Meanwhile at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack, the Element of Honesty, was going out to start harvesting apples with her little sister, Applebloom. As they were on their way to the apple trees, the younger Apple sister needed to speak with her sibling.
"Hey Applejack, did y'all see that fancy light show last night?"
"I sure did, Applebloom. Saw 'em go right into the orchard. Figured we'd go to check out if whatever landed is still there."
It was then the sisters saw something in the trees, it looked like a mechanical dragon with mechanical wings and a helmet. On another tree, they saw a small red-furred creature with two golden-looking items on its back.
"Now what in the hay kinda dragon is that?" Applejack wondered. "And for that matter, who's the other critter?"
"Applejack!"
The Apple Sisters turned to see Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow, and Pinkie coming in along with Spike, who now looked much taller and leaner as well as some unfamiliar faces behind them.
"Oh, hey Twilight. I reckon you've got weird visitors from the stars too?"
"More or less..." Twilight admitted.
"What in the hay? Is that you, Spike?" Applebloom asked as she looked up at the matured dragon boy.
"Uh, yeah, it's still me. Sorry if this comes as kind of a shock..."
Spyro looked up and smiled when he recognized the two in the trees.
"Oh, good you found Dro and Trig."
"Think you can get them down?" Cynder asked.
Applejack nodded. "Can do."
Applejack proceeded to deliver a roundhouse kick to the tree, shaking it and dropping its two inhabitants. The cyborg dragon landed on his feet, catching the red gremlin on his back as they both woke up.
"This is not me at my best..." The gremlin, Trigger Happy, groaned.
"Suit's systems are fine, no collateral damage." The cyborg dragon, Drobot, analyzed in a booming mechanical voice.
"Applejack, Princess Celestia has ordered us to come to Canterlot and bring these people with us," Twilight explained. "They are called Skylanders and most of them are scattered throughout Ponyville."
"It hasn't even been a few months since that fiasco with Discord." Applejack said, taking off her stetson hat and rubbing her head. "But I reckon this is important if the Princess is calling us. Let's move to Fluttershy's cottage and see if we can wrangle up more of these critters."
"We're more than just mere 'critters'..." Chop Chop huffed indignantly.
-MLP-
As all that happened, Ben had met with Shining Armor, Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard…and Twilight's older brother.
"I can see it." Ben admitted.
"THANK YOU!" Shining cried to the heavens. "So, sooooo many people think I'm adopted!"
Ben winced at that.
"Sorry, sorry." Shining apologized. "So…you're basically looking for some of your friends to stop some big baddie, right?"
"Long and short of it, yes." Ben admitted.
"And in your gang, you're the smart one?"
"Well…one of them." Ben admitted again, smiling when Shining gave him a opat on the shoulder.
"Well I'm sure whatever's going on will be resolved. You kind of remind me of Twily, in all honesty: Smart, dedicated to the task at hand…sometimes a wee bit of an overthinker, but all in good spaces."
The Captain then offered Ben a hoof to shake, which Ben took, glad to have made a friend so quickly, especially since they were then sent to find Skylanders.
"Ben? Ben! Over here!"
The Portal Master smiled as he noticed four individuals; a knight with a body made of flames, a green-skinned elf wearing a red blindfold and clad in archer gear, a lava monster, and a phoenix-dragon hybrid.
"Ignitor, Flameslinger, Eruptor, Sunburn!"
"I take it these are the friends you're looking for?" Shining asked.
"Forgive us for not arriving sooner but we had to make a perilous climb." Ignitor apologized.
"Don't worry, the rest of our friends are coming soon. They landed in the town across the way over there." Ben said, pointing to where Ponyville was in the distance.
"In the meantime, we would like to have an audience with the Royal Sisters," Flameslinger said to Shining. "We come bearing a message from our master, Eon."
Shining nodded. "Then follow me, I'll lead you to a place where you can stay. But I think it's best we wait for the rest of your friends to show up first."
"A wise decision, brave knight," Ignitor said.
"Think we can get a snack on the way? I'm starved!" Eruptor said.
-MLP-
As they made their way to Fluttershy's cottage, Twilight and the others listened intently to Spyro and his gang regailing them with some of their adventures; mostly their battles against Malefor (whom the Ponies were all grateful they'd never have to face), Riptor and the battles against Kaos.
The ponies were happy to hear how Spyro and Cyrdius remained friends despite all that happened and Spike was in awe of his fellows, vowing to get to their level,
Suddenly, they heard the sound of rocks tumbling and moved to investigate. What they found was the four Earth Skylanders; Terrafin, Prism Break, Dino Rang, and Bash.
Terrafin and Bash were going around an obstacle course that the latter had made while Dino Rang was sitting by a tree, writing in his journal and Prism Break was posing as an ordinary rock with crystal shards sticking out of it.
"Oooh! That looks like fun!" Pinkie said. "My family would love you guys!"
Hearing the excitable pink pony girl's voice, the Earth Skylanders turned to see the rest of their friends there and smiled in relief.
"Spyro? Everyone!? By the rocks, where have you guys been?" Bash asked.
"We landed in the nearby neighborhood. We're trying to find the rest of the Skylanders who crashed here." Spyro explained. "Thankfully, our new friends have been kind enough to help us out."
"Come on, we need to head to Fluttershy's house," Rainbow said as she flew ahead. "Maybe more of your friends are there."
-MLP-
"Hey, thanks for patching us up, lady."
"Oh, it's no problem. I'm happy to welcome any new friends here."
Fluttershy, the timid but pure-hearted Element of Kindness, had been having quite the bizarre day today. Last night, she had been woken up by a loud sound, like something crashing near her house. Despite her fear, she had gone to investigate and found eight odd creatures she had never before in Equestria and brought them to her house with help from her animal friends.
Right now, she was tending to whatever injuries they may have gotten. From what she had been told when they woke up, they were Skylanders and they needed to talk with Twilight.
The eight creatures in question just so happened to be the Skylanders of both the Water and Life Elements; Gill Grunt, Slam Bam, Wham Shell, Zap, Stealth Elf, Camo, Stump Smash, and Zook.
Currently, the pegasus girl was having tea with the eight, who were waiting patiently and hoping their friends would arrive soon. Camo had curled himself up on Fluttershy's lap like a domestic house cat, which the other Skylanders couldn't help but find amusement in.
Soon a knock on the door was heard and Gill Grunt went to answer it, smiling when he saw Spyro and the other Skylanders there, as well as Spike and the Mane 6.
"Oh, Twilight!" Fluttershy smiled. "I'm so glad you came. These people were so worried about their friends and...is that Spike?"
Spike blushed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly as Fluttershy stared in surprise at his new mature look.
"It's a long story..."
"We'll explain along the way. Right now, we have to get back to Ponyville, Princess Celestia needs all of us." Twilight said.
-MLP-
Back in Canterlot, Ben, Shining, and the Fire Skylanders were chatting, with one subject in particular taking over:
"YOU'RE MARRYING INTO ROYALTY!?"
"Yeah." Shining said with a proud grin, his head then in la-la land as he recalled how he and his fiancé, Cadance met.
Ben smirked, happy for his new friend, the Fire Skylanders all elated (and maybe a wee bit jealous) for Shining.
"By the storms! Benjamin, old boy!"
The six looked and Ben and the Fire Skylanders smiled when they recognized the individuals approaching. Lightning Rod and Warnado of the Air Skylanders, Boomer and Drill Sergeant of the Tech Skylanders, Double Trouble and Voodood of the Magic Skylanders, and Ghost Roaster of the Undead Skylanders.
"Hey! When did you guys get here?" Sunburn asked.
"We crashed near the settlements and were found by the Royal Guard." Lightning Rod explained before pulling Ben into a manly hug. "Ha-Ha! There is hope we can be reunited yet!"
"Sensors detect that fellow Skylanders are fast approaching this sector." Drill Sergeant beeped.
"You guys go on ahead," Shining said. "I...kinda wanna keep my engagement to Twily a surprise."
Ben nodded. "Don't worry, we'll put in a good word for you."
Just then, the comfortable atmosphere was shattered by a triumphant call of:
"GUYS!"
"BBBF!"
Ben and the others turned to see their comrades rushing forward and followed in suit with an equally triumphant and elated:
"GUYS!"
"TWILY!"
A showcase of happy hugs, noogies, headbutts and secret shakes took place, boosting everyone's spirt and making even the most stoic crack a smile.
"So, I take it you're Ben?"
The young Portal master, having finished checking over his friends, turned to see who was calling him…and promptly froze.
Heck, aside from some kind of music, the world itself seemed to freeze as the single most lovely, pinkish-purple hued girl he'd seen (and that was no easy task) walked up to him, offering a handshake.
"Um, y-y-yes?" Ben mentioned, trying not to do something crazy.
"Twilight Sparkle." The girl smiled. "My friends tell me you're something of a magic hero genius?"
"Oh, I magic pretty girl…DO MAGIC PRETTY GOOD!" Ben hurriedly corrected himself, turning away and missing as Twilight blushed and laughed.
The sight of the two interacting made a few jaws drop, some smile and try to hold back cheers…
"Spy, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Trigger asked.
"I think we all are, Trig." The purple dragon responded.
Off to the side, Rarity and Pinkie held in sqeauls at how this was looking.
"Girls. No." Applejack cut in.
"Girls, YES!"
and in the case of one BBFF, aka Shining?
GLARE!
Shining glared with all the righteous anger of a protective older sibling, but Sypro couldn't help but smile. A smile that was shared by the other Skylanders.
-MLP-
But, all of that would have to wait, as everyone made their way to the throne room of the Royal Sisters, Celestia and Luna already waiting.
"I see you have managed to reunite with your friends, Ben." Celestia smiled.
"Wait, you already know him?" Twilight asked before shaking her head. "Of course, he crashed here so of course you'd know."
"It is good to see you have all arrived, Skylanders," Luna said, addressing Spyro and his allies.
"Maldita sea, she's smokin'!" Trigger Happy whispered to Eruptor.
"The sun lady or the moon lady?"
"Yes."
Eruptor couldn't even be annoyed for once; he shared his friend's thoughts.
"It's nice to meet you in person, Your Highnesses," Spyro said as he bowed his head. "I take it Ben has explained things to you."
"A rather bare-bones version, but yes." Celestia nodded. "He informed us of the old bridge between the realms of Avalar and Equestria being reconnected."
"Yeah, lotta stuff happened during those days," Sparx said. "Big scary dragon named Malefor rose, destroyed the bridge and all that stuff. Spyro and I went on adventures, kicked some bad guy butt, made friends with all these guys, and then when Malefor showed his ugly mug again, we all kicked his scaly butt into oblivion."
Cynder nodded. "However, his actions irreparably damaged Avalar and it took the might of Master Eon and many others to make sure it survived his attack. Spyro and I used our power to undo the damage he had done to the best of our abilities and the realm was renamed Skylands."
"After all that, Eon indoctrinated us as a peacekeeping force known as Skylanders based on groups of old heroes he had worked with in his youth countless years ago, long before Malefor rose to power." Ignitor added.
"I see, that is a more thorough explanation." Celestia nodded. "Starswirl the Bearded had written in one of his old archives how he had come across Skylands and befriended your Master Eon."
"Yeah, long story short, Skylands used to just be part of one place in Avalar way back when." Gill Grunt said. "But after what Malefor did, Avalar and Skylands kinda became part of the same whole landscape...or lack thereof since all the islands are floating and all that."
"Yeah, it's kinda weird..." Ben then turned to seemingly nobody in particular. "Hey, you try coming up with a creative way to combine the Classic games, Legend of Spyro trilogy, and Skylanders into a single lore!"
"Um...who is he talking to?" Spike asked.
"He does this sometimes. He calls it 'breaking the fourth wall'." Stealth Elf sighed.
"….Oh so like Pinkie?" Spike inquired, which was also the first time he'd spoken.
"…Spike?!" Cclestia and Luna gasped.
"Oh, right!" The youngest dragon chuckled. "Yeah, long story short….delayed puberty?"
"…I'd have worded it differently, but, yeah, basically." Ben said, the dragons nodding in agreement.
"Here." Luna said, taking a sapphire and handing it to Spike. "See if you can eat this gem."
Spike nodded and ate the gem, nodding in approval as he could still eat them like a delicacy. However, he suddenly felt a strange cool sensation in his mouth and unconsciously breathed out a gout of frost.
"What in tarnation?!" Applejack yelped.
"Spike has Ice Breath now?!" Rainbow gawked.
Spyro smiled. "Well, congratulations, Spike. You have the same affinity for the elements like me and Cynder!"
"Uh...what?" Spike asked in confusion.
"Spyro and I are Purple Dragons, a rare breed of dragons from Avalar who can harness every element that composes it." Cynder explained. "There's...a very wide range of them."
"All the elements are derived from Aether." Spyro added. "It seems that the magic of the Purple Dragons must have somehow been infused into you as well, even though you were born in Equestria."
"Then again, Equestria was part of Avalar and now that the two realms are being reconnected..." Ben theorized to himself.
"I see..." Celestia nodded. "But now that you have found Twilight and Spike, as was your mission, what now?"
"Well...I guess we'll just wait here until Master Eon can contact us." Spyro shrugged.
"But how will we be able to get back to Skylands anyway?" Eruptor asked. "I mean, we don't have a Portal!"
"Actually, I believe in Starswirl's notes on Skylands, there were schematics for a strange device..." Luna recalled. "I believe that may be the Portal you speak of."
Celestia nodded. "We will have our top mages and scientists work on constructing it so that you may find a path back home and hopefully complete bridging the gap between Equestria and Skylands."
"Thanks, Your Highness. We owe you a great debt for your hospitality." Ignitor said, bowing.
"Ooooh! While you're all here, I can finally start throwing you that 'Welcome to Equestria, Skylanders' Party!" Pinkie cheered as she zipped off.
"Better get yourselves ready. Pinkie throws the wildest parties." Rarity said to the Skylanders with a giggle.
Knightmare Lord A/N:
And so the Skylanders and Ben have been reunited and explained themselves to the Mane 6, Spike, and the Royal Sisters. Now they can take some time to enjoy their stay in Equestria while Celestia and Luna oversee the construction of the Portal back to Skylands.
Next chapter will be a bit of a Filler which will focus on Ben, explore his backstory, and maybe even set up a few cute moments between him and the Mane 6...minus Rarity, since she and Spike can finally hook up now that Spike looks his theoretical age.
Anything on your end, Marc?