.

“Is that a jab at me or you?” Moondancer asked.

Spike looked at Moondancer then to Starlight.

“I think both?” Starlight shrugged.

“It was always funny to see someone act like our little Twilight,” Nightlight said, “Now it looks like someone is acting like our little Star!” Nightlight laughed obnoxiously.

“This is still considered a library,” Moondancer glared.

Nightlight shut his mouth. Spike mumbled something under his breath. And Starlight snickered.

“So is this all there is to mom’s old house? Just books and… nothing else?”

“Of course not,” Moondancer pouted, “There’s also an observatory, bedroom, kitchen, and practice room.”

“Majority of the space is dedicated to research so most of the house is books,” Spike explained, “Even Twilight needed basic needs like food and rest. The observatory was her favorite. I think a few constellation notes are still up there.”

“And the practice room?”

Moondancer grinned, “Best place to show off a new spell. Want to check it out?”

“Magic duel?” Spike pipped.

“Magic duel?” Starlight peeped.

“Magic duel,” Spike nodded.

“Um… what are you guys doing?”

“Preparing to kick your butt at magic,” the adopted siblings yelled in unison.

“Oh! Oh yeah?” Moondancer laughed. 

She teleported everyone to a room that looked similar to a dojo. Moondancer manifested a purplish outfit with matching helmet. A similar outfit, in white, manifested on Starlight. Moondancer grinned at her opponent.

“Show your moves,” Moondancer said with a salute. 

Starlight released a concentrated beam of arcane might. Moondancer swiftly rolled out of the way and countered with a beam of her own. Starlight summoned a shield around her and bounced off the wall. She didn’t have time to register Moondancer’s fireball.

“Hey, careful! This isn’t a death match,” Starlight yelped as another fireball impacted next to her.

“Relax, I do this all the time,” Moondancer lobbed a third fireball at Starlight, “Magic duel tournament participant. Half year and going.”

“You never won a tournament?” Starlight ducked to avoid an arcane beam.

Moondancer teleported behind Starlight and slammed her hoof in her side, “I’ve only been in two!”

Starlight flung across the room. She looked up and saw Spike and Nightlight munching on popcorn.

“Where’d you get the popcorn?”

Spike pointed to the popcorn machine directly next to him.

Moondancer grabbed Starlight with telekinesis. She pulled Starlight to her, hanging her upside-down like a caught fish. Moondancer smirked as she reeled her hoof back.


And booped her on the nose.

“I win the first round,” she said with a giggle.

Starlight dusted herself off, “I wasn’t prepared for that. Why do you have a popcorn machine in this room?”

“I usually got hungry when I watched Twilight practice,” Spike mumbled through mouthfuls of kernels.

“Round two!” Moondancer charged Starlight in a fiery glow.

Starlight managed to get away with minimal damage. Her leg got the worse of it but she could bear with it. Starlight shot a crystallization spell at Moondancer. She was momentarily frozen in a giant gem. Moondancer shattered her short term prison and assaulted Starlight with the shards. Starlight held a shield up as best she could. She was running out of options. The rapid fire of Moondancer’s spells made it difficult to think. Most of Starlight’s spells either took too long to perform or didn’t work against Moondancer.

‘Time for an experiment’ Starlight thought.

As Moondancer’s next spell was heading toward Starlight. Starlight’s horn began to glow dimly. The spell was up against her face before the spell was casted. Silence enveloped the room. Starlight was frightened to open her eyes. She timidly opened them slightly to peek at her demise. Moondancer’s spell was an inch away from her. Starlight jumped away on instinct.

She looked  around the room. Spike and Nightlight were stuck gripping their bags of popcorn looking at the fight between Starlight and Moondancer. Looking at her opponent, Moondancer, she noticed that Moondancer was moving. However, she was moving so slowly it appeared that she wan’t moving at all.

Starlight sighed with relief, ‘Ok think. How can I beat her? There’s got to be something… OH of course. All I have to do is boop her nose and I win the round right? … I think… We never went over the rules’ Starlight rubbed her head, ‘She probably thinks I know how a magic duel works. Mom didn’t want me hurting the other kids so I never learned. I’m going to have to point that out to her’

Starlight concentrated on restarting time. Her horn flickered and went out.

‘Uh oh’

Starlight started to panic. She used a lot of mana while fighting Moondancer.

’N-No biggie, I’ll just… wait until I get some energy back! Yeah, I could use a breather after that,’ Starlight looked at Moondancer with interest, ‘How did you of all ponies get into magic duels?’

Starlight sat, watching Moondancer slowly cast her spell. The display was oddly entertaining. Starlight watched a frozen Moondancer slowly creep towards a now empty space. The magic fire enveloped around her horn in a gentle glow. It was almost like watching a photograph move.

‘How am I going to get out of this?’ Starlight thought to herself.

She paced back and forth, trying to start her magic. Her effort was in vain. What felt like hours pasted and Starlight couldn’t use any magic. Not even simple telekinesis! She searched for a clock and found one behind Spike’s head. It was barely a minute to when they started the duel. Starlight groaned with impatience. With nothing left to do, she just lied down and slept.

The sound of an explosive impact woke her up. Moondancer had launched her spell at nothing. Starlight stood up, noticing things were moving faster than before. Moondancer blinked with a stunned expression.

“How did you?” she trailed off, “That’s… What sort of spell was that?”

Starlight stretched, “I amplified a haste spell. It amplified every molecule in my body to the point where my perception of everything was slowed down.”

“Sounds like time magic,” Moondancer hummed, “I thought Star Swirl was just crazy.”

“Didn’t you just give me Star Swirl’s last research notes?”

“You’re Twilight’s daughter.”

“So? Are you saying me and my mom are cr-“ Starlight’s eye twitched when she suddenly realized something.

Moondancer slapped a smug look on her face, “boop.”

Starlight screamed in frustration and flailed around.

“Looks like I win,” Moondancer chuckled, “Maybe you shouldn’t pick a fight with someone who has experience in dueling.”

“I was taught by the princess of magic!” Starlight cried.

“It’s actually friendship,” Spike pointed out.

“And friendship has no place in a fight,” Moondancer smirked.

Starlight humphed while Spike and Nightlight laughed at how cute she looked.

“You really picked up a lot of Twilight’s habits,” Moondancer stated, “Try not to copy all of them.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?”

“She abandoned out friendship in favor of a conspiracy theory she had.”

“To be fair, we wouldn’t have Luna back if it wasn’t for that conspiracy theory,” Spike scratched his nose, “What? Just saying.”

“Look, if you have friends from the past, don’t take a few years to get back to them.”

Starlight let the thought go through her head. Twilight had lectured her on the importance of making friends. Starlight remembered the flower trio she met in Ponyville. She remembered the ponies she knew in the town. Then she remembered Sunburst.

“I’ll… keep that in mind,” Starlight half heartily said.

“You gave it your best shot, kid,” Nightlight reassured, “Can’t win everything, can we?”

Starlight smiled, “Thanks grandpa.”

Moondancer frowned, “I still can’t get used to that. You look too young to be a grandfather.”

Nightlight laughed, “Velvet would take that as a compliment! I suppose you’re right though. Time travel causes some weird things to happen.”

“I could only imagine,” Moondancer grumbled, “So you want to check out the observatory before leaving?”

“Absolutely!” Starlight chimed.

The group headed up stairs. Moondancer lead them to a room holding a giant telescope. It was ever astronomer’s dream. Charts, books, papers, coordinations, sketches, etcetera laid all over the room. Starlight was wowed by the whole room.

“I took a look at some of the stuff Twilight’s done in here,” Moondancer confessed, “Plenty of notes and not much else. Think this was a hobby of hers? I’ve always known her to be a regular night owl.”

Starlight shifted through papers while Spike and Nightlight checked out the telescope.

“Say, Moondancer,” Starlight called, “Have you and mom ever done stuff together?”

Moondancer blushed, “That question can be taken in certain ways,” she coughed, “and no… we’ve never had time with each other… alone.”

“Sorry, It’s just… you make it sound like she hurt you.”

“She kind of did,” Moondancer shifted her eyes, “I wanted to be her best friend. Set up a party and everything. But… she put her studies before anything else.”

Starlight hummed, “She was a different pony back then.”

“Then she had you? Who’s you’re dad?”

“I’m adopted,” Starlight grumbled.

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Moondancer squeaked.

“It’s ok… Are you interested in my mom?” Starlight accused.

Moondancer blushed and put her hooves over her face.

Starlight wrinkled her nose, “You could just tell her.”

“N-No! No, I don’t think Twilight swings that way.”

“Fine, but I want you at the part later.”

“Really? You’re not going to set me up are you?”

Starlight gave her a stern glare.

“Alright, I’ll go. Where is it?”

“Grandpa’s house 8:00,” Starlight pointed to Nightlight.

At the moment, Nightlight and Spike had gotten into a nearby alchemy cabinet and started turning silver coins into gold. Moondancer growled.

“I’ll be there. Don’t tell Twilight anything!” Moondancer demanded before attending to the two misbehaving boys.

“I won’t tell only if she doesn’t ask,” Starlight said to herself with a wicked grin.
> Pause and Effect part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


“Do we have to go?” Spike groaned, “Museums are so boring!”

Starlight scoffed, “You are just not sophisticated enough to appreciate the value of modern art.”

“You just want to see if there’s anything you can pick up on in the Starswirl section.”

“That too,” Starlight giggled as she skipped up to the museum, “Tell you what, if we get done fast, we’ll go find a nice ice cream parlor down town.”

Spike perked up, “Deal!” he ran up the stairs as fast as he could.

Starlight looked down to her grandpa, “Hurry up, slowpoke, you’re going to be late for bingo!”

“Late for bingo? NEVER!” Nightlight giggled to himself.

His grandkids moaned at the bad joke. He wasn’t that old. Nightlight was only a few years older than his daughter was… which is very strange when you say it like that.

Anyway…

At the entrance of the museum, the group walked in and headed to the first exhibit. That being; the hall of royal guards. A militaristic hall dedicated to all the important figures and inventions in Equestria’s history. Starting with Commander Hurricane and ending on Shining Armor.

“Ugh, How dull can one be?” a snotty stallion yawned, “All the other captains in history accomplished great things in their times. What has this peon accomplished? Marrying a princess. How trivial and cliche.”

“That’s my uncle,” Starlight growled with her horn radiating.

Spike put an arm on her. Starlight looked up to see a face telling her “he’s not worth it.”

The stallion turned his head, “Ah, then he’s a bigger disappointment than I thought. Being related to a dragon’s pet.”

“She’s my sister,” Spike snorted.

“And they’re both my grandkids, which also means the ‘dull cliche’ is my son,” Nightlight explained.

“And why should I care about the word of a pair of peasants and a dragon?”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe you should ask Prince Spike,” Spike stood up, “Adopted son of Princess Twilight Sparkle, alicorn of magic and friendship. Oh, I’m also the hero of the Crystal Empire and guardian of the Castle of Harmony.”

The snotty stallion began to sweat.

“Guardian of the Castle of Harmony?” Starlight gave Spike a questioning look before returning to yell at the stallion, “If you think my brother’s scary, wait until my mom hears how you insulted her BBBFF. That stands for big brother best friend forever.”

The stallion fell to the floor and started kissing Spikes feet, “I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY! PLEASE DON’T TELL PRINCESS TWILIGHT WHAT I DID! PLEASE!”

Spike gave Starlight a smug grin, “Ok, we won’t tell Twilight, but you have to tell everyone how cool Shining Armor is.”

The stallion nodded fiercely and ran off.

Starlight sighed, “I was this close to erasing his face!” she held a hoof a few inches from her snout.

“Don’t worry, Star, I had it under control. All nobel ponies are all the same, really,” Spike reassured her.

Starlight mumbled nothing as she walked up to a statue of Shining Armor in the pose he had when he threw his wife at Spike.

“All those years of javelin lessons payed off!” Nightlight shouted, “I told him they would help him someday.”

“Do you think uncle Shiny would be ok with my past?” Starlight whimpered.

Spike patted her head, “Course he would! Just cuz he’s captain of the guards and runs the Crystal Empire with Cadence doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about his family.”

“If I taught my boy anything, it’s that forgiving family makes the reunion better,” Nightlight smiled.

“You’re right, I’m probably worried about nothing.”

“I’m just worried about how he’s going to react to Twilight,” Nightlight stated.

Starlight tripped over herself.

“I was thinking about Cadence’s reaction,” Spike hummed.

“Oh yeah, she’s technically the same age as Twilight now,” Nightlight rubbed his chin, “Plus she’s going to be a mother soon too. Hope you play nice with your cousin, Starlight.”

“I’m going to be a cousin?!” Starlight beamed, “That’s so great! I can’t wait to visit the Crystal Empire now!”

“Wait… I thought Shiny didn’t write to you guys?” Spike wondered.

“After not getting invited to his wedding, he makes sure to write us every day,” Nightlight looked around suspiciously, “Hell hath no fury like Twilight Velvet.”

Spike looked at Starlight, “I’m starting to think that runs in the family.”

“HEY!”

Spike held his laughter as he walked over to an odd contraption next to Shiny’s statue. It was an odd looking crystal like device with a golden ring around it. There was a pulse of energy every now and then. This strange device felt alien yet familiar.

“That’s a pylon,” Starlight confirmed, “Originating from the Crystal Empire, the pylon would amplify teleportation and shield magic which made the crystal ponies perform incredible feats in battle as well as functioning as leisure transportation and protection.”

Nightlight blinked.

“Nice to know that minor in Arcane Artillery helped you with trivia,” Spike teased.

“I had to memorize that for a midterm! The Crystal Empire wasn’t exactly around at the time, remember?”

“Yeah, you got a point,” Spike stretched, “You already know all this stuff and I lost interest. Let’s move on.”

“You just want that ice cream.”

“You know it!”

As they took their tour around the museum, they came across several things they were familiar with. First was the mythic beast wing where Spike reminded everyone about the terrifying beasts Twilight faced and determined what monster she defeated in Starlight’s hometown. Next was the art gallery which bore them to tears. Admittedly, the pieces Fluttershy made were interesting. Who knew Fluttershy did fine art in her spare time? Then came the hall on foreign nations, surprising small with it only being a few displays with Zebras, Griffins, and Donkeys. Most of the stuff was boring and didn’t call for much pointing out. That is until they ran into the museum director.

“Omf!”

Which was literal.

“Oh, terribly sorry, sir, my grandson is just excited to see the last exhibit,” Nightlight apologized.

“Oh it’s no trouble at all,” the stallion said with a warm smile, “I should expect him to be excited about our new Princess Luna wing! We even have her here to cut the ribbon!”

“Starlight! My friend! How have you been?” Luna greeted Starlight.

“Oh hi Luna!” Starlight waved.

“Luna’s getting her own wing in the Equestrian Natural History Museum?” Spike asked, “Wow that’s a mouthful.”

“Indeed she it! And we’re all excited about it too!” the director squealed.

Luna rolled her eyes, “An entire wing is a bit much, is it not? My history is not that interesting.”

“On the contrary, Princess Luna,” the director adjusted his glasses, “All the information you provided for us is enough to fill a museum on its own! I already suggested writing new textbooks with what you provided for public schools.”

“Is it really that different from my sister’s history?” Luna grumbled.

“Well… yes and no. Specifically, many things were left out before your banishment and any mention of you falls under fairy tales and superstition. It is vital to preserve this information!”

“If you must,” Luna sighed.

“Come on, it can’t be all bad,” Starlight suggested.

“I honestly fail to see what difference it makes to include me alongside my sister. Alas, this is a history museum so,” she cut the ribbon, “Enjoy…”

“Alright! One last wing and we get ice cream!” Spike cheered as he ran into the wing.

“Want to check out the exhibit with us, Luna?” Starlight offered.

“Very well. I suppose company would make this trip to the past bearable.”

The small group wandered through the nightly themed wing. The exhibits were odd and unlike the previous exhibits they’ve seen. These were almost fantasy pieces rather than historical. Some were peaceful and beautiful while some were harsh and violent.

“Ah, I remember this one,” Luna stopped at a rather large clock, “This is a reminder of when the dawn bell would chime,” her eyes narrowed, “I’ve been curious as to why Celestia removed them.”

“They probably reminded her of how she put you into the moon,” Starlight said, “Considering dawn bells rang to expel the darkness of the night.”

Luna hummed, “I see…”

Starlight coughed, “So… I was wondering…”

“A favor?” Luna grinned.

Starlight levitated the books Moondancer gave her, “Yes.”

Luna examined the books, “These are Starswirls’ notes on time alteration!”

“They are?!” Luna gave Starlight a look, “Sorry, I sort of had a hard time believing Moondancer when she gave me them.”

“Understood,” Luna levitated the books in front of her, “I am familiar with this locking method as well. Tia would use the same spell, thinking I couldn’t unlock it. Really, if it doesn’t work the first time, what possessed her to think it would work the next fifty times?”

Luna activated her horn and focused her magic onto the lock. There was a click followed by another click. This shocked Luna.

“Hmm, seems she may have learned after all,” Luna whispered, “I’m sorry, Starlight, but there isn’t much I can do.”

“That’s ok. At least you tried.”

“However, there might be something Celestia can do for you.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Luna smirked, “Though she has difficulties saying it, she is quite jealous of your mother. For many reasons including raising a wonderful daughter and son, adopted or otherwise.”

“Mom told me about her encounter with her,” Starlight shifted uncomfortably, “Do you think Celestia would let me have those books?”

“In time, perhaps. I am assisting her in her current position,” Luna gave a light chuckle, “One could say I am experienced with what she’s going through. Tia will most likely give you each book one at a time when she feels you have earned it.”

“That seems fair,” Starlight raised an eyebrow, “Thank you Luna, you’ve been a good friend.”

The two bowed to each other before parting ways. Starlight went up to Nightlight and Spike, giving them the good news. Luna continued walking down the hall, reminiscing about the past.

“Does Celestia have her own wing in this museum?” she pondered to herself, “I should check with the director…”



“Alright! Time for ice cream!” Spike declared, jumping off of the museum staircase.

“Shame they were refurbishing the Hall of Celestia,” Nightlight sighed, “I enjoyed the Luna wing though. Such interesting things happened in her life time.”

Starlight gave a nervous glance at the museum they left.

“Don’t worry, dear,” Nightlight patted her back, “Celestia was Twilight’s teacher. I’m sure they can patch things up between themselves.”

Spike giggled under his breath, “Or she turns into Nightmare Sun over her jealousy of Twilight.”

“Oh please no,” Starlight rubbed her head, “I trusted Luna with those books and she’s giving them to Celestia!”

The three of them stepped inside a nearby ice cream shop. Spike ran to the counter, eager to pick the flavor(s) he wanted… and the toppings… and whether he wanted a waffle cone or sprinkled cone.

“It’ll work out, these things usually do,” Nightlight examined the flavors with the eyes of a hawk.

Starlight sighed, “Ok… I just hope to see those books again.”

Spike walked to a table with a four scoop cone topped with chocolate sauce. Nightlight carried a small bowl of mint chocolate-chip. Starlight decided to go for a simple strawberry sundae.

“Well we still have a few hours before dinner,” Starlight stirred her spoon around, “Think it’s your turn to pick, bro.”

Spike took a long lick of his ice cream and stopped to ponder. There wasn’t much he wanted to do at this time. He looked around to get ideas. He glanced outside the window and spotted a poster for competitive magic dueling. The time written on it was in 15 minutes.

“Wanna check that out?” Spike pointed to the poster.
> Pause and Effect part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Wonder why no one’s sitting here?” Spike asked as the group sat in an empty seat.

“It’s assigned seating,” Starlight stated, “They probably didn’t sell the rest of the seats to anyone yet. I mean, look at the rest of the arena.”

Starlight waved her hoof to show the arena. Ponies littered the small rows and walkways. Each searched for their seats as salesponies offered souvenirs and confections. Nightlight sat a few seats from the aisle seat with Spike and Starlight to his right. Down near the arena floor was a group of unicorns in black uniforms labeled ‘security.’

“Do you think we’re safe here?” Starlight asked.

“Maybe,” Nightlight shrugged, “I went to Twilight’s junior duelist shows and the worst that happened then was turning into a cactus… again.”

“I should’ve practiced my shield spell.”

“Thank goodness dragons have magic immunity,” Spike muttered.

A few moments later, after everyone settled in their seats, the show began.

On center stage was the announcer.

“Fillies and gentle colts! Tonight, we are proud to present our top prize winning duelist from all over Equestria!”

Spotlights shined onto the far left entrance of the ring, “In the blue corner. Canterlot’s pride and joy, the mage of mad power, Sir Sparkplug!”

Fireworks went off as a green unicorn with a blonde mane pranced out. He wore a glittering gold cape with his mark etched into it, a pair of lighting bolts crossing each other. He smugly turned his head up with a smile. The crowd cheered loudly at his presence.

“And in the red corner,” spotlights moved to the far right of the ring, “Hailing from the far northern region of the Crystal Empire. A stallion said to hold the power of the sun itself, acquaintance of the Hero of the Empire…”

“I barely know anyone there!” Spike exclaimed.

“Introducing, Crystal Shard!”

Another unicorn, this one cyan, droopily dragged himself in. A strong oder of various drinks and salt enveloped him. He gave off the appearance of a pony who spent all night at a party. Sparkplug took one look at him and laughed.

“This is the best the Crystal Empire has to offer? Ha! This will be over before it even starts!”

Shard woozily lifted his head with a hiccup, “Ya don’t can’t yer chickies for they hap hehehe, I’ma kick ye cross this here barn n kick ye n kick ye till I can’t kick no moe zzzz…”

Crystal Shard then collapsed and passed out with a goofy grin on his face.

“I didn’t actually mean that!” Sparkplug yelled.

“Wow, 23 seconds… I think that’s an academy record,” Spike rolled his eyes.

“I expected at least someone Shining Armor trained,” Nightlight huffed.

“Is it too late to get a refund?” Starlight asked.

The arena was filled with disappointment and boos. The announcer quickly tried to pull attention away from Crystal Shard and introduce the next contestant.

“On to the next round! We have the beacon of Manehattan, the mare of miracles, Miss Sunny Days!”

Spotlights shined onto the red corner once again, waiting for Sunny to come out. A white unicorn mare with a pink mane ran out with a pair of plastic wings falling off her back.

“You promised he’d put up a bigger fight!” she barked at the announcer.

“Not my fault he decided to have a few too many last night,” he whispered back.

Sunny fixed her costume piece as fast as she could and cleared her throat, “Where I’m from they call me the princess of hot summer! Are you ready to bow before royalty?”

Sparkplug chuckled, “Only one in this room that resembles royalty is yours truly.”

Sunny blasted Sparkplug with an arcane blast. The force of the blow hurled him upward. Sparkplug pulled tightly on his cape and used it as a glider to safely land. He then surprised Sunny with a lightning bolt spell. Sunny diverted it away from her, the arc would’ve hit the audience if it wasn’t for the shield security put up.

Sunny gracefully jumped with a fire spell ready. Sparkplug dug his rear hooves into the ground and braced for the attack. Sunny unleashed a barrage of fire balls on Sparkplug. He only laughed as he absorbed the attacks. His horn shivered with energy.

As she fell down, Sunny knew what was about to happen and cursed the stallion she was fighting. Sparkplug released the energy in his horn on Sunny. An intense beam of electric force pierced through Sunny like a hot knife through butter. Sunny fell with scorch mark on her side. The plastic wing had melted and the strap was burnt off. She frowned as her favorite ascetic was ruined.

“Those wings cost 15 bits,” she whined.

“You realize you could’ve bought cheaper at any costume store,” Sparkplug stated.

“True, but these had my name stitched in the strap,” a red aura crept around Sunny, “But now that the princess lost her wings…”

Sunny’s body was quickly engulfed in flames, “It’s time to show you a real Nightmare!” she tackled Sparkplug and giggled.

Sparkplug patted embers off his coat and threw away his cape as the flames started eating away the fabric. A glare in his eyes, he set to bring Sunny down.

The fires were intense. Everyone in the arena felt the overwhelming heat. Panting and sweating as the fire of Sunny Day grew out of control. The smart thing for Sparkplug to do was to douse the flame with a water spell. Instead he added to the flame. Sparkplug sent out a torrent of flames, making Sunny’s fire much more intense.

“Ha! You could just give up,” Sunny taunted, “If you add any more fire to me, I might end up blowing up the entire arena!”

Sparkplug smiled, “Then I hope security has a good shield up!” he threw one final fireball at Sunny.

Sunny’s eyes widened as the fireball hit her. There was a huge explosion that shook the entire arena and almost shattered security’s shield. The flames dissipated and Sunny fell over in defeat.

The announcer popped his head out of his hiding spot and ran over to Sparkplug.

“And the winner is… Sir Sparkplug!”

The crowd cheered wildly for the victor. Nightlight was hugging Spike with a terrified look on his face. Starlight cheered along with the crowd while Spike modestly clapped his claws.

“Woah, hope all the fights are not as intense as that one,” Nightlight gasped.

The remainder of the show consisted of Sparkplug fighting numerous opponents from all over Equestria. All of them were unicorns except for the dullest from Cloudsdale. Not surprisingly, the pegasus used clouds in the duel. Whether that counts as magic or not was speculated. The crowd enjoyed it all regardless. Starlight was just as into the show as the rest of the ponies. Spike and Nightlight were mildly amused and often said Starlight or Twilight could do better. After a long while the final match was about to begin.

“Now! For the moment you’ve all been waiting for!” the announcer proclaimed, “She is our mysterious competitor from a far and forbidden land. No horn, no wings!”

Spike perked up with interest.

“From the Badlands… the Blind Bandit!”

The spotlights shifted to the right side of the ring. A rather tiny earth pony mare trotted to the center ring. Laughter echoed through the arena. Sparkplug gave the small mare an odd look.

“I find it rather distasteful to harm a filly,” Sparkplug claimed.

“Sounds like you’re scared Sparky,” the Blind Bandit taunted.

Sparkplug frowned, “I suppose I am required to teach you respect.”

Sparkplug rushed towards the Bandit with electric energy enveloping him. It appeared that he tackled the small mare in a fraction of a second. The crowd expected the poor thing to be obliterated by the force of his attack. Instead, Sparkplug was sent flying out of the arena.

Everyone looked up to the Sparkplug shaped hole in the ceiling of the arena in shock and aw. As the dust settled, the Blind Bandit was revealed to be sitting in the same spot she was in. She yawned and beckoned the announcer to her.

“So how much do I get?” she asked.

The announcer shifted his eyes, “Well it seems we have a winner! Our prize is 500,000 bits! All for the Blind Bandit… Unless someone challenges her.”

The audience mumbled and pushed themselves away from the ring.

“Is no one brave enough to challenge this mare?”

“I’ll give it a shot,” Starlight chirped.

“Another unicorn? Yawn, let me know when she does the smart thing and run away.”

“Oh, she’s not running away,” Spike chuckled.

“HEY! Only one opponent allowed! Those are the rules, Draco.”

“Nah, I’m spectating. Starlight’s the one who’s going to beat you senseless.”

The Blind Bandit laughed, “Alright, Brightlight, show me what you got.”

Starlight began the fight with a levitation spell on herself.

The Bandit dug her hooves into the ground and kicked a large rock at her.

“You’re going to have to land at some point, Brightlight,” Bandit taunted as she blindly kicked rocks in random directions, “I’ve fought pegasi who put up more challenge than you!”

“Is that a compliment?” Starlight pondered.

A pillar of stone erupted from the ground beneath Starlight. Her concentration faltered, Starlight fell to the floor.

“Should’ve kept your mouth shut,” Bandit grinned.

Starlight rubbed her head, “Ok… let’s try this one more time,” she concentrated her energy into her time spell.

The Bandit concentrated her magic to levitate an impressively sized rock over Starlight, “Sorry to cut this short but I got better stuff to do.”

Before the rock could fall on Starlight, her spell activated. 

She quickly crawled away from the falling stone. Time slowed down in her eyes. Spectators were gasping, covering their eyes, and roaring over the match. Starlight thought of a few ways to finish this fight. She decided to run behind the Bandit and kick the back of her head. Once that was done, she focused to stop the spell.

Time returned to normal. The Bandit let out a loud yelp as the rock slammed against the floor.

“What the- How did you do that?” the Bandit quickly turned around.

Starlight instantly let loose an arcane bolt that pushed the Bandit out of the arena. Due to the rules, that meant Starlight won the match.

“And the winner is Starlight!” the announcer popped out of nowhere and raised Starlight’s hoof.

“Yeah yeah, enjoy it while it lasts, Brightlight,” the Bandit sneered.

“Ah don’t take it so hard,” Spike reassured the Bandit, “her mom’s the princess of magic. Strong magic just runs in the family.”

“I don’t know much about your princesses nor do I care.”

Spike shrugged, “Oh well. I didn’t know earth ponies could do magic.”

“Yeah…” the Bandit spat on the ground and left, “Lot of unicorn types think that way.”

Starlight ran up to Spike with a hug, “Did you see that! I actually got the time spell right!”

“That’s great, Star, but can you let me go? I can’t breathe!”

Starlight lightened her grip, “Sorry,” she glanced over the Bandit’s exit, “What were you two talking about?”

“Not much, she just left.”

“I hope to see her again. I have questions about how an earth pony can do magic.”

“Me too, maybe Twilight knows something.”

“Maybe,” Nightlight assured, “What time is it?”

“It’s um,” Spike looked at a nearby clock, “Oh! It’s almost time for the party! We better go before we’re late!”

The three of them rushed out of the arena.


After a long run to their home. They all stopped to catch their breath. Starlight got up and knocked on the door. A loud bang opened the front door along with a frying pan that landed directly on Nightlight’s face. Spike and Starlight gave each other worried looks before checking inside.

In the house was the most awkward scene Starlight has found her family in yet.

Celestia was bound in a ribbon tied in a bow. Luna put out Celestia’s flaming mane. Twilight and Moon Dancer were blushing with books over covering their faces. Moon Dancer’s book was titled “How to Get a Mare for Dummies,” while Twilight’s was titled “Explaining Sexual Preferences by Princess Cadence.” It should go on record that the book Twilight had is in the top five best sellers and was awarded novel of the year twice. The last peculiar scene was Velvet having a firm grip on Nightlight’s family jewels as she hunched under the couch that had the charred remains of plastic reindeer stuck to it. The sum of the odd scene was best described by Starlight’s following statement.

“Um… What in the world did we miss?!”
> Home Alone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Alright, have fun you three!” Twilight waved them goodbye as breakfast finished.

Velvet and Twilight took the dishes away as Nightlight and his grandkids went through the front door.

“So,” Velvet started, “You’ve been taking care of Starlight on your own for quite some time?”

Twilight scrubbed a plate with a sponge, “Yeah, it was… stressful to say the least.”

“Now where did you raise her? I never seen you around Canterlot and I’m positive someone would’ve recognized you in Ponyville.”

“There’s a village on the other side of the mountain,” Twilight snickered, “Amazing how it’s not on the map because of that detail. They called it Cantershade because it was always in Canterlot’s shadow.”

“Oh my! I had no idea! We should visit that place sometime.”

Twilight dropped a plate, “Um… maybe not. There have been monster sighting in that area.”

Velvet gasped, “Goodness, I’d have a heart attack if we were near monsters. Glad you and Starlight were there before any monster sightings.”

Twilight weakly chuckled as the dishes were rinsed and put away.

“Now then. Time for the decorations!”

Velvet gleefully skipped to the stairwell closet. She opened it and a ton of decorations fell out.

“Ugh, I’ve told Nightlight to clean this darn thing out several times!” Velvet cursed, “That lazy colt is going to get such a thrashing when he gets home!”

“Don’t worry, we have plenty of time before the party is suppose to start,” Twilight sighed as she levitated two boxes to the side, “Hey, are those the fireworks we got for the Summer Sun Celebration?”

Velvet looked over, “They are! Do be careful with them, dear. Strawberry Shortcake told me they get temperamental after a while.”

“Oh they’re not going to go off,” Twilight dismissed, “That’s just an urban legend. Like that colt that ate the rock candy and soda or Nightmare Moon.”

“Says the mare who fought Nightmare Moon.”

Twilight levitated the box of fireworks back into the closest, “Point taken.”

“Gosh darn it! These Hearth Warming decorations were suppose to go to charity three moons ago!” Velvet dug up a plastic reindeer with ribbons dangling off its antlers, “No wonder the closet is so cramp. Nightlight just shoves everything in there.”

“Should I lock myself in my room and hide under the bed like last time?” Twilight teased.

“Very funny, dear,” Velvet pouted, “On a more serious note, Cadence’s pregnancy has me excited! Have you told her about Starlight yet?”

“Not yet. You guys are the first I wanted to tell.”

“Well thank you for thinking of your parents first,” Velvet smirked, “Although I do want to see Cadence’s reaction to being an aunt before you. We were all convinced it would take years before you found a nice stallion to have foals with.”

Twilight blushed with a frown.

“Oh don’t be like that, dear, you have your muzzle in more books than a librarian.”

“How many boxes do we have left?”

“Let’s see,” Velvet counted the boxes, “A bunch more. The party decorations should be in one of these.”

After hours of checking boxes and trying to fit them in the closet. They finally found the decorations Velvet had in mind.

“Oh… I remember these,” Twilight moaned.

“I know it was embarrassing back then with you little friends but they’re still good for the party.”

“These are birthday decorations for a foal!”

Velvet scoffed, “You still hold on to that Smarty Pants doll.”

“Well I… uh… er… still, I don’t want this to look like a foal’s birthday party. Starlight is too old for that stuff.”

“I don’t see what else we can use. Besides, you owe me and Nightlight for all those birthdays we missed.”

“You still have Cadence’s foal for that!”

Before the argument escalated, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in!” Twilight and Velvet shouted.

The door opened with a creek. A pair of elegant hooves passed the doorway. One white as day, the other dark as night. The two regal beings maneuvered their way through the furniture and boxes.

“Are we interrupting something?” Celestia asked.

“No, no, we’re just getting decorations for a party later.” Twilight muttered.

“Ah well… I came here today to um…” Celestia looked to Luna.

“Apologize,” Luna coughed.

“YES! Apologize for my uh… behavior yesterday.”

Velvet’s eyes widened.

“I spoke with Luna after our incident. You could say she has experience with the feelings I have upon the sudden discovery.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped, “Wow… I don’t know what to say.”

“Admitting the problem is the first step of recovery,” Luna mused, “But you really should talk to my sister to help her resolve the issue.”

Velvet shook her head, “I’m sorry but did I hear all that right?”

“Did you hear that I was jealous of your daughter for, not only being prettier than me but also, having two adopted children? One of which is a national hero and the other is possibly on her way to become Equestria’s, technically, first chronomancer. Not to mention the accomplishments she’s managed BEFORE SHE EVEN HAD WINGS!”

“Sister,” Luna growled.

Celestia sighed, “Sorry… I’m still getting used to this. Oh! That reminds me,” Celestia levitated over a small sack, “Luna ran into Starlight earlier and got these books. I got rid of the locks on them. I was also hoping to deliver them to Starlight but… she appears to be absent.”

“The party isn’t until eight,” Twilight smiled, “You’re more than welcomed to stay.”

“Thank you, I gave Raven today’s duties. Me and Luna should be able to lower the sun and raise the moon when it’s needed.”

Luna peeked into the box, “What sort of decor is this?” she pulled out a paper hat, “Is this suppose to be amusing?”

“Mom wants to reenact the birthday parties she missed out on.”

Celestia giggled.

“Ah I see. But this decor is unfitting of such a bright young mind,” Luna made her way to the closet.

“Luna, you’re going to ruin your mane!” Celestia ran to ensure Luna didn’t mess up her appearance.

Another knock on the door called Twilight’s attention.

“Come in! We’re just setting up- Moon Dancer?”

Moon Dancer timidly trotted into the room, “H-Hey Twilight… Wow… you look… AMAZING!”

“Thanks. So… What brings you here?”

“I actually ran into your um… daughter?”

“Oh,” Twilight thought for a moment, “What do you think of her?”

“She’s nice. Takes way too much after you. If she sprouts wings, I would have a very hard time believing she was adopted.”

Twilight laughed, “Yeah… She’s a real mini me.”

“Only she’s not as hot as you are,” Moon Dancer sat on the couch.

“Excuse me?” Twilight reeled back in shock.

“Nothing! Nothing! So you taught her everything about magic?”

Twilight jumped on the couch next to Moon Dancer, “Uh… yeah… Ever since she was a filly. I sort of had to make sure she was able to use the time spell that resulted in me being her mother.”

There was an awkward moment of silence.

“Does it get less weird each time you say it?”

“No, it still feels as weird as it sounds.”

More awkward silence enveloped the room.

“So,” Moon Dancer began, “Have you been… seeing anyone lately?”

“Um… not recently.”

“Well… would you like to go out with me?”

“Oh yeah, when was the last time I went out with you and the other girls?”

Moon Dancer shook her head, “No, I mean… just me and you. Like a um… date?”

“Oh,” Twilight blushed with realization, “I- I’m sorry, Moon Dancer, but I… don’t date mares.”

Moon Dancer jumped off, “I knew this was a bad idea! I’m sorry if this was uncomfortable for you. I’ll uh… see you around.”

“Wait!” Twilight stopped Moon Dancer, “We’re still friends… right?”

“Sure… I just hoped… Well, it’s not like I’ll find anyone else.”

“Moon Dancer, There’s a book that can help you,” Twilight levitated a book from the nearby bookshelf, “It sort of helped a friend of mine in Ponyville.”

Moon Dancer read the title, “How to Get a Mare for Dummies?” she gave Twilight a sour look, “Real encouraging title.”

“Trust me, the Dummy series is very useful for learning new things.”

“So that’s how you got better grades than me!”

Twilight giggled, “Well it was a good thing you talked about your feelings with me before doing something drastic.”

“Actually, your daughter helped me out. But I’m not sure she knows that you don’t like like mares.”

Twilight’s face was crimson red. She ran upstairs to grab a book and buried her face in it. Moon Dancer thought it was best to let her be and turned to her own book.

“Luna! You’re pushing too hard… NO! Don’t buck it in! Here, I’ll push this side and you push that si-AAAAH!” Celestia cried as she fell into the closet.

“Are you ok, princess?” Velvet asked.

“Oh yes, just a minor in convince,” Celestia grunted, “A bit dark in here. Need a little light.”

Celestia’s horn lit up, “Are these Hearth Warming decorations? I know this hospital that could use some if you’re willing to donate them.”

“That would be lovely, princess,” Velvet tried to pull Celestia out of the closet, ”My husband was suppose to donate them three moons ago but never did.”

“It may have slipped his mind,” Luna suggested, “Those who focus on work too much tend to forget many things.”

“It was only ONE TIME LUNA! ONE TIME!” Celestia shouted. She accidentally bumped the Hearth Warming decorations and they fell on top of her, “Ah! Fiddlesticks! What sort of ribbon is this?”

“It’s the enchanted kind. Twilight would use her magic on the present when she was a filly, so we had to find a way to stop her from opening them too early.”

The ribbons tightened around Celestia and tied themselves into a nice little bow, “Did they ever tie Twilight up like a present?”

“No! It’s suppose to do that to the present. It’ll only come off with the proper spell.”

The ribbons squeezed Celestia more, “Ow ow ow, would you kindly use the spell?”

“Right away, princess,” Velvet lit her horn and aimed inside the closet.

Celestia noticed something out of the corner of her eye. In the faint darkness of the closest was a box labeled ‘Summer Sun Celebration.’ The box would have been ignored if it weren’t for the contents within the box.

“Wait, didn’t I ban that brand?” Celestia muttered before seeing an arcane beam hit the box. Dread painted itself on her face as she let out a curse, “Luna!”

Then the fireworks went off.

Velvet quickly ran and grabbed the first valuable thing she could get before diving under the coffee table. Moon Dancer and Twilight shriek as they ran into the other room. Luna stood her ground against the explosion with an arcane shield. A few crackles whizzed through the air as a plastic reindeer flew out of the closet and landed on the coffee table. After the sudden booming stopped, the house was in flames. Twilight and Moon Dancer returned to the couch while Luna took care of the fires. The largest fire she tended to last.

“It’s times like these I wonder why we have fireworks in the first place,” Celestia groaned.

“Are you well, sister? You appear a little…”

“Luna I swear!”

“Burnt out,” Luna grinned impishly.

“Gaaaaah!!! Now is not the time!” Celestia growled.

“Wow… you really need to cool down. There’s no reason to get heated over it.”

Celestia angrily glared at Luna.

“Velvet, Do you have a fire extinguisher?”

“Under the sink in the kitchen,” Velvet whined with a small box in her hooves.

Luna went to the kitchen looking for the extinguisher. Celestia sat there waiting for Luna.

“At least the ribbons are not squeezing me to death anymore,” she mumbled to herself.

Luna returned with the fire extinguisher.

“I’m going on vacation after this! You take care of my duties while I’m gone. Kibitz and Raven are there if you need help. They’re not there to do the work for you.”

Luna put out the flames on Celestia’s bottom half, “But I can’t wake up at 5 AM! I go to bed at 3!”

“Well you’re just going to have to change your sleep schedule then,” Celestia gritted her teeth as Luna put out the flames around her head.

“You’re mean.”

“I’m on fire!”

“And you’re still less hot than Twilight,” Luna smirked.

“I really wish I could banish you to the moon, right now,” Celestia’s mane turned to fired.

Luna put the fire out. Twilight and Moon Dancer read their books. Velvet was shaking under the coffee table with the box in her hooves. And Starlight walked through the door.


“That’s what happened while you were gone,” Twilight finished her story.

“Sounds like you guys had a bad time,” Starlight stared with her mouth open, “Are you ok, princess?”

Celestia finally got out of the ribbons, “Yes. I’m doing well. I think a week long trip to the spa will do me some good.”

“A week?!” Luna gawked.

“After being blown up, you’re lucky I’m not going away for a few moons.”

“Try being on the moon for a century,” Luna sneered.

“Fine, 5 days, but that’s the lowest I’m going to go since I can’t trust you with my responsibilities for long.”

“Thank you,” Luna smiled.

“Well um… I’m glad you came to the party, Celestia,” Twilight tried to smile, “It was nice seeing you, even though your visit didn’t go so well.”

Celestia smiled, “Thank you Twilight. I hope you put those books I gave you to good use. You have a wonderful… if chaotic… family and I wish you well. Good night, Twilight.”

“Good night pri- uh… the moon’s not out yet,” Twilight noted.

“Oopse, Sorry about that,” Luna began to raise the moon from the window.

“Heh, As far as family goes, I think it’s fitting that friends like you fit well with our family,” Spike chuckled.

Celestia looked at Spike. Then to Luna, then Twilight, Moon Dancer, Starlight, Velvet, and Nightlight.

“I suppose you can view it that way,” Celestia scowled, “How in the world did I end up with such a strange family?”

Luna hugged Celestia from behind, “Because we love you!”

“I love you too,” Celestia grumbled, “But if I get set on fire again, someone is going to the dungeon.”
> Phone-Book
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Starlight levitated a couple bags on her bed. It had been a full week she spent time with her grandparents. As awkward as the first day was, the rest of the week went off rather well. Some time at the ice cream parlor, a trip to the biggest library in Canterlot, and a trip to Nightlight’s friend’s restaurant.

Admittedly, they all hated the bland food they served. Nightlight claimed all the restaurants on Restaurant Row were like that. How any of them stayed in business, let alone have a three hoof rating was beyond Starlight.

“Starlight! Are you almost done?” Twilight called.

“Almost, just a few more book and I’ll be down,” Starlight replied.

She pulled several books off the shelf and placed them neatly in her bag.

“The train’s leaving in four minutes!” Twilight yelled.

“I’m coming!” Starlight shouted as she flew out the bedroom with her bag tossed over her back.

Downstairs was Spike saying goodbye to Nightlight and Velvet. He had a firm grip on a baggie of gemstones. Starlight jumped down and gave her grandparents a hug. They said their fair-wells, with Velvet giving Starlight a baggie of fresh baked cookies. Twilight told Spike and Starlight not to eat anything until they got on the train. Starlight couldn’t help but try to steal a bite.

Unfortunate for her, her mother was an alicorn and alicorns have a peculiar six sense that enables them to be aware of any sweets within a 400 mile radius.

“Try it and you’re not getting dinner,” Twilight threatened.

Starlight immediately sealed her baggie.


At the train station, the family got their tickets for their next stop. The Crystal Empire!

“I’m so excited to see uncle Shiny and aunt Cadence!” Starlight squeed, “Have you told them about me yet?”

Twilight set her book down, “I was going to make it a surprise but… Shiny doesn’t do well with surprises…”


Years ago, when Twilight was a filly.

“Alright, alright, how’d it go?” Shining Armor asked, “Did you learn anything from Magic school yet?”

“I learned how to do this super cool spell the biology teacher taught us!” Filly Twilight galloped with glee.

“Ok, let’s see it.”

Filly Twilight activated the spell. A violet aura enveloped her. Her coat became transparent, as well as the rest of her… except her bones.

Shining Armor’s eyes shrank as he watched his little sister turn from a cute filly into a spooky skeleton.

“I think this could make a great Nightmare Night costume,” Filly Twilight clacked.

Shining Armor ran out the room crying.


“Wow… That’s uh… that’s kind of funny,” Starlight tried not to laugh.

“I can understand why he’d do that,” Spike mused, “He’s pretty protective of Twilight. Seeing her skin melt off would probably freak me out too.”

“You were in the room…” Twilight smirked, “But you were just a little baby dragon with the chubbiest cheeks I’d ever seen.” She placed her hooves on Spike’s face while making her voice squeaky.

Spike blushed a little embarrassed.

Starlight giggled lightly, “So Shiny and Cadence know? I was hoping to surprise them like Grandma and Grandpa.”

“All aboard for Crystal Empire!” The Conductor called. Coincidently, the Conductor’s name was Glossy Mail which is another way to say Shiny Armor.

“That’s us,” Twilight got up and presented her tickets.

“Car number 4 ma’am,” Glossy directed.

The family made their way to their car. It was a relatively average train car. Seats arranged to face each other, table between them, windows held scratches and residue of some kind on both the inside and outside. Everything was as normal as always. Even the buzzing from Twilight’s bag didn’t turn any heads.

“Uh, Mom, I think your bag is buzzing,” Starlight raised an eyebrow.

Twilight looked down, “Oh! I forgot about this,” she unzipped her bag and took out a vibration book. “This journal acts as a two way messaging system for me and Sunset Shimmer.”

“Who’s Sunset Shimmer?”

“Another one of Celestia’s students that went crazy,” Spike yawned, leaning back to take a nap.

“I have a feeling this story is going to be familiar,” Starlight stared at the spastic book.

A security official walked by and noticed the violently shaking book, “Hey! No violent magic in the train car!”

Twilight dropped the book, “It’s not violent magic! The book just won’t stop vibrating!”

“Well, can you make it stop?”

Twilight paused for a while, “I don’t know… I never tried it before.”

“Well if you can’t make it stop, I’m going to have to kick you off the train.”

“But it’s not hurting anyone,” Starlight coughed.

“Sorry, but that’s the rules.”

“Ok, let me try something,” Twilight lit her horn. Arcane energy wrapped around the shivering book. The sound of a beep chimed through the car. The book stopped shaking but something worst started.

The book began blaring the song “You Gotta Share, You Gotta Care,” by Pinkie Pie. It irritated everyone in the car. Everyone angrily berated Twilight for starting such a ruckus. Spike fell out of his seat, feeling rudely interrupted. Starlight wished she knew a way to take her ears off without spilling blood on the seats. The security person ducked outside for a few seconds.

“Hey, Shiny!” He called for the conductor, “This sort of sounds like the music you listen to!”

Glossy sighed and shook his head, “My name is Glossy! Glossy Mail! Why does everyone think I’m Shining Armor? I look nothing like a Shining Armor.”

“Heh heh,” He climbed back into the cart, “But seriously, shut that thing off.”

Twilight re-did the spell she performed. The book went silent but started buzzing again.

“Ok, look,” The security person whispered, “I’m going to pretend I never saw that thing as long as you never, and I mean NEVER, make it play that music ever again.”

Twilight nodded.

The security person walked away, shaking his head.

Spike grumbled as he climbed into his chair, “Why don’t you just answer it?”

Starlight and Twilight looked at each other, then to Spike, then the book.

“It has been going off for quite some time,” Twilight muttered.

Starlight tilted her head, “How long has it been doing this?”

“Over the past week.”

“The past week?!” Starlight flinched, “And you didn’t stop to think it was something important?”

Twilight gave her daughter puppy eyes, “But we were having so much fun with your grandparents.”

“Still, it’s a bit irresponsible to ignore Sunset like this,” Starlight growled as the book kept vibrating.

“It’s probably another lesson she learned in the human world. She gives me one every week,” Twilight dismissed Starlight’s worries. She felt a cold shiver run up her spine as if there was something she should have realized with that statement.

“I’ll answer it,” Spike picked up the book and opened it.

The book finally stopped vibrating, much to the pleasure of everyone present. Twilight blinked as Spike gave the book to her.

“Thanks, Spike,” she said bashfully.

Twilight began reading on the train ride. Sunset had written long winded paragraphs with what can be explained as very angry rants filled with cuss words and various comparisons between Twilight and Celestia. There were various chapters Twilight elected to skip for how salty the words got. There was something very important Twilight was missing. The jumbled lettering and ink blots didn’t help her find out what it was she was suppose to help with. She noted that her name appeared numerous times along with Shadowbolts and Cinch. 

Twilight came to the conclusion that Sunset Shimmer needed help defeating the Shadowbolts and some new villain named Cinch. Whoever this Cinch was, she sounded like a grinch. Twilight imagined a wicked human like creature stealing presents from foals. Judging by Sunset’s writing, this Cinch might actually be among the worst villains she has ever faced. Maybe even more terrifying than Tirek, Chrysalis, and Discord combined!

“Well it looks like I’m going to have to take a side trip when we get to the Crystal Empire,” Twilight sighed.
> Avoidence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Last stop, Crystal Empire!” the conductor announced.

Twilight looked up to her daughter, “Ready to meet your uncle?”

As soon as the train stopped, Starlight jumped out of her seat and ran to the door. She looked around for Shining Armor. Among the crowd were numerous white ponies with blue hair.

“Wow,” Spike whistled, “What are the odds of so many same colored ponies being in the same spot?”

“Do you see uncle Armor?”

“I don’t think so. We should get out of the crowd.”

The pair struggled to move past the herd. Careful steps were taken to avoid stomping on someone’s tail. Even though there was an accidental trip or two. Starlight accidentally bumped into a royal guard when Spike pushed her.

“Woah, you ok there?” the stallion asked.

“I’m fine, just didn’t expect my brother to shove me that hard,” Starlight glared back at Spike.

“HEY! It’s not my fault some green filly crawled under me.”

“Put a cork in it, Spike.”

Suddenly the crowd froze.

“Did she say Spike? Like the hero of the Empire?” a random mare gasped.

“It can’t be! But I did hear dragons age differently.” some stallion whispered.

“Spike! Over here! You gave me an autograph at the Equestria Games, remember?” many rapid fans foamed at the mouth.

“Ah sh-“ an etherial bubble formed around Spike, Starlight and the royal guard, “-ining Armor?”

“Eeyup,” the royal guard nodded with a grin behind his helmet, “Didn’t recognize you with that growth spurt, Spike.”

“What’s with the Armor? Did the Crystal Empire get attacked again?”

“Worse. Cadence has been having mood swings and cravings!” Shining Armor trembled.

Spike’s many fans bounced off the bubble shield. Starlight was almost terrified by the screaming mares wanting to have their way with her brother. Spike and Shining Armor ignored them as pests. Spike had experience being in their position over a certain unicorn. Shining Armor was more interested in avoiding Cadence for the next few months.

“So, I hear you got a daughter now,” Shining quipped.

“Um…” Starlight stared at him, “Do… Do you think I’m Twilight?”

“Well you are a purple unicorn traveling with a dragon.”

“You can not be this dumb,” Spike groaned.

“I’m pretty sure I’m pink,” Starlight pouted, “You should get your eyes checked. I’m your niece.”

“That’s funny, Twily, next you’ll tell me that gorgeous alicorn is our mother.”

Looking to where Shining Armor was pointing at, they saw Twilight trotting over to them. The crowd dispersed to clear a path for her. The stallions stared at Twilight as she passed by. The mares gossiped about her behind her line of sight. Fillies and colts were amazed by her appearance. One of the mares smacked her boyfriend for ogling Twilight.

“BBBFF! It’s me, Twilight!” she yelled.

“Wait, really?” Shining Armor glanced at Twilight, then to Starlight, back to Twilight then Starlight again, then he stared at Spike.

“I’m serious. There is no way you are this stupid,” Spike growled as he threw his arms towards Twilight.

Shining Armor dispelled the shield, leaving Spike to be assaulted by his fans. Starlight dove away from him.

“Wow, The letter you wrote didn’t mention you looked this good,” Shining’s jaw dropped.

“Thanks,” Twilight smiled, “Is Cadence doing ok? I know she’s been pregnant for um… how long has it been?”

“Two months,” Shining frowned, “Only seven more agonizing months of near executions and broccoli pizza.”

“Broccoli?! On pizza?!” Twilight shrieked, “What sort of monster would create such a thing?”

“It’s trending in San Faundisco.”

A nearby deer with an afro and bellbottoms huffed as he carried his boombox onto the train.

“Those deer were nothing but trouble when they got here,” Shining glared as the train left the station. “Thankfully a better crowd showed up.”

“Um… that sounds kind of… racist, uncle,” Starlight stated.

“What? Do you know how hard it’s going to be for Cadence to find me in this crowd? I hope these guys stay for a long time.”

“Well, we really should be going to the castle to check on Cadence, the mirror portal, maybe a little lesson on love for Starlight…”

“Or we can take a tour of the Empire! It’s changed a lot since you last visited! We got a sports arena that held the Equestria Games.”

“We were here for that,” Twilight deadpanned, “Everyone was here when that happened.”

Spike dragged himself away from his fans, “I just signed a photo of me saving everyone from that giant ice cloud.”

“I wasn’t,” Starlight squeaked, “But it sounded like fun.”

“Then it’s settled! We’ll go to the Crystal Stadium first!”

Shining Armor pulled the three of them to the stadium. They tried to tell him to stop but he didn’t listen. When they arrived at the stadium, Shining Armor began talking about the Equestria Games.

“Um, This is nice but… I don’t really care about the sports, Uncle Armor,” Starlight stated.

“Please, call me Shining,” he began to sweat, “How about some authentic Crystal Empire food?”

“I’m not hungry. Maybe la-“

“GREAT! Let’s go!”

Shining Armor dragged them to a nearby restaurant.

“Shining, please, we really need to go to the castle,” Twilight pleaded.

“But there’s so much to do outside the castle!” he panted, “You wouldn’t want to waste a day like this? Would you?”

“Uncle Shining, there are plenty of days to hang out with you but mom needs to use the um… mirror portal thing… and I want to see aunt Cadence.”

Shining Armor stopped and sighed, “Ok fine. Guess I can’t avoid her all day.”

“Geeze, you act like Cadence wants to kill you or something,” Spike grunted.

“It’s the pregnancy! Her mood swings go off and on at random! She’s either very happy or ready to eat my face, both in a bad and good way!”

“How can having your face eaten be goo-,” Twilight gaged, “Never mind. Now that I think about it, mood swings are normal for a pregnancy. However, they may have a stronger affect on alicorns. Wonder if Luna or Celestia can confirm this theory, hmm…”

Starlight gave her mother strange looks.

“Alright… So, the castle…” Shining Armor trailed off, “Um… where is the castle?”

“It’s in the center of the Empire, right? Starlight stated, “So we should head to the center… where ever that is.”

“Where are we?” Spike asked.

Twilight looked up to the nearest street sign, “We’re on 7th Road. Um… is that north or south of the castle?”

“Which way is north?” Shining tilted his head.

Spike facepalmed, “How is the prince of the Crystal Empire lost in the Crystal Empire?”

“I married into this position, I didn’t ask for it.”

“Then let’s split up. Me and Shining will go south while mom and Starlight go north.”

“What is we don’t find the castle?” Starlight inquired.

“Head the other way, duh.”

“Ok, see you two at the castle oh and Shining,” Twilight pulled her brother close, “Do not lose Spike. If you lose Spike, Cadence won’t be the only alicorn you’d have to worry about.”

Shining Armor gulped.

“Don’t worry, mom, I’m kind of a celebrity in the Crystal Empire,” Spike gloated.

“I’m just worried about you,” Twilight pinched Spike’s cheek, “Stay safe!”

As Twilight and Starlight headed north, Spike and Shining Armor headed south.

“You had a compass on you,” Shining accused.

Spike flipped his compass like a coin, “I’ve been around. Still takes some getting used to.”

“You know a good place to get some drinks?”

“I’m considered a teenage dragon so I’m not sure if I can legally drink or not.”

“I’m the prince of the empire! If you can’t, I’ll say I just changed the law.”

The two laughed as they headed down to a nearby tavern.