Princess Twilight Sparkle had faced all sorts of danger since she had moved to Ponyville several years ago: she had defeated and helped reform two mad deities, faced down an Ursa Minor in a display of raw power, became an alicorn princess, and survived public humiliation at two major parties in Canterlot without any of it really phasing her.

But the letter she received from the Crystal Empire Saturday morning from her B.B.B.F.F. (that’s Big Brother Best Friend Forever), Shining Armor, terrified her more than any of those incidents. It read thusly:

Hey, Twily. Cadance and I are celebrating our first anniversary soon, and we’d like you and your friends to help us with the party preparations, like you did with our wedding. Don’t worry, there’s no unknown threat against the Empire this time. I’ll be picking you and your friends up in Ponyville in my special chariot at precisely 10:00 AM this Tuesday. I can’t wait to see you.

Your B.B.B.F.F.,

Shining Armor

P.S. We’ll be stopping in Cloudsdale to pick up an old friend of mine before heading to the Empire, so make sure to apply that cloud-walking spell on your non-pegasus friends ahead of time.

P.P.S. Tell Spike that Cadance and I have told our finest chefs to make a special jewel cake for him as thanks for everything he's done for the Crystal Empire.

Now Twilight, her friends, Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were waiting in Ponyville’s town square for Shining Armor’s arrival. It was now 10:05 Tuesday morning, and he still had not arrived yet. Twilight was taking it well, if you can call panicking taking it well.

“Darling, I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason why your brother is late,” Rarity assured her.

“You don’t get it, Rarity!” Twilight said. “He’s NEVER late. Ever. The only logical reason why he would be late is if something really bad happened. What if the pegasi pulling his chariot injured themselves? What if he was attacked by some monster, like a hydra, or changelings?”

“Um, I’m sure he could take care of himself if he was attacked…” Fluttershy whispered.

“And his chariot is probably one of those super chariots that don’t need pegasi to pull them and just has some kind of propulsion system that runs on rainbow water,” Pinkie Pie rambled.

“And how do figure that, Pinkie?” Twilight deadpanned.

“Probably because he just got here,” Spike said, pointing a claw in the opposite direction Twilight was facing. Twilight turned around, and sure enough, her brother was standing in front of a rather large chariot made of gold crystals. The chariot looked big enough to hold 30 ponies, with several rows of comfortable looking red seating. The front seat had lots of complicated looking buttons and flashing lights, as well as a cleverly designed steering wheel that had enclosed gaps in the handles to allow earth ponies or pegasi to steer. The exterior looked like a golden, crystallized dragon, with the wings serving as the twin engines in the back, the legs appearing as the landing gear, and the fearsome head adorning the front. The name Crystallux was emblazoned on the back of the chariot.

“Twily!” Shining Armor beamed as he trotted towards his sister. “Sorry I’m late. I… kind of overslept… You weren’t freaking out or anything, were you?”

Twilight smiled. “Maybe just a little…”

“A little?” Pinkie Pie suddenly popped up between them, chattering excitedly like she always did. “You were freaking out more than the Smartypants incident.”

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at that. “‘Smartypants incident?’”

Twilight blushed. “It’s… a long story…” She smiled. “But whatever. It’s so good to see you again, Shiny!” She was then interrupted by Rainbow Dash, who was admiring Shining’s ride.

“Wow... This thing is just AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, eyes gleaming at the sight.

“It is, isn’t it?” Shining Armor responded. “It’s called the Crystallux. The Crystal Ponies built it for Cadance and me so that we could travel back and forth between the Empire, Canterlot and Ponyville more easily. After the incident with Tirek, we figured it would be helpful to be able to travel quickly in case of an emergency. It can seat up to 30 ponies, and change its size to accommodate that many. Those engines run on pure rainbow water imported straight from Cloudsdale. Speaking of which,” he turned his head to look at Twilight. “Twily, did you apply the cloud-walking spell already?”

“It’s all been taken care of, Shining,” Twilight said. “So who’s this friend of yours we’re picking up?”

“Prism Flash,” Rainbow Dash answered for Shining Armor, who gave her an odd look as if he was just realizing something.

Twilight was nonplussed. “How do you know that?”

Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly, an unusual action for the confident pegasus. “Well, he IS my dad and all, so I may have gotten a letter from him yesterday telling me that he was going to be at the anniversary party…”

Twilight turned to her brother, who was trying really hard not to laugh. “Did you know this connection?” she demanded.

Shining Armor gave his trademark grin. “Well, I figured Rainbow Dash was Prism’s daughter, since they look so much alike…”'

“I do not…” Rainbow Dash huffed.

Shining continued talking, ignoring Rainbow Dash. “But I didn’t really have any confirmation until now. Prism and I go way back. He was actually captain of the royal guard before me. But rather than just stand around talking about it, let’s just get to it now, shall we? Climb aboard.” He headed back to the front seat of the Crystallux while the other nine ponies and one baby dragon began climbing aboard.

“I can’t believe we’re getting to see the Crystal Empire again so soon after last time!” Sweetie Belle squealed. "Maybe this time we'll get to see even more of the Empire!"

“All right, this is your Captain speaking,” Shining Armor imitated one of those old-time pilots. “Please keep your hooves and wings inside the vehicle at all times, and keep your seatbelts fastened until we have reached our destination. We thank you for boarding Air Crystal.”

“…Was that really necessary?” Twilight asked her brother.

“…Yes,” Shining grinned sheepishly while making that odd squeaking sound that ponies tend to make when experiencing certain emotions (usually embarrassment or barely contained excitement). He flipped a few switches with his magic, and the engine roared to life as they headed on their way. As it began soaring through the sky, he asked a simple question. "So what's this I hear about a 'Smartypants Incident?'"

Twilight paled. "Oh no..."

Author's Note

So I start writing this in July of last year, intended as a celebration of the 1-year anniversary of my two favorite characters of the show, and by the time I finally get the first chapter finished, which isn't even all that long, it's almost the 2-year anniversary of those characters. Go figure.

But whatever. Here you see part of my headcanon about Rainbow Dash's family. In the next chapter, you'll see even more. Here's a hint: it involves characters from G1. This may seem pointless, given what the primary plot of this story is, but Rainbow Dash and her family provide a pretty important subplot. Possibly two subplots. I still haven't decided whether I want to include one particular subplot involving Rainbow Dash's father.

Hopefully the next chapter won't take nearly as long to write.