The next morning, after a small breakfast, the Earthland mages and Mane 6 went to the station to catch the train that would take them to the Crystal Empire. Gajeel had his doubts about riding a train, but then they told him about some very effective motion sickness pills, so he made it onto the vehicle without any problems, as did the other dragon slayers.
Natsu was about to go crazy on the train like last time, but a murderous look from Erza stopped him, to everyone's relief. Thanks to that, the trip went smoothly.
"So, what can you tell us about this Crystal Empire?" asked Lucy.
"Oh, my dear. Let me tell you, it's an amazing place. You'll know what I'm talking about when we get there." said Rarity.
"It would stop being a surprise if we told you." said Pinkie Pie.
"You could at least tell us more." said Levy wanting to learn more about the place they were going to.
"Well, a long time ago, the Crystal Empire was a beautiful, peaceful place until King Sombra came." said Twilight.
"King Sombra?" asked Erza.
"He's an evil powerful unicorn who took over the place and enslaved its inhabitants." said Rainbow Dash.
"That's horrible." said Wendy.
"Fortunately, Celestia and Luna were able to defeat him, but not before he cast a curse on the Crystal Empire that caused it to remain missing for 1000 years." said Applejack.
"Oh my god." said Mirajane letting out a small gasp of horror.
"I guess that guy wasn't going to let his 'empire' fall so easily." said Gray.
"What happened next?" asked Gajeel.
"One day, the Crystal Empire came back after 1000 years missing. Celestia sent us to keep the empire from falling back into King Sombra's hooves" said Twilight.
"I thought Celestia and Luna defeated him." said Lisanna.
"Actually, they just turned him into shadow and imprisoned him in the northern mountains, but he managed to escape when the empire returned." said Spike.
"And how did you stop him that time?" asked Juvia.
"We discovered that there was a magical and powerful object called the Crystal Heart that was the one that was in charge of protecting the empire, but King Sombra hid it." said Twilight.
"Luckily, we managed to find it and return it to its place and thanks to that, the King Sombra was defeated for good." said Spike.
"That's too bad. I would have loved to have kicked that guy's ass." said Natsu.
"We would have shown him how manly we are." said Elfman slamming his fist into his palm.
"But it is no longer necessary. King Sombra is gone and now all the ponies in the Crystal Empire live peacefully." said Fluttershy.
"Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law." said Twilight happily.
Despite the history lesson, the mages of Earthland kept thinking about what that place would be like.
Finally, after a while of traveling, they arrived at their destination.
"We're here! We're here!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie jumping out of the train.
The mages jumped out behind her and then, they stopped and stood with their eyes and mouths open at what they were seeing.
In front of them, stood the most amazing place they had ever seen in their lives. It was nothing like the other places they had seen. The buildings, the roads, the palace, even the ponies, everything seemed to be made of glass. Now they understood why it got that name.
"It's... It's amazing." said Lucy.
"I've never seen such a beautiful place." said Mirajane.
"It looks almost like a dream." said Levy.
"I told you it was amazing." said Rarity.
"But if they're made of glass, isn't it dangerous? They could break at the slightest bump." said Happy.
"Oh, don't worry. Even though they look like it, they're not made of glass. It's more like a layer of outer skin." said Twilight.
"Yeah, if they were really made of glass, it would have all been broken long ago." said Rainbow Dash.
"Come on, let's not keep my brother and sister-in-law waiting." said Twilight.
"I'd like to explore this place, but I guess we can't wait for royalty." said Erza.
As they passed through the empire, the mages kept looking around in awe, still impressed by the beauty of the place. It was then that they noticed something in the central square.
"Hey, isn't that you, Spike?" asked Natsu pointing to a statue of Spike holding a huge heart.
"Well, not that I want to brag about it either, but, being the one who put the Crystal Heart back where it belonged, the people of this place consider me a celebrity. In fact, some call me the Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious." said Spike proudly and bragging about his place.
"Quite a big title for someone so small who only put one thing back in its place." said Gajeel crossing his arms.
"Considering that Crystal Heart was very important to these people, it wouldn't be strange if they considered him a hero." said Lily.
"But I agree about the title. That would, for any idiot, make his fame go to his head." said Charle crossing his arms." said Charle crossing his arms.
Spike let out a small cough slyly, since that happened to him once. Twice if you considered that one time he did things in Twilight's name.
"We'll talk about this later, they're expecting us." said Lucy.
"Certainly." said Applejack.
After a while longer walking, they arrived at the palace, where a couple of guards recognized them and opened the gates to let them pass. Once inside, the mages could see that the interior looked normal despite the exterior made of crystal and diamonds.
"Twilight!" shouted a female voice.
They all turned their gaze to the front to see a white unicorn and an alicorn who was taller than Twilight, but less than Celestia and Luna, and her hair didn't move as if blown by the wind.
"Candance!" cried Twilight before running to her, just as Candance ran to her and the two shared a hug. "It's good to see you again."
"Me too." said Candance.
"I guess these are the otherworldly mages the princesses told us about." said Shining Armor coming closer.
"Well yes." said Twilight before turning to the mages. "Everyone, I would like to introduce my brother, the captain of the royal guard, Shining Armor, and his wife, the princess of love, Candance." said Twilight introducing the two present.
"It is a pleasure to meet you both." said Wendy bowing by way of greeting, as did the female members of the mage group.
"Likewise. Frankly, I was curious to meet you when Celestia and Luna told me about your magic and I must say, I'm impressed." said Candance.
"Yeah, I mean, as captain of the guard, I've faced various dangers, but I wouldn't know how to deal with magics like yours." said Shining Armor.
"Well, good thing we're not the enemy." said Gray.
"Yeah, because we would have kicked your ass." said Natsu.
"Natsu!" said Lucy thinking he had insulted the friendship princess' brother.
"Hahaha. Oh, that's okay. I admit, I'd probably be defeated, but I'd still keep fighting to the end to protect everypony." said Shining Armor with a smile of determination.
"Now you're talking. Worthy of someone who is captain of the guard." said Erza.
It was then that a noise was heard from behind Twilight's brother, something that caught the mages' attention.
"What was that?" asked Juvia.
"Oh, right." said Candance before using her magic to lift a small baby alicorn from Shining Armor's back to catch her with one paw. "Everyone, I want to introduce you to our daughter. Flurry Heart. Flurry, these are some friends of your aunt's." said Candance.
Flurry Heart glanced at the mages before taking flight towards them, or more specifically, Lucy.
The celestial mage and the baby alicorn stared at each other before the baby let out a squeal of happiness and gave the mage a hug.
"Hehe. She seems to like you." said Twilight.
"Aw, aren't you an adorable little thing?" asked Lucy before cradling the baby alicorn in her arms. "Who's a cuddly baby? Yes, you are." said Lucy stroking the baby alicorn's chin with a finger, which made her giggle as the other female mages gathered around her.
"It makes you want to hug her. She's so cute." said Lisanna with her hands on her cheeks.
"Yeah well, you wait and see." said Rainbow Dash.
"What do you mean?" asked Wendy.
"She may look small and cute, but she has great power inside her." said Applejack.
"That's right. You can't imagine how exhausted we were taking care of her." said Candance.
"Or the messes she caused during Crystallization." said Rarity remembering the little incident with Flurry Heart and the crystal heart.
"It doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me." said Mirajane before picking up the baby alicorn and lifting it up. "I'm sure as she grows, she'll learn to control her powers. And who knows, she will surely become a powerful mage." said Mirajane before Flurry Heart let out a squeal of happiness.
"I think so too and I'll be happy to teach her as much as possible." said Twilight.
Suddenly, to the surprise of the Earthland mages, Flurry Heart suddenly disappeared.
"Huh? What just happened?" asked Gray in surprise and confusion.
"Oh, it's just that Flurry Heart likes to play hide and seek from time to time." said Candance.
"Ah, I'll find her right away then." said Natsu with a smile before sniffing the air to locate the baby alicorn and after a few seconds. "There she is!" said Natsu pointing towards Gajeel, which confused him.
"Where are you pointing, Salamander?" asked Gajeel.
At that moment, Flurry Heart came out from inside the iron dragon slayer's hair, something that made the others laugh.
"What? What's so funny?" asked Gajeel before looking to the side to see Flurry Heart, which surprised him quite a bit. "Hey, come out of there! I'm not a bush to hide in!" said Gajeel before trying to grab the baby alicorn, only for her to hide in his hair again and come out the other side.
Before the iron dragon slayer tried to grab her again, Levy grabbed her and hugged her against her chest.
"Gajeel, don't be so cruel to her. She's just a baby. Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you." said Levy.
"Hey, don't talk like I'm the bad guy in the story." commented Gajeel to the laughter of the others.
Suddenly, the doors could be heard opening and a unicorn in a soldier's uniform came running into the place.
"Your Majesties, something has happened." said the soldier.
"What happened?" asked Shining Armor.
"Uh…" began the guard without knowing how to say it. "You'd better see for yourselves." said the soldier before using his magic to open the doors.
Then, several footsteps and the sound of chains were heard. At first, everyone was confused as to what was going on, but when the people responsible for that sound of footsteps and chains approached, the Mane 6 and the royal family were petrified at what they were seeing.
In the center of a group of guards stood Chrysalis, whose legs and neck were shackled with chains that the guards held.
The former shifter queen raised her head and gave those present a toothy grin.
"My, what a surprise. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" asked Chrysalis.
"CHRYSALIS?!" asked the Mane 6 and the royal family in unison.
