Chapter 1: The Crystalling, Part 1
Three weeks had passed since Starlight had tried to destroy Equestria and tried to tamper with the very fabric of time.
During those weeks, Starlight seemed to have found herself forgiven by most ponies in Ponyville. They seem to treat her as one of townsponies these days. The Mane thirteen enjoyed spending time with her, whether she was helping them out or just having fun with them.
Rarity had even gotten Starlight a spa treatment and the lilac unicorn came home with a new mane style. Well, technically her mane style was roughly the same, but Starlight had let her front bangs grow and they now curved beautifully around her horn.
All the girls, Spike, Chase, Sunray, Clay, and Sokka, loved the new hairstyle, leaving Starlight feeling very bashful at all the praise. She certainly felt like one of the Mane thirteen. Actually, they could be considered the Mane fourteen now.
This morning, Starlight was trying to find her way around the castle on her own. Up until this point, she usually had Spike, Twilight, or even Nyx around to help her navigate the castle. But she was, like the others mares of the group, still independent at heart and was determined to find her way around the castle on her own.
Unfortunately, for the time being, she was having a hard time doing just that.
"Okay," said Starlight, sighing to herself, as she headed down the hallway, "Library...Library...Where did they put the library?"
Starlight then came to an T intersection and looked down to the left path and then the right. It was then she noticed that all numerous doors looked exactly the same. Starlight sighed again.
"This castle looked a lot smaller from the outside," Starlight muttered.
Starlight then decided to walk up to a door and opened it. She was given the shock of her life to find that it was not only the bathroom, but Spike was inside brushing his teeth, wearing both a spa headband and a bath towel around his waist.
"Morning, Starlight!" said Spike with his mouth full of toothpaste.
"Whoops!" said Starlight, feeling very embarrassed as she quickly looked away and shut the door, "Sorry, Spike! I guess I'm still trying to find my way around. I usually have Nyx or Chase at my side to help me get to where I need to go. You don't happen to know where the library is, do you?"
"Next door on the left!" said Spike, not even bothering to rinse his toothpaste filled mouth as he peeked out of the door. Starlight bashfully looked away since the little dragon was still in his towel and turned to see the door he was talking about.
"Oh. Thanks!" said Starlight and headed inside, where she found Twilight reading a scroll.
"Acceptance, mm-hmm," Twilight read aloud, "Altruism, definitely." She then noticed the lilac unicorn peeking in, "Starlight, good morning, come in!"
"Sorry I'm late," said Starlight, "I got a little turned around." It was then Chase walked in.
"Morning, guys." Chase greeted as he walked up to Twilight and she hugged her husband. "You're looking more beautiful this morning, honey."
Twilight giggled.
"Good to see you dear," said Twilight as she and Chase shared a kiss, "How was the early training in the dojo?"
"Pretty good," said Chase before he turned his attention to Starlight. "How're you doing, Starlight?"
Starlight chuckled.
"Doing just fine, Chase." Starlight replied. "I know it's been almost a month, but I still can't believe you're both letting me stay here...as your pupil… after everything I did..." Starlight looked a little glum until Chase put a fore-hoof on her shoulder.
"It's all in the past Starlight," said Chase, "I forgave you, my wife forgave you, so did our friends and even our families."
Starlight smiled in response.
"Well, I'm not one to dwell on the past, and neither should either of you." said Twilight as she she headed over to a table, "The castle is your home now, and as far as being my pupil goes, I was just trying to figure out what your first friendship lesson should be!" Starlight and Chase blinked.
"I thought she was already past her first friendship lesson," said Chase, "I thought she was already heading to lesson four at the minimum."
"Since when?" Twilight asked, surprised.
"I thought lesson one was befriending our group," Chase replied, "You could even say lesson two was spending time with me and learning about each other. All of those lessons she passed with flying colors. Starlight has definitely earned a special place in my heart." Starlight smiled humbly at the remark.
"That may be how you teach Nyx about friendship and jiu jitsu, my sweetie," said Twilight, "but those experiences were just to help Starlight feel at home, even if she made things a tad difficult when she was on the side of the Quinkan..."
"Okay, what happened to not dwelling on the past?" Chase asked skeptically. Twilight smiled apologetically.
"Sorry," said Twilight, "my point is, my dear husband, that while you like teach through experiences and being in the moment, I prefer to handle things by the textbook. And I'm currently working on Starlight's upcoming friendship lessons as we speak."
"Oh, well, it looks like you're really narrowing it down!" said Starlight as she looked at the scroll.
"Oh, these are just the A's," said Twilight as she pointed to a table filled with stacks of papers and scrolls, "After this, I move on to the B's!"
Twilight smiled excitedly. Starlight winced as she put on a brave smile, but Chase could tell that the lilac unicorn was feel very, very overwhelmed. He then looked at Twilight bluntly.
*Main theme*
As life continued outside the castle, Starlight was looking through all the papers Twilight had laid out.
"I know I'm just learning about friendship," said Starlight, "but I didn't think there were this many lessons to anything. How do we choose?"
"Maybe I should pare things down a bit before we go through them," said Twilight as she took the stack of papers Starlight was holding with her magic, "Why don't you join the others in the throne room? They're planning our trip to the Crystal Empire when Shining Armor and Princess Cadance have their baby!"
"Throne room! Got it!" said Starlight as she raced out of the library, but within a few seconds, she had returned, "um, which way is the throne room?"
Starlight laughed nervously. Twilight let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. Chase just chuckled before telling Starlight exactly where she needed to go.
(Scene changes)
Inside the throne room, the rest of the Mane thirteen were now sitting around the Cutie Map table.
"I still can't believe I'm gonna meet my new cousin when Auntie Cadance and Uncle Shining Armor give it birth!" Nyx said with excitement.
"Me too! The foal has gotta be really cute." Jade squealed out in excitement.
"Well, I think we should leave ASAP," said Rainbow as Starlight entered the room, "I don't want to miss the Crystalling!"
"I agree, we should leave right now," said Nyx in agreement.
"But, um, shouldn't we wait for the invitation?" Fluttershy pointed out.
"Frankly," said Applejack, "I'm not exactly clear on all the customs and traditions of the Crystal Empire, especially when it comes to a Crystalling."
"What's a Crystalling?" Starlight asked as she walked up to the orange pony.
"Well, that's just it, darling," Rarity answered, "Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's baby is due any day, and we're still not sure. The Crystal Empire was gone for a thousand years. A lot of their customs are a bit murky."
"And it wasn't pretty when King Sombra came back to take the Crystal Heart." Clay said with a shutter.
"We know it's got somethin' to do with the new baby," Applejack pointed out.
"And a party!" Pinkie said quickly as she got into Starlight's face and smiled like a mad mare.
"And the Crystal Heart," Fluttershy added.
"And a party!" Pinkie shouted again, making Fluttershy flinch and raise a wing over her face.
"Will you quit scaring my wife!" Sokka scolded.
"And a party!" Pinkie shouted.
"Yah!" Sokka said when Pinkie got into his face and knocked him off his throne.
"And some kinda cool energy," Rainbow added as she hovered behind Starlight.
"And...a party!" Pinkie repeated once again as she tossed some confetti into the air.
Starlight gave the pink pony a funny look as Rainbow just shrugged her shoulders. While Starlight had accepted the old philosophy: It's Pinkie Pie, don't question it, the lilac unicorn hadn't gotten used to Pinkie's randomness just yet.
SLAP!
"OW!" Pinkie yelped in surprise as she turns to see Sunray glaring at her, making her smile sheepishly.
"It's not too hard to understand," said Spike as he approached the table, "Most things in the Crystal Empire aren't. Like how I'm a big hero there, for example."
Spike then showed a drawing of his statue and smirked cockily. Starlight just looked puzzled, Nyx, Rainbow, Applejack, Clay, Sunray, and Sokka looked unamused. Rarity and Jade snorted as they tried to avoid laughing. Fluttershy just looked rather blankly at him, and Pinkie got into the foreground and looked at Spike skeptically.
"Eh..." said Spike as he smiled sheepishly as he placed a giant potted vase into the table, "plus, I've had to help Twilight and Chase do a lot of research on Crystallings." He then showed a picture on the vase of two ponies with a newborn baby.
"Whenever a baby is born in the Crystal Empire," Spike explained, "the parents bring it before the Crystal Heart. They get the purest shard of crystal they can find, then pick a crystaller to present the baby to everypony who comes. Then they all share the light and joy they feel, feeding it into the crystal that joins with the Heart, and increases its power! And this is going to be a royal Crystalling, so pretty much the whole empire will show up. That hasn't happened in a millennia!"
As Spike spoke, the group saw that several pictures illustrating the event. One showed the father picking the shard of crystal and choosing a crystaller, the mother presenting the baby before a crowd of ponies, and the crystal heart starting to glow brightly.
"What do you mean it increases the Crystal Heart's power?" Starlight asked curiously as Spike put the potted vase off the table.
"The energy it uses to protect the Crystal Empire, I guess," said Spike, "Chase might know a little more about it, being the other hero next to me and such..."
"Protect it from what?" Starlight asked.
"I...didn't help Twilight or Chase with that part," said Spike as he rubbed his head and smiled sheepishly. The others just shared worried looks with each other.
(Scene changes)
Afterward, Starlight had been wandering down the halls alone. The lilac unicorn had just passed the library, where Twilight was still looking through some papers. Chase had actually taken the liberty of telling Twilight that not everypony loved seeing huge tall stacks of papers and books on their first day of learning. So Twilight was trying to simplify things to help Starlight not feel so flustered. Twilight was still organizing everything when Starlight walked into the room.
"Hey, Twilight," Starlight asked timidly, "Can I ask you something about the Crystal Empire?"
"Huh! Funny you should mention it," said Twilight as she presented the lilac unicorn with three pieces of paper, "Because I just narrowed your first friendship lesson down to three options, and one of them is in the Crystal Empire!"
"Really?" said Starlight with interest.
"I found that's where the first pony you ever cared about lives!" said Twilight with an excited smile on her face. Starlight felt her heart rise to her throat.
"Sunburst?" Starlight said in shock.
"Of course, that's just one idea," said Twilight excitedly, "We could also go to Griffinstone. Making friends with a griffon is a challenge all by itself! Or we could tag along with the CMC's the next time they try to help a pony figure out why they're special..."
As Twilight kept talking, her voice started to fade out as Starlight began to feel very, very nervous. She was starting the sweat and tremble a bit when Twilight stopped talking and took notice that Starlight was looking very overwhelmed.
"Starlight? Is something wrong?" Twilight asked with concern.
"What?" Starlight replied as she snapped out of her anxiety and tried to recompose herself, "O-oh no, heh, those all sound great!" She then gave Twilight a sheepish smile.
"I know!" Twilight said in agreement, "I guess you were right - it is gonna be hard to choose one!" Twilight just walked off as Starlight chuckled nervously.
"...yeah," said Starlight, but she bit her lower lip and started to panic again.
(Scene changes)
By the time she had calmed down, she was just wondering down the halls when she decided to head into a room. Starlight was given the surprise of her life when she opened the doors and was buried alive under a ladder, stool, and some brooms and mops. She had accidentally opened up the castle's storage closet.
She quickly recovered and used her magic to toss everything inside and shut the doors. She then went toward another door. Starlight was shocked when she found Spike standing on a stool, trying to look taller and posing before a mirror. Starlight looked rather disturbed while the little dragon was just feeling outright embarrassed.
"Ugh, I am never gonna find my way around this place!" said Starlight irritably as she stomped away. Spike took notice that Starlight was looking glum and rushed after her.
"Gee, Starlight, what's wrong?" Spike asked as he followed the unicorn.
"I don't know, Spike," said Starlight, "Twilight's figuring out what my first friendship lesson is, and I guess I'm not exactly thrilled with the options. Well...with one of them."
"Which one?" said Spike.
"Reuniting me with my first friend," said Starlight sadly as she walked off.
"What's so terrible about that?" Spike asked as he stopped moving. Starlight just sighed and took a few more steps forward and then looked up. She then used her magic to summon a flashback.
"When we were foals, Sunburst knew everything there was to know about magic," Starlight narrated as her filly self and young Sunburst were sitting on a picnic blanket. Young Sunburst was reading a book and young Starlight was trying to pick up blocks with her magic but kept dropping them. Young Sunburst then showed Starlight a page from his book and smiled. Young Starlight tried again and was able to lift all the blocks with her magic and rotate them above her head with ease.
"He always knew just what to do," Starlight continued as her younger self spilled her glass of juice. Young Sunburst held a scroll and used his magic to clean up the mess. He then showed Starlight the scroll. Young Starlight then used her magic to clean up the entire kitchen, making the room sparkle and young Sunburst was most impressed.
"And he was always there to help me," said Starlight as the moment when young Sunburst saved her younger self from the falling books and got his cutie mark right after. Young Sunburst then saw the cutie mark, ran out of the house, bumping into young Starlight as he left. Young Starlight then saw young Sunburst surrounded by his family as his mother carried him away.
"I guess it's not surprising that Sunburst got his cutie mark in magic and...went off to Princess Celestia's school," said Starlight as her younger self watched young Sunburst being carried away and started to cry, "but when he left..."
"You blamed cutie marks and stripped a village of theirs, joined Zhao and his Quinkan army," said Spike as he appeared in the foreground, "and when Twilight, Chase, and the others tried to stop you, you went back in time and almost destroyed Equestria before Chase tired you out with your little weapons sparring."
SLAP!
"OW!" Spike yelped as he felt somepony smack the back of his head as Starlight then made her flashback disappear to reveal Chase was there, giving Spike the stink eye.
"Uh, how long have you been there, Chase?" Spike asked nervously while chuckling sheepishly.
"Long enough to hear you bluntly finishing Starlight's story." Chase replied sternly, making the baby dragon shrink back from the alicorn master's angry look.
"I don't think Twilight would expect you to tell Sunburst about that on the first meeting," said Chase gently.
"I guess you heard everything," Starlight remarked sadly.
Chase nodded.
"Well…Not really stuff I'm super eager to tell Sunburst about," said Starlight. "I mean, he's probably some sort of important wizard now, and I can't even find my way around your and Twilight's castle, Chase."
"You'll figure it out in good time," said Chase, "But as for Sunburst, don't go assuming things about what or who he is now. All you're doing is hurting yourself. Besides, I already sent Mom, Dad, Cadance, and Shining Armor a letter regarding the last events with Zhao. My parents went there early so they could help us out with the ceremony."
"Besides Starlight," said Spike, "if Sunburst is that good with magic, maybe he'd appreciate your, uh..." Spike cleared his throat, "...exploits. You should talk to Twilight about it. I'm sure she'd want to hear what you have to say."
"I agree," said Chase, "If there's anything you learned from me, it's that you have to let go of the past and move on into the future. A good student and teacher friendship only grows strong when both ponies are honest with each other."
"I know," said Starlight, "But I don't want her to think I'm not ready to learn or that I'm not grateful for everything she's doing. And everything you've done..."
"I know you're not saying this because you're lazy or ungrateful," said Chase kindly, "this is about..."
"SPIKE! CHASE! COME QUICK!" Twilight shouted. Chase quickly lead the group toward the castle's west balcony, where Twilight was hanging her fore-legs on the railing with a huge smile on her face.
"What's up, honey?" Chase asked with concern as they arrived.
Twilight kept smiling and pointed toward the blowing wind. It was then a large snowflake appeared. Twilight used her wing to gently grab it and the center of the snowflake unfolded to reveal an invitation.
"It's a Crystalling invitation!" said Spike.
"Shining Armor's a father!" said Twilight before saying in a proper tone, "I'm an aunt!"
"Then does that mean I'm an uncle?" Chase asked with a smile.
"Yes, honey!" Twilight said as she giggled and then turned to Starlight, "Well, that settles it! Since we're going to the Crystal Empire, your first friendship lesson is going to be...reuniting with Sunburst." Chase and Starlight were both stunned as Twilight happily trotted back inside.
"Great..." said Starlight with a nervous smile on her face. Chase could tell she was getting anxious.
"Try and speak to Twilight about it," said Chase gently, "for now, I need to let the others know about the Crystalling date. You gonna be okay?" Starlight just released a long breath and nodded bravely. Chase smiled and then flew off into the distance.
(Scene changes)
Unknown to them, Zhao was watching everything from his orb as he smirked evilly.
"Perfect." Zhao said sinisterly before he turned to Tai Lung. "It's time for you to begin your task, Tai Lung. Bring Kai, four Dragonquins, and our best Quinkan soldiers. Twilight and Chase will not have a Crystaling at their family's empire."
"Do not worry, Master Zhao." Tai Lung promised. "I will not fail you. I will find Darius Hisomi's grandchildren and destroy them, as well as the White Lotus clan who trapped me in that wretched ice block all those years ago."
Tai Lung went off to get Kai, the four Dragonquins, and some of their best Quinkan soldiers as Zhao sat comfortably on his throne with an evil smirk on his face.
"When they reach the empire, they will soon be in for the shock of their lives since the baby Princess Cadance gave birth to is an alicorn infant." Zhao said sinisterly. "And once we have the baby for our plan to take her unstable magic, we will own this world soon enough."
Then he chuckles sinisterly.
(Scene changes)
Soon the day came when the Mane thirteen and Spike were on the train to the Crystal Empire. Starlight was just nervously looking out of the window before she looked at the rest of the group. Rarity was busy stitching the final touches on what looked like a baby blanket. Sunray and Jade had some great stuffed animal toys. Fluttershy and Sokka had each picked out a white and brown stuffed bunny and were chatting and giggling quietly to each other. Applejack and Clay were just sitting quietly next to something that was covered by a white cloth. Rainbow was sitting behind her as she gave a loud yawn and stretched.
"Uh, Applejack, what is that?" Rainbow asked as she noticed the object with the cloth over it.
"Oh, just a little somethin' for the young'un," said Applejack as she removed the cloth to show a hoof-crafted wooden cradle with a hoof-stitched blanket inside. Rarity, Fluttershy, Sokka all smiled as they gathered around it, "Made from genuine Sweet Apple Acre trees. We make 'em for all the Apples, and anypony related to Twilight and Chase is practically family."
Twilight and Chase smiled with gratitude.
"Hey, Applejack," said Sokka, "any chance Fluttershy and I can have a baby cradle or two made for us?"
"You and Fluttershy are having a baby?!" Rarity exclaimed as everypony, and the dragon stared at them. Both Pegasi blushed bright pink.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" said Fluttershy and Sokka quickly.
"M-m-my bad!" said Sokka, "I was just asking for whenever we do have a baby. This cradle looks far more sturdy and durable than the ones they sell at the furniture shop."
Clay and Applejack chuckled to each other.
"Don't you worry, Sokka," said Clay, "You and Fluttershy give the word and I'll have one crafted for ya faster than a pig cleaning its food trough." Fluttershy and Sokka smiled.
"Yeah...it's okay," said Rainbow, "but it's no Cloudsdale mobile! Bam!"
Rainbow then presented a mobile that had rainbows, clouds, and even lightning bolts dangling from it.
"Ooh!" said Rarity and Pinkie.
"Pretty," said Pinkie as she tapped one of the dangling charms, making the string break and the charms fell and shattered when they hit the floor. Rainbow glared as Pinkie just smiled apologetically.
"Well, a mobile is real nice..." said Applejack, "as long as you have somethin' to lay in so you can look at it." Applejack was then surprised when Rarity pulled out the blanket from the cradle and replaced it with the blanket she made.
"And a fetching blanket to keep you warm," said Rarity.
"I'm sure Shining Armor and Princess Cadance will love all our gifts," said Twilight, "but I think they're more happy we'll be attending the baby's Crystalling." Starlight, who was shown to be sitting next to Twilight, smiled in agreement.
"By the way, Nyx. Where's your present?" Rarity asked the alicorn filly, who patted her nicely wrapped present that was between herself and Chase.
"A nice humpback whale since fillies love animals." Nyx said.
Chase and Rarity smiled in approval.
"And what about you, Chase?" Sokka asked.
Chase chuckled as he brought out a coloring book, showing the White Lotus clan on the front.
"Oooooooooooh!" said the entire group except Twilight, Jade, Sunray, and Nyx since Chase had shown them the book.
"Ooh! I can't wait to see all the light and love make the Crystal Heart even more sparkly and shiny!" said Pinkie as she bounced up and down excitedly.
"Actually, Pinkie, the Crystal Heart is an ancient and powerful relic," Twilight replied, "Without its magic, the Crystal Empire would be lost to the Frozen North."
"Don't forget it also keeps away that evil King Sombra," Nyx added.
"Oh don't worry about him, sweetie." said Twilight, "We took care of Sombra years ago. He's no longer a threat."
"If you...say so," said Nyx wearily, even Chase had to agree that he didn't think Sombra had been destroyed for good. But that's another story...
"Wow, this Crystalling sounds pretty important," said Starlight, "I'd understand if you wanted to...you know...wait to do a different friendship lesson when we get back."
She gave Twilight a sheepishly smile. Chase, Nyx, Sunray, Jade, and Spike each exchanged knowing looks with each other. The reason Nyx, Jade, and Sunray knew about Starlight's anxiety because the lilac unicorn had confided in her about being nervous earlier that morning.
"Are you kidding?" said Twilight, "This trip is perfect! Not only do my husband and I get to see the baby and take part in the Crystalling ceremony that helps maintain the magic of the Crystal Empire, but I'm starting my pupil off with the most amazing friendship lesson ever! I can't wait!" Twilight pulled her in with a fore-leg and gave Starlight a hug. Starlight just smiled sheepishly.
"Right...Me...neither..." said Starlight as Twilight grabbed a book to read. Starlight then looked across from her and saw Chase, Jade, Sunray, Nyx, and Spike gave her firm looks.
"Tell her!" Chase, Jade, and Sunray mouthed to her as Spike and Nyx gestured for the unicorn to speak up. Starlight looked worried before finding her voice.
"Actually, Twilight," Starlight admitted, "I am a little worried about meeting Sunburst."
"Oh trust me," Twilight replied, "I know what it's like to see old friends. But I'll be right there to help you. I've broken the whole lesson down into a few easy steps to ensure this reunion goes without a hitch!" By a few easy steps, Twilight unrolled a very long checklist as everypony else looked at it in shock, especially Chase, Jade, Nyx, and Sunray. Starlight just chuckled nervously.
"As much as I should have expected this," said Chase to Spike and Nyx, "I was hoping my wife had something else in mind when she said she'd help Starlight with her anxiety."
"Maybe we should start calling her the Princess of Checklists," said Nyx. Spike snickered.
"Princess of Checklists, good one Nyx!" said Spike as they shared a hoof/claw bump.
"Ahem," said Twilight annoyingly since she had heard them. Spike and Nyx smiled innocently.
"We love you, Mom!" Nyx said sweetly to her adopted mother as the filly and dragon just kept smiling innocently. Twilight just groaned and rolled her eyes as Chase, Jade, and Sunray snickered to themselves.
Soon, the train pulled into the station and Shining Armor was standing alone on the platform. Once the train had come to a complete stop, Pinkie bounced out and Rainbow flew out next with Twilight and Starlight right behind her as the former held her checklist.
"Step one," Twilight read as she and Starlight walked side by side, "head to Sunburst's house and get you two started on the right hoof. Step two, get to the castle with enough time to visit the ba-"
Twilight was then cut off when she bumped into a pony. She then looked up to see Shining Armor, who was looking very tired and his mane and tail looked very frazzled.
"Shining Armor!" said Twilight excitedly as she gave her big brother a hug.
"Twilight...Chase...!" said the white stallion wearily as Chase gave him a hug as well.
"I didn't know you were meeting us!" said Twilight happily.
"Of course I am!" Shining Armor replied tiredly and making goofy looking eyes and faces, "It's me, right here. Here I am. Why wouldn't I come meet my sister and brother-in-law? Though we have met before, heh-heh..."
The others just gathered around him with worried looks on their faces.
"Are you alright?" Chase asked with a concerned look.
"Never better, Chase!" Shining Armor replied, still looking rather unstable, "Being a father is amazing! And wonderful, and amazing, and confusing, and amazing, but surprising too, you know? I mean, not that you or Twily would know since you two already have Nyx as your daughter. You two aren't having a baby yet either right? Right? I mean how would I know? Unless you are, you wouldn't know, I know...You know?"
Shining Armor then smiled at Twilight and Chase with large, insane eyes. Chase felt rather disturbed with Sokka and Clay standing next to him.
"Umm… maybe just a little bit with the cuckoo expression?" Chase nervously proposed.
Shining Armor had been too spaced out to notice and just sighed.
"Sorry, I haven't really slept since Cadance had the baby," Shining Armor told the group, "Come to think of it, she hasn't either. It sure would be great to get a break."
"Oh, of course!" said Twilight, "I don't know what I was thinking! You two probably need all kinds of help!"
"And we're more than happy to offer our assistance," said Sunray, "Right everypony?" The others nodded in agreement.
"I'm sorry, Starlight," said Twilight, "but I guess combining your first lesson with this visit wasn't such a good idea."
"Oh, uh, don't be ridiculous!" Starlight said in a rather relived tone, "You're an aunt and Chase is an uncle now. Even Nyx is a cousin. That's way more important than some friendship lesson." She then gave Twilight an over the top smile.
"I just wish there was a way to do both," said Twilight sadly.
Spike looked at the checklist Twilight made.
"Maybe there is!" Spike said. "You've already done the work for Starlight's lesson with this list, all we have to do is follow it!"
The baby dragon didn't notice that Starlight had face-hoofed herself and groaning. She glared at Chase.
"Don't give me that look," Chase snorted softly, "this wasn't my idea."
"Spike, you're a genius!" said Twilight.
"Yeah..." said Starlight with a nervous laugh before adding through her teeth and a death glare at the dragon. "...genius."
"Then it's settled!" said Twilight, "Shining Armor, Chase, and I will head straight to the castle, and you two can go head straight to Sunburst's!"
"Aye-aye, Princess!" said Spike as he saluted Twilight and started marching off.
"Uh-huh," said Starlight nervously as she followed the dragon with an annoyed look on her face and the Mane fourteen watched them disappear.
"Alright, big brother," said Twilight, "let's go see this amazing baby pony!"
"Oh yeah!" Jade and Nyx added excitedly, but then they found that Shining Armor was fast asleep standing up.
"Ahh...the baby..." Shining Armor murmured as he snored.
Twilight and Chase just looked at him sympathetically until Chase got an idea.
"Honey, do you mind if I just give him the old wake up treatment?" Chase asked with a sly smirk.
Twilight looked puzzled before she blinked and smirked back at her husband.
"Well, anything that might keep Shining Armor awake." Twilight vouched slyly.
Chase lit his horn as a pair of cymbals appeared as he held them with his magic. Then he hovered behind Shining Armor as he was still fast asleep and the alicorn stallion landed behind him with an evil smirk.
The entire group squealed as they covered their ears, struggling to not laugh at how funny this was gonna be.
"Wakey wakey!" Chase said mockingly before…
BANG!
"AAAAAUGGH!" Shining Armor screamed wide awake as he jumped in mid air after Chase crashed the cymbals together to wake him up as the rest of the Mane fourteen laughed uncontrollably and hysterically.
"Who? What?! Where!? Huh?!" Shining Armor stuttered as he turned to Chase.
"Well, that leaves out why and when, doesn't it?" Chase asked with a teasing smirk as he stood next to Twilight and they laughed with the rest of the group.
"That is not funny, Chase!" Shining Armor shouted annoyingly.
"Calm down, buddy. We're not gonna make it to the castle if you're gonna sleep the whole way, are you?" Chase asked, making Shining Armor blink before he sighed.
"Right, sorry." Shining Armor said as he then headed...in the wrong direction.
"Uh, bro," Chase replied, "I thought the castle was that way?"
"I knew that, I knew that!" Shining Armor replied as he walked past in the correct direction. Twilight and Chase just smirked to each other.
(Scene changes)
Meanwhile, Starlight, and Spike were now walking down another street. Starlight as still dreading her meeting with Sunburst.
"I know you're a little worried about this reunion," said Spike, "but I'm sure Twilight's got everything covered."
"Everything, except how I'd rather do absolutely anything else," Starlight remarked annoyingly.
"Oh, I bet Twilight's taken that and your reluctance into account," said Spike, "It's all part of the lesson. Trust the lesson."
"Right..." Starlight remarked with an eye roll.
Then they walked past the statue of the little dragon. Starlight smirked deviously as she got an idea and rushed up to Spike.
"Hey, i-is that...you and Chase?" Starlight asked curiously as she pointed at the statue.
"Oh, yep, it sure is!" said Spike as he went back to the list. "Now, according to the list, Sunburst's house is-"
"Why is there a statue of you guys in the Crystal Empire?" Starlight asked as a crystal pony appeared.
"Because Spike the Brave and Glorious and his friend Chase the Determined and Courageous saved all of us from King Sombra!" said a pony named Scarlet Heart.
"And then again during the Equestria Games!" added another pony named Amber Laurel.
"Really?" Starlight asked curiously.
"Really!" said a pony named Golden Vas and then shook Spike's claw, "Big Fan."
"Um, when were you going to tell me about this?" Starlight asked.
"Nah, it's no big deal," said Spike modestly.
"It most certainly is!" Four crystal ponies said together, startling Starlight and Spike since they had popped up from nowhere.
"That's it!" said Starlight as she made a stool appear before Spike and a box of popcorn for herself, "We're not going anywhere until I get the whole story!" Other ponies started gathering around to hear the story as Spike began to narrate.
(Scene changes)
Back at the castle, Shining Armor had brought the rest of the Mane fourteen to the entrance of the baby's new room.
"Before we go in," said Shining Armor, "I should probably tell you. Seeing the baby might be a bit of a shock."
"Why is that?" Chase asked curiously.
"Well...maybe it's best if you see for yourself," said Shining Armor with a sheepish smile on his face.
"Come on, big brother," said Twilight, "I've met babies before. I expect meeting this one won't be any different. Come on, honey."
Chase and Twilight were the first to enter the room. There they saw Cadence, who looked just as tired and frazzled as Shining Armor, along with Celestia, Luna, Santos, Jewel, Antonio, Trini, and Billy.
"Hi, everypony. Hi, Chase." Jewel greeted everypony as she and Santos hugged Chase as well as Jade and Sunray.
"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad." Chase and his siblings greeted their parents.
"Are you doing okay, son? After your fight with Zhao?" Santos asked with a concerned look.
"Yeah. Still trying to get the memories away a bit." Chase replied back.
They broke the hug as Cadance approached Chase with a tired yet smiling face.
"Hi, Chase." Cadance greeted her brother-in-law as she hugged him.
"Hi, Cady." Chase greeted back as he hugged his sister-in-law as Trini and Antonio hugged their younger cousin.
"You doing okay? After your time travel?" Cadance asked Chase with a concerned tone as they broke the hug.
"Yeah, just a little shaky at first and terrifying, especially the horrible future of Zhao ruling Equestria." Chase responded back softly. "I'm guessing you and Shining Armor got the note I sent you as well as the rest of our family?"
"We'll talk before the ceremony starts, Chase." Cadance assured Chase gently before she directed her brother-in-law's attention to her baby. "For now, come say hello to our baby girl."
Chase's eyes shifted to the baby sitting on the bed, which had a pastel pink coat with a purple and blue mane, a very long horn, and was snuggling inside of a blue blanket. Chase then looked at Cadance, who was giving him a small smile and a nod. Chase approached the baby with his wife and the rest of the Mane fourteen behind them.
The group smiled at her adoringly when suddenly the baby opened a pair of wings that were about as big as her body! Then cooed happily at the ponies. The twelve ponies were in deep shock.
"Of course, I could be wrong," said Twilight wearily as Flurry Heart kept burbling.
"Okay... Not what we expected, but..." Chase said in shock and surprise, "Is this even possible?"
"The baby is an Alicorn?!" said Twilight once she was able to speak again.
"It looks that way," said Cadance in a tired tone.
"But...But...But...But I thought Alicorn wings had to be earned by accomplishing some great, princess worthy deed!" said Rarity and Twilight nodded in agreement.
"And what about a jiu jitsu master's legacy?" Clay added.
"I think we might have to worry about that later, guys." Sunray said, drawing their attention to the baby alicorn.
"Yeah," said Applejack. "How can you just be born with 'em?"
"The birth of an Alicorn is something Equestria has never seen!" said Celestia.
"It is beyond even our understanding," said Luna. "The only ponies who even know about this are Pakku, Bumi, and Iroh."
"That's not very reassuring," said Fluttershy in a hushed tone to Rarity and Sokka.
"Even so, I'm glad that I'm not the only Alicorn to be born," Nyx commented as she tickled the baby's belly, making her giggle happily. She giggled, "She's so cute!"
Jade nodded while gently patted the baby's mane.
"She sure is, Nyx. She almost reminds me of you..." Jade added with a giggle as well.
"A little too cute if you ask me." Antonio whispered concernedly to Trini, who nodded in agreement.
"But that also means Nyx's parents were also alicorn masters." Billy said, gaining everypony's attention. "Pakku told us that they were once originally unicorns after they joined the White Lotus clan and became alicorn masters. Nyx was only a small baby and had control of her powers for an infant her age when her parents gave birth to her. This one however has unstable magic."
The rest of the Mane fourteen, minus Nyx, Jewel, Santos, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Antonio, and Trini were surprised by this.
"Is that true, honey?" Twilight asked her daughter as she smiled modestly.
"Well, yeah." Nyx said, blushing a bit. "I was going to tell you guys, but I decided to tell the rest of our family about."
Chase and Twilight smirked at each other.
"Wow!" Pinkie exclaimed as she appeared before the baby, "A unicorn, and a Pegasus! So she could be a super-strong flyer and have crazy baby magic!"
"Pinkie, please! You're not helping!" Chase said sternly, making Pinkie squat down in fear from him.
"Well, I know all about super-strong flying!" said Rainbow.
"And Chase and I can help keep tabs on her magic!" said Twilight, which made Cadance and Shining Armor smile.
Before Chase could smile, the baby got a tickle in her nose and then...
Ah-CHOOOOOOOO!
As the baby let out a sneeze, she fired a huge blast of magic that went though several floors above them. Several ponies looked down the hole and one even had a burnt mane.
"Yeah, something tells me it's not going to be easy since Billy was right about this baby having unstable magic." Chase said with concern.
The others were just as shocked.
"It appears her magic is more powerful than that of a newborn unicorn," said Celestia, "and this is considering Chase has the greatest magic concentration to perform martial arts and any other magical abilities of any pony!"
"Not anymore, Celestia," said Chase, "Starlight Glimmer holds a mana level over 20,000. And I can guess this baby Alicorn has a mana concentration that is even higher."
"Starlight Glimmer has a higher magic power than you?" said Shining Armor, "No wonder she couldn't be able to beat you when you guys were on your little time travel."
"Yeah, well, she was pretty angry when she lost her closest friend back then before she came to Zhao's side." Chase reminded his brother-in-law before he shuddered a bit from Zhao's future. "But that future of Zhao taking over Equestria and taking our families away was the scariest I've experienced."
"Chase, you and Cadance can discuss that situation at another time," said Celestia.
"Right now, the crowds have already started to gather," said Luna as she noticed the ponies outside.
"This Crystalling is gonna be some party!" said Pinkie as she inflated a green balloon and started to float upward, but then the balloon popped and the pink pony landed on her flank.
"Do you think we should call it off?" Cadance asked Shining Armor with concern.
"Um, we've faced a lot worse than baby magic," said Rainbow confidently.
"Speak for yourself," said Sunray as he remembered all the misadventures he had dealing with Pumpkin's magic.
"I can't imagine cancelling such a beautiful and important ceremony over something so potentially adorable!" said Rarity as Applejack, Fluttershy, Sokka, Clay, Sunray, Jade, Nyx, Pinkie, and Rainbow gathered around the marshmallow mare and made general comments of agreement.
"In light of the little one's abilities, this Crystalling might be more important and ever," said Celestia as she looked at the baby and then at Cadance, "Perhaps you should address your subjects and remind them of that."
"Hm," Cadance hummed as she gave her new daughter a kiss, who made baby noises in reply as Shining Armor fell asleep...again. Cadance walked over to Chase and placed a hoof on his shoulder gently. "But first, I need to have a word with Chase about his time travel he had with the rest of his family when they took on Zhao. Jewel, Santos, Trini, Antonio, Billy, would you mind going with Celestia and Luna to wait for me?"
Chase's parents, cousins, and Billy nodded in reply as they followed the royal sisters out the door offscreen.
"Come on, Chase. Let's talk in a private room." Cadance said as she guided Chase out the door to a private room.
Twilight then walked up to her still snoring brother.
"Shining Armor!" Twilight asked, "Do you have everything you need for the ceremony?"
"Huh?" said Shining Armor in a tired tone before his eyes nearly popped out, "Oh, no! I still have to interview the honor guards, choose the purity crystal, and pick a crystaller!"
Shining Armor then rushed forward, bounced on his fore-hooves, and then sat down on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"Alright, take it easy," said Twilight as she walked up to him, "Pinkie, Jade, and Nyx can stay here with me and keep an eye on the baby!" Pinkie just smiled and gave a squee as the baby clung onto the pink pony's face and eyes.
"And we'll all help you with everythin' else," said Applejack, but then they all noticed that Shining Armor had fallen asleep on the floor.
"...baby..." Shining Armor snored. The others just looked annoyed and unamused.
"That is," said Rarity bluntly, "If you can stay awake long enough to tell us how." Sokka looked worried.
"I really hope this isn't gonna be me when Flutters and I decide to have our baby," said Sokka.
"Who knows?" said Rainbow, "But you might have it worse if you and Flutters still plan on having twins." Sokka winced.
"You'll be okay, my love," said Fluttershy, "Just like Chase, you've got experience with lots of baby animals. You're more ready than you think."
"Does this mean you're ready to have a baby?" Sokka asked curiously. Fluttershy smirked.
"Don't push it," said Fluttershy as Sokka just chuckled nervously and breathed a sigh of relief.
"You don't think you're ready for a baby yet. Are you, honey? Clay asked Applejack as she looked at her husband with a gentle smile.
"Not yet, honey." Applejack responded back as she and Clay shared a loving nuzzle.
(Scene changes)
Inside another room, Cadance and Chase had arrived inside of a rather spacious room. A magical mist showed the events Chase and the rest of his family went through to stop Starlight from destroying their friendship with the rest of the Mane thirteen a while back, as well as Chase showing their final trip to the horrible future of Zhao ruling Equestria. Then they came to the part of Chase fighting Zhao in Cloudsdale in the past.
"I will destroy those that will dare to challenge me before I take over Equestria! AND I WILL SILENCE ANYONE WHO GETS IN MY WAY!" Zhao said only in the projection as he fought Chase until the alicorn master stopped him.
The projection went off as Chase breathed heavily.
"And that's how it all happened before we got back home." Chase concluded to Cadance as she was shocked at first before she composed herself and turned to her brother-in-law. "When our battle started, Zhao was even more stronger than ever. I just don't see how I can stop him, even with my family and friends by my side. It was just horrible. Inside of me almost felt like I was going to act like him, but I couldn't control myself."
"Chase, you didn't release your anger out at him before." Cadance said softly. "Zhao nearly forced you to fight him. If there's anything I've seen for what you can do, it's that you never take revenge on your worst enemy."
"But when we went to that horrible future, seeing all of our loved ones, especially you, Shining Armor, Celestia, Luna, my parents, and our friends, even their families, something inside of me almost wanted to destroy Zhao. I didn't know what else to do. I know I can be angry with the rest of the girls, but I was this close to acting like Zhao, especially the time he invaded our world when he captured Twilight. I'm just not strong enough to control my anger that horrible Quinkan monster put me through all of my encounters with him. I don't even know if I'm special anymore."
Chase lowered his head as tears fell down from his eyes. Cadance just walked up slowly to Chase and lifted his chin so they were making eye contact.
"Chase, look at me." said Cadance in a gentle tone as she wiped the tears away from his eyes, making him smile a bit. "You are a very special pony to me, to Aunt Celestia and Luna, Twilight, and all your friends and family. And you have the ability to control your inner emotions. You've always proven yourself to be the pony you choose to be."
"I know, but acting like Zhao is the very last thing I want to happen. It's just terrifying and horrible." Chase said. "I had hoped when you returned from studying abroad, you would've helped me control my anger a bit more. I'm really sorry I almost let you and the rest of our family down."
Cadance looked at her brother-in-law sadly and she began to cry.
"You've got nothing to be sorry for," said Cadance as tears streamed down her face. "And you could never let all of us down, Chase. Your grandfather would say the same thing for you after everything you have ever accomplished. When you're upset, it's hard to think straight. But in the end, you managed to pull through. I'm just so happy that you're safe with Twilight and the rest of your family."
Cadance began to sob as she held Chase close.
"Cadance?" Chase asked in surprise.
"When Shining Armor and I got your letter, I was so worried that you almost lost your way back after you fought Zhao in Cloudsdale only this time in the past." Cadance said as she sobbed. "I wanted to come over, but I was still in labor. When you came back to Twilight from the battle, I just assumed you didn't need me anymore to defend for yourself, especially since all of those bullies in Canterlot nearly tried to tear you and your family down, but you beat them on your own. I just didn't want to let you be so I can help you!"
Cadance finally reached her breaking point as she wept into Chase's fore-legs. Chase smiled as he held his sister-in-law closer to him and he gently rubbed her back.
"You may be right." Chase said as they broke the hug. "But you can't blame yourself for what I went through after the bullies mocked my grandfather and nearly destroyed my family's legacy. What's important is that you guys are there for me when I need it. We have to learn to trust in our friends and family to help us overcome our inner struggles."
Cadance chuckled and sniffled as she wiped her eyes.
"Yeah. I know we don't see each other as often as we'd like and I might be a new mother, but I still love you very much, my brother-in-law." Cadance said as she smiled. "I'm always here for you, no matter how busy we get."
Chase smiled and gave his sister-in-law another hug.
"I love you, Cady." Chase said as Cadance giggled.
"I love you too, Chase." Cadance gently said as she held her brother-in-law.
"And, Cadance?" Chase asked.
"Yeah?" Cadance answered.
"I can trust you to help me overcome whatever Zhao has in mind, can I?" Chase asked.
Cadance smiled as she nuzzled her brother-in-law lovingly.
"Always," said Cadance as they held each other.
Chase then smirked.
"By the way, nice hair do you have for the ceremony." Chase quipped, making Cadance widen her eyes before she pulled away from him and looked at herself in the mirror to show her messy mane. This made her stare at him with an unamused look on her face.
"Seriously?" Cadance asked, unamusingly.
"Well, you do look beautiful looking like that. Even if it does make you look a little silly." Chase said.
Cadance just stared at Chase, still unamused, before she sighed with an eye roll as she smiled and giggled.
"Very funny." Cadance said as she and Chase chuckled together.
(Scene changes)
Back in the main city, Spike was now wrapping up his story about him and Chase stopping Sombra. Starlight was now reclining on a beach chair, taking her time with her popcorn.
"...and that's how we found the Crystal Heart, defeated King Sombra, and saved the Empire," Spike concluded as the Crystal Ponies cheered.
"We love you, Spike!" said a pony named Cloudy Spinel.
"Yeah," added another pony named Coral Shores, "Tell the one about the Equestria Games!"
"Well, as much as I love reliving my heroic deeds," said Spike, "Starlight and I have an important lesson to do, by order of the Princess and Prince of Friendship!" Starlight's last bite of popcorn went down a bit hard as she looked a bit worried.
"Awww!" said some of the foals sadly.
"Aw, come on, Spike!" said Starlight as the little dragon was signing some autographs, "I want to hear about the games too! Especially when Chase took on the Quinkan in the mountains!"
"I know you're nervous about seeing Sunburst," said Spike as the crowd dispersed and he finished signing autographs to look at the checklist, "but it says right in step 3, uh, "Deal with your fears by facing them, not by putting it off"."
"Ugh," Starlight huffed as she tossed her box and got out of her beach chair, "Let's go get this over with."
(Scene changes)
Soon they reached a lonely house at the end of a very short street. Starlight slowly walked up to the door to knock on it when…
"Wait!" Spike called out.
"Huh? What?!" Starlight stuttered.
"Knocking on the door isn't the next thing on the list!" Spike pointed out.
"Seriously?" Starlight said annoyingly.
"I know Twilight can be a little nitpicky, but this is your first lesson as her pupil, and it's important we do it right!" Spike insisted.
"Fine," Starlight conceded hastily, "What's the next thing on the list?" Spike cleared his throat and started reading.
""Before they see each other"," Spike read, ""be sure to highlight the importance of the meeting"."
"I'm sure we can skip that," said Starlight.
"I don't know..." Spike replied, "I mean if we skip it, the whole lesson could go south! And then you might end up taking a giant step backwards instead of forwards! Maybe you'll never be able to learn anything about friendship at all! It's almost like your whole future depends on this moment."
Spike grabbed Starlight's face as he started to panic.
""Highlight the importance of the meeting", check!" said Spike as he checked of the step on the list, "I can't believe you wanted to skip that!"
Starlight just sighed and looked at the front door. She timidly knocked on the door three times. After a few seconds of waiting, there was no reply. Starlight looked at Spike, who both just shrugged their shoulders in reply.
It was then the door slowly creaked open and a pony peeked out. Aside from being an adult, Sunburst looked the same except he now had a goatee, glasses, and was wearing a star-patterned cloak on his back.
"Sunburst?" Starlight asked nervously as the stallion stepped out into the open.
"Yes? What can I do for you?" Sunburst asked.
"It's...It's me, Starlight," the lilac unicorn stuttered, "We used to be friends?" Sunburst looked spaced out...for a moment, before he finally recognized her.
"Oh, of course! S-Starlight!" Sunburst replied, "My goodness, it-it's been a long time! What, uh, what have you been up to?"
"Me? Oh! You know, some of this, some of that," said Starlight, trying to find her words, "different...stuff. Right now, I'm sort of Twilight Sparkle and Chase Young's new pupil." Sunburst was stunned.
"The Princess and Prince of Friendship?" Sunburst replied.
"Heh...yeah...that's actually kind of why I'm here," said Starlight. "I mean, I know you're probably very busy."
"What do you mean?" Sunburst asked blankly.
"Well, I figured after magic school, you'd go on do important wizard work, but..." Starlight explained.
"Oh. No. Y-Yes! Uh, y-yes," Sunburst stumbled, "that's me, yup." He then chuckled nervously, "Important wizard! Really busy with lots of, uh, w-wizarding...stuff." There was a short, but very awkward silence.
"Right. Uh, well..." Sunburst stuttered, "good to see you." He then closed the door before Starlight could reply.
"Huh. Maybe we should have skipped highlighting the importance of the meeting after all," said Spike.
"Well, I guess that's that!" said Starlight as she turned to leave.
"Starlight, come on!" said Spike as he got in front of her, "We have to at least explain what Twilight and Chase want."
Starlight just groaned as Spike pushed the lilac unicorn back to the front door. Starlight knocked on the door again and took a step back. When Sunburst reopened the door, all the unicorn would do was smile as her cheeks turned bright pink.
(Scene changes)
Back outside the castle, Cadance was addressing the crowds with Celestia and Luna standing behind her. A curtain had been placed around the outside entrances to the Crystal Heart.
"Dearest citizens," said Cadance in a tired but amplified tone, "I'm sure you are all just as thrilled and ready for this Crystalling as myself and Shining Armor."
The crowd of ponies all cheered in reply. Shining Armor nervously watched his wife say her speech from behind the curtain. Chase had also rejoined everypony Twilight, Jade, Nyx, and Pinkie. For the moment, Shining Armor was panicking.
"I'm not ready!" said Shining Armor as he breathed at an unsteady pace. He then flinched when he saw five royal guards standing before him.
"Take it easy!" said Rainbow as she held two guard's helmets in her fore-hooves, "Just pick whoever looks the most like honor guard material."
"And remember, don't pressure yourself for this." Santos added as Jewel stood beside her husband.
"Right...right," said Shining Armor as he took the two helmets and then slapped them on the heads of two random guards...backwards. The other royal guards just whimpered and backed away nervously.
"Ugh, we told you not to panic, you big goofball!" Sunray shouted in annoyance.
"If you don't pull yourself together, you'll get completely embarrassed!" Antonio added.
"I'm sorry," said Shining Armor sadly to the others, "Fatherhood is way more stressful than I ever thought."
Chase gave his brother-in-law a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and hugged him.
"I can only imagine," said Fluttershy sympathetically as Sokka and Clay looked at their former captain and friend sympathetically.
"We just have to stay focused right now. Cadance is counting on us to make this crystaling ceremony the best in the Crystal Empire." Billy said to Shining Armor.
"Easier said than done, Billy." Shining Armor retorted wearily.
It was then Rarity arrived.
"Now, I know choosing the crystal of purity is a very important decision," said Rarity as she held the case with several purified shards inside, "So I have gone through the trouble of arranging them in order from incredibly pure to outrageously pure."
"Um, Rarity, don't they all sort of look the same?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, well, to the untrained eye, perhaps," said Rarity. "What do you think, Shining Armor?"
Rarity showed the shards to the stallion. Shining Armor began to panic again.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Shining Armor bellowed before crouching the ground and covering his eyes. Chase sternly walked up to him and smacked him across the face with his fore-leg twice.
"Get it together, bruddy!" Chase said sternly, "Is this how I'm supposed to behave when Twilight and I might have a baby?" Shining Armor gave a strained gasped.
"You? Twily? Having a baby? Twily...having a baby?" Shining Armor babbled like a pony gone crazy before, "heh...heh-heh...heh-heh, heh-heh, heh-heh...DA-HA! HA-HA-HA! Hahahahahahahahaha-"
Shining Armor then stood on his hind legs, raised his fore-legs in the air, and ran into the background in a zig-zag manner, smashing through a crystal and a wall, which left a cookie-cutter hole in the crystal and wall. The others were left dumbfounded as Chase groaned and face-hoofed himself. Sunray couldn't agree more with his older brother.
"Ugh, this is gonna be tougher than we thought." Jewel commented with a concerned look.
"Agreed." Antonio, Billy, Trini, Sokka, and Clay agreed in unison.
"I hope Twilight, Jade, Nyx, and Pinkie are having better luck with the baby!" Rarity said in a quiet tone.
"Well, I better go make sure they are okay." Chase said as he teleported to help his wife, sister, daughter, and friend.
(Scene changes)
Back in the baby's room, it was clear as day that both Twilight, Jade, Nyx, and Pinkie could use Chase's assistance. The baby had pretty much shown that she could fly proficiently with her wings and could fire magic blasts at will. Twilight, Nyx, and Jade were doing their best to block the baby's magic blasts, but they were clearly tiring out.
"And to think Nyx was born an alicorn from her parents, boy have I got proof to say other wise that Chase and I might be having an alicorn baby!" Twilight said tiredly.
"Well...at least she's having...fun!" Pinkie remarked as she tried to hold onto the baby, but just like with Pound, Pinkie could not get her to land and was now being carried in the air at will.
"Well, maybe for you! We're not!" Jade shouted tiredly as she, Twilight, and Nyx used their magic to block the baby's magic blast.
"Whee!" said Pinkie, trying to make the best of the situation.
"Pinkie, hold her still!" Twilight called out.
"I'm tryiiiiiiiiiing!" Pinkie replied as she finally got her hind hooves on the ground and trying to stop the baby from moving around, but it was no use.
Twilight, Jade, and Nyx then just barely ducked to avoid getting hit by another wild magic blast.
"Where's Chase when you need him?!" Jade asked in despair.
"I wish Daddy was here!" Nyx added.
"Chase, I need you with us right now!" Twilight cried out.
(Scene changes)
Meanwhile in the mountains away twenty miles away from the Crystal Empire, a shadowy figure was flying through the clouds before it came out to reveal itself to be a Dragonquin.
The beast roared out as three more joined it. Riding on it was Tai Lung and Kai. A group of the Quinkan army were also riding on each of the four Dragonquins.
"Can you smell them?" Kai asked Tai Lung as the anthropomorphic snow leopard sniffed the air.
"They are close. Very close." Tai Lung said as he glared at the direction to the Crystal Empire. "And it seems we've arrived just in time for the Crystaling ceremony."
Kai smirked deviously.
"Perfect." Kai said as he looked into the direction Tai Lung was looking at. "And we will finally have the baby's power as well as taking the chi of Chase and his family."
Then Kai pointed the tip of his blade in the Crystal Empire direction for the Dragonquins to fly to as they roared in response and flew straight into the clouds, flying to the ceremony.
(Scene changes)
Back at Sunburst's house, he and Starlight were sitting at a table where the former had given the latter a tea cup and pot. There was an awkward silence since neither pony was making the effort to speak to the other.
"So...the Princess and Prince of Friendship want you and I to be friends again?" Sunburst said at last.
"Heh, I know," said Starlight, "Weird, right?" She gave him an over the top smile.
"Uh, I don't understand," said Sunburst, "did something happen to you after I left for magic school?"
"What?" Starlight spluttered before she tried to recompose herself and pour some tea into her cup, "No! I-I don't see what that has to do with anything. W-Why would you even ask that? I mean, did something happen to you after you left for magic school?"
Sunburst seemed to be staring at the cup Starlight was cluelessly overflowing before he heard the question Starlight asked and froze.
"What? Um, no," said Sunburst as he started to struggle to find his words, "L-like you said, I'm a..." He cleared his throat definitely, "...i-important wizard." Spike just watched the scene unfold as he began to panic.
"I'm sure there's something on Twilight's list that can help here," said Spike worriedly as he started looking at the list.
(Scene changes)
Inside the baby's bedroom...
"CHASE!/DADDY! HELP US!" Twilight, Jade, and Nyx screamed, now feeling very overwhelmed as the baby flew overhead with Pinkie still clinging onto her.
"Please land now! Please land now!" Pinkie pleaded, who had now gotten tired of flying in the air and yet didn't want to let go of the baby. It was then Chase appeared.
"What did I miss, guys?" Chase asked with concern.
"Look out!" Twilight called as Chase saw an incoming magic blast heading straight at him.
"Whoa!" Chase yelped before he took out one of his katana swords and reflected the blast as it quickly flew past and over Twilight's head.
"Thanks, honey." said Twilight with relief as she stood up and nuzzled her husband.
"Do you have any idea what we've been through?!" Nyx asked her father angrily.
"Where have you been?!" Jade asked equally angry at her older brother.
"Helping the others out." Chase responded back.
"Oh, right." Nyx and Jade said sheepishly.
Then Twilight used her magic to quickly encased Pinkie and the baby inside a large pink bubble.
"Wow! Nice thinking!" said Pinkie. Twilight, Jade, Nyx, and Chase shared smirks as they then gave each other a hoof-bump.
(Scene changes)
Back outside the castle, Rainbow, Clay, Sunray, Antonio, Trini, Billy, and Applejack had managed to bring Shining Armor back so he could do what had to be done for the Crystalling. As Shining Armor made his choices, Sokka, Santos, Jewel, and Fluttershy helped the stallion keep calm as best as they could. But Shining Armor was still breathing rather heavily when Cadance, Celestia, and Luna came out of the castle.
"Okay," said Shining Armor as he walked up to his wife, "I chose the honor guard, picked the purity crystal, and I know exactly who I want to be our crystaller..."
"...and destroyed public property due to madness," Sokka muttered to his wife, only to get jabbed to keep quiet.
"So, all we need is..." Shining Armor continued and then stumbled.
"The baby?" Cadance asked as a matter of fact. Shining Armor whinnied since he didn't remember where the baby was or that Twilight, Jade, Nyx, and Pinkie were watching her.
"We're here!" said Twilight as she, Jade, and Chase used their magic to contain the baby and Pinkie inside the magic bubble while Nyx stood beside her adopted parents. Shining Armor breathed a sigh of relief.
"She's a really strong flyer!" said Pinkie as the baby continued to do loop-de-loops inside the bubble.
"Strong is a very tough word to say." Jade added with a smile.
"Yeah, and a bit of a fast learner too." Nyx said in agreement.
Cadance then used her magic to separate the baby from Pinkie. Pinkie floated over to Twilight, Nyx, Jade, and Chase while the baby floated just above Cadance. She whimpered a bit over being separated from Pinkie as tears built up in her eyes.
"Uh, Cadance." Chase said with concern.
"What?" Cadance asked when…
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
The baby began crying so loudly that her scream caused sonic waves. Everypony winced at the loud volume. But that wasn't the worst thing that happened. The baby's loud crying caused the Crystal Heart to stop rotating, cracked, and then shattered it into pieces!
Everypony gasped in utter shock as the baby innocently flew into Cadance's extended left hoof. The others gathered around the shattered remains of the Crystal Heart.
"Oh no!" Chase, Sunray, Jade, Trini, Antonio, and Billy shouted in horror.
"The Crystal Heart!" Clay said in sheer horror.
"It's destroyed!" Sokka said, equally horrified.
"I'm guessin' that's gonna make it harder to do the Crystalling," said Applejack wearily.
"It's worse than that," said Twilight fearfully as she peeked out of the curtain, "Without the Heart, the Crystal Empire's about to be buried under a mountain of ice and snow!"
It was then the wintry and stormy weather began to creep toward the main city from all sides. Everypony was worried, except for two things.
The first was the baby, who was too young to understand what she had done and just burbled innocently.
The second is the least of the ponies problems when Kai, Tai Lung, and the Quinkan will come for the baby.
To be continued…
