MLP: The Portal 2

Chapter 9: Crystal Empire

"Where are we going, Twilight?" Alex asked, looking out the window of the train.

"We're going to the Crystal Empire! It's not far from Equestria. It's actually ruled over by my sister-in-law and my brother: Princess Cadence and Shining Armor." Twilight said.

"I didn't know your brother was a princess." Alex said with a hum.

"Uh…he's not…"

"I'm just kidding. Come on now, Twilight." Alex said with a laugh. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"You got me. I've just got some things on my mind; we're supposed to have a very important conversation about relations between our two lands, and I'm a little nervous." She admitted.

"You'll be fine, Twilight. You already said it's your family in charge, and you two have known each other forever. It'll go fine." Spike reassured her.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Spike." Twilight smiled at him.

"You should be more worried about me. I'mma be meeting your royal extended family." Alex said with a chuckle, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, you'll be fine. They're really nice. They'll like you for sure. Just be careful with Flurry Heart, the baby and my niece! She's absolutely adorable, but her magic is very strong." Twilight informed him.

"Yeah, she almost destroyed the place once." Spike said.

"Oh shoot… Well, hopefully we're coming around naptime." Alex joked.

"Haha, it'll be alright." Twilight said as the train stopped and the three of them got off.

"Hey, you know I saved this place once?" Spike asked.

"No way, did you?" Alex asked in surprise.

"Oh yeah." Spike chuckled proudly.

"Just be glad you only have to hear this story once, Alex." Twilight sighed and giggled humorously.

"Oh wow…" Alex paused. His eyes widened as he took in the Crystal Empire for the first time.

True to its name, the whole place was made of crystal. The roads were crystal, the homes and buildings were crystal, and even the ponies were glowing like crystals. Alex made eye contact with one crystal pony mare as she passed by. She waved as she went on her way.

"What do you think?" Twilight asked.

"Could I, like, grab a piece of one of these buildings and take it home as a souvenir?"

"Haha, I don't think they'd appreciate that." Twilight giggled.

"Wait, no, I'm serious, Twi!"

"Twilight! How's my favorite sister-in-law doing?" Princess Cadence hugged Twilight warmly as she and the others approached Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.

"I'm doing great, Cadence. It's so good to see you! I brought a friend of mine with me today. I figured he could spend some time with Shining Armor. This is Alex." Twilight introduced them as she went to hug her brother.

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Alex smiled and nodded, shaking hooves with the princess.

"Nice to meet you, Alex. I'm Cadence. How'd you and Twilight meet?" She asked curiously.

"Oh you know, just freak of circumstances. I've never been to the Crystal Empire before, so Twilight offered to take me with her on her trip." Alex explained. Cadence smiled and nodded.

"Cool. Well, enjoy your time here. We'd be happy to have you join us for lunch after our meeting, if you would like." Cadence offered.

"That sounds nice, thanks." Alex agreed with a smile.

"Now where's my favorite niece?" Twilight asked, looking around.

Suddenly, Flurry Heart appeared in front of Twilight, babbling excitedly as Twilight took her in her arms and giggled.

"Woah!" Alex jumped back in surprise.

"She did tell you about the magic." Spike said with a chuckle.

"And this is Flurry Heart, our daughter." Shining Armor introduced Alex formally with a chuckle.

Flurry Heart babbled again up at Twilight again, then turned her attention over to Alex. She focused on him curiously. Her horn began to glow, and she suddenly teleported to Alex. Alex flinched and caught her in his arms, and she giggled.

"I think she likes me." Alex said with a chuckle as he cradled her. She spit a bit as she reached up at him.

"I think we just found ourselves a new babysitter." Shining Armor joked, patting Alex on the side with a chuckle.

"Nooo." Alex said quickly, laughing a bit.

"Haha, well you three have fun. Honey, Twilight and I are gonna go ahead and get our meeting started. We'll come and get you and we'll all go have lunch afterwards." Cadence said to Shining Armor.

"Alright. Sounds good. See you later." Shining Armor said, hugging Cadence briefly before she and Twilight left.

"Don't forget Flurry Heart's bottle!" She called back on their way out.

"I won't!"

Alex chuckled, looking down at Flurry Heart again. He bounced her a bit in his arms, looking down at her with a small smile and a hum of amusement.

"Kids." Alex said to Shining Armor with a chuckle.

"Tell me about it. You don't look like you have any of your own though." Shining Armor commented.

"Oh no, not me. I had a younger brother though, and I was around when he was born. I helped take care of him and stuff, so that's about all the experience I have." Alex explained.

"That's really nice. Now being an older brother, I know a lot more about." Shining Armor said with a chuckle.

"Yeah. I didn't know Twilight had a brother. It never came up." He admitted.

"You must not have known her very long then. She brings me up every once in awhile usually. We're really close." Shining Armor said with a chuckle.

"Haha, that's actually really cool that you two have that sort of relationship. I remember when me and my brother had that sort of relationship." Alex said with a bit of a reminiscent sigh.

Alex looked down at Flurry Heart again, and there was a change in his expression. As he thought back to his own memories, his eyes dimmed, and he was no longer focused on Flurry Heart. She began to fuss a bit as she tried to get his attention.

"Maybe you should take her for a bit." Alex said, handing Flurry Heart carefully back to her father.

"Sure. You okay?" Shining Armor asked.

"Yeah. I'm good." Alex nodded.

Flurry Heart's horn began to glow again, and she reappeared back in Alex's arms. He chuckled a bit as he cradled her again.

"Looks like she's got other ideas." Spike said.

"So, Alex, what do you think of the Crystal Empire from your first visit here?" Cadence asked Alex as they all sat together for lunch: Alex, Cadence, Twilight, Shining Armor, Spike, and Flurry Heart relaxing in her mother's arms.

"It's very nice. It's impressive too. Everything's so shiny here, like wow." Alex said with a chuckle, looking around a bit. Cadence and Shining Armor both chuckled a bit.

"It took me a little time to get used to it, but it's a very nice place to live."

"I imagine it would be." Alex said, agreeing with Shining Armor.

"It's so nice to be back and to see you again! Thank you for having us come up here, and for letting me take Alex along so he could see it." Twilight thanked them.

"Of course. Thank you for coming, Twilight." Cadence said with a grin.