As the Crystal Empire Train headed towards Ponyville, Shining Armor and Cadance looked over the letter they had been sent by Celestia. Neither of them had been present for the incident in Canterlot, but they had quickly learned of Simon punching Blueblood through the Castle wall.

Suffice to say, Shining Armor was impressed with a pony like that. Personally, the Prince of the Crystal Empire had wanted to give Blueblood a piece of his mind multiple times, but he had never gotten the chance.

"Shining?" Cadance asked out of the blue.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?" she asked. "Jealous, even?"

"Why would I be jealous?" Shining asked, confused.

"Maybe because this Simon…" she giggled. "...beat you to the punch!"

Shining let his face drop as Cadance started laughing loudly at her little joke.

"You got me." he sighed, nudging her in the arm. "Anyway, apparently Simon's engaged to the alicorn he's with. Nia, I think her name was."

"Ooh!" Cadance said. "True love! What a joy to hear!"

"Alright, alright…" Shining groaned as the train came to a stop. "Let's not overwhelm them. They've already had to deal with a lot."

"Oh, I know." Cadance smirked. "That's why I came prepared."

Shining didn't know what to say as they disembarked the train and headed for Twilight's castle.

====

By the time Spike, Simon and Nia had finished up at the House of Comics, it was already midday.

"Wow." Simon said. "We spent a lot of time there."

"We did." Nia smiled. "But you made it better, Simon."

Simon blushed softly as Spike led them back to Twilight's Castle. To the surprise of all three of them, Shining Armor and Cadance were already there.

"Hey, Spike!" Shining said. "How's my little bro?"

"Shining!" Spike said, giving him a hoof-bump. "Cadance, you're looking fine today."

"Oh, thank you, Spike." Cadance replied. "We heard about Simon and Nia, and we came down to visit."

"Oh, speaking of…" Twilight said. "Simon, Nia, this is Shining Armor, my brother, and Cadance, my sister-in-law. They're the Rulers of the Crystal Empire."

"Nice to meet you." Simon said. "I'm Simon. That's Nia."

"Hi." Nia said softly. As the six of them sat down, Cadance smiled at Nia leaning on Simon's shoulder.

"Now isn't that sweet." She smiled. "True love. Such a great thing to witness!"

Both Simon and Nia blushed.

"Oh, it's fine." Cadance continued. "I'm the Princess of Love, it's in the job description."

"I see." Simon said. "What's the plan?"

"Well…" Twilight said. "Cadance, Nia, I think a Spa visit is in order."

"What's that?" Nia asked.

"You'll see." Cadance replied. "Don't worry about a thing. I've been meaning to get a Spa treatment in lately. I just haven't had time."

"Then let's go!" Twilight said. "Nia, don't worry about Simon. He'll be fine."

Simon then kissed Nia gently, as to reassure her.

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere." Simon said. "If you need anything, come find me, okay?"

"Okay."

Nia kissed Simon on the cheek before she, Cadance, and Twilight headed outside for Ponyville Spa. In the meantime, Simon, Spike, and Shining sat down.

"So, Simon?" Shining asked.

"Yeah?"

"Did you really punch Prince Blueblood through a castle wall, with just one blow?" the Prince of the Crystal Empire asked.

"Yeah, and he had it coming!" Simon said irritably.

"Hey, I agree, so no need to be mad." Shining said. "Cadance told me once that she had to deal with courtship attempts from him. That changed when we started dating."

"Does he chase every woman he sees?" Simon asked flatly.

"Yep." Shining said. "Trust me, that's why everyone tends to get married quickly in Canterlot. Nopony wants to be with him."

"With good reason." Spike said. "So, Shining, shall we pick up where we left off?"

"Oh, certainly." Shining said. "My skills may be rusty, but I still know how to kick serious flank!"

"Well, let's see it then!" Spike said, producing a rather-complicated looking game-board lined with a grid. "Ready, Simon?"

"For what?"

"Ogres and Oubliettes!" Spike said with pride. "The best role-playing tabletop game since Iron Mysticus!"

"And Riviablo!" Shining added. "Anyone else joining us?"

"I'll go get our usuals!" Spike said, running out.

"What's this?" Simon asked.

Shining handed him a sheet of paper, a pencil, and a folder lined with numbers, photos, and the like.

"Make your character, and we'll talk rules." Shining said.

Simon raised his eyebrows, but set to work.

====

"So, this good?" Simon asked.

"Yep, not a bad setup." Shining said, proceeding to explain the rules to Simon. "Alright, you got it?"

"I think." Simon said. "Who else is joining us?"

"Two of our usuals." Shining smirked. "Big Mac, Applejack's brother, and…"

"ME!"

Simon and Shining saw the ceiling sprout eyes, then the strangest creature Simon had ever seen slid out with a cackle. It looked like several animals stitched their body parts together, and given the result life.

"What in hell's name are you?" Simon asked.

"Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Mage extraordinaire!" he said, shaking Simon's hood. "Big Mac and Spike should be joining us about now."

"Hey, we're back!"

Spike and a rather large stallion came in and sat down. He was big, very big, with a red coat and a harness of some kind.

"You're Big Mac?" Simon asked.

"Eeyup."

"Don't talk much?" he asked again.

"Eeyup."

"Well, whatever works." Simon said. "Where do we start?"

"Here, in the Valley of Dreaming Souls!" Spike said. "Simon, roll for initiative!"

====

Nia had to admit, this "Spa visit" was relaxing her like nothing else. All the aches and worries she had were flowing away like the mist in the steam room, and she was enjoying every moment.

"Nia?" Cadance asked. "How'd you meet Simon?"

"Long story." Twilight said. "I've got a transcript of it, but it'll take way too long to retell."

"I see." Cadance said. "So, you're engaged?"

"Well, technically." Nia said. "We were being married when I...was taken to the other side. It truly is a long story, and some parts I don't like to remember."

"It's okay." Cadance smiled, reassuring Nia with a hoof on the shoulder. "Love is a great thing, and I'm happy to wait for it."

Nia nodded gratefully.

"So, after this we'll rest up, then we'll head on home." Twilight said. "Sound good, Nia?"

"Yes, sounds great." Nia smiled. "I will admit, this is so nice."

"It is." Cadance said as the three of them relaxed. "I wonder what the guys are up to."

====

"A demon Wraith attacks from the left!" Shining cried. "Spike, roll for damage!"

"I use my Shield of Xanzor to boost damage by extra roll!" Big Mac added.

"And here we go!" Spike said as the dice spun.

"We've got a perfect 38!" Discord laughed. "Simon, it's up to you!"

"I use my Sword of Pure Devilry to land the final blow!" Simon said, moving his figurine on the board.

"And with that, the demon Wraith is defeated!" Spike said. "XP is shared at 500 each. Now divvy up the loot."

As the gang scribbled down on their respective character charts, Simon smiled. So far, this Ogres and Oubliettes game was proving to be very entertaining than expected.

And Simon was enjoying every moment of it. As Spike set up for the next turn, the girls returned.

"And we're back." Twilight said. "What'd we miss?"

"Not much." Spike said as Nia sat next to Simon and leaned on his shoulder. "Just another good session."

"I'm glad." Cadance said. "So, what's on the agenda for tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure." Twilight said. "I will admit I didn't plan that far ahead."

"We'll take it as it goes, then." Simon smiled. "Wow, it's already dark out."

"True." Cadance said, eyeing the setting sun. "Let's pack it up for tonight, everypony."

"Fine by me." Spike yawned. "You good for tomorrow, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup."

As Discord popped away back to Fluttershy's house, Big Mac left for the orchard. Simon and Nia headed back to their room, and quickly curled into the other's embrace.

"Did you have fun?" Simon asked the sleepy Nia.

"Yes." she replied. "Did you?"

"Same."

They were silent for a while, just looking at each other before they drifted off to sleep, wrapped in the other's arms.

Author's Note

Update!

Yep, this too WAY TO LONG. Gonna update again soon.

Next time-A pair of familiar faces shows up in Ponyville, Simon and Nia tour Ponyville, and a series of strange events.