Earth 2010

Equestria

"How the hay does anypony make their way around this place?"

Those were only one of the many thoughts that went through Starlight Glimmer's head as she traversed the Castle of Friendship, easily getting lost in the many halls that make up the castle. She wouldn't admit this to anypony, but when she originally broke into the castle, it took her a significant amount of time to find the throne room.

She was lucky Twilight was in Canterlot that day.

She was lucky in a lot of aspects.

It had been two days since her meeting with the Guardians of the Multiverse, two days since they gave Twilight their blessing to teach her in the ways of friendship. Two days since her encounter with the Dark Knight. Admittedly she was still rather unnerved from meeting the Batman in person, she found it hard to believe that he was Twilight's best friend.

They were polar opposites.

One saw the best in people, spreading friendship and harmony everywhere she went.

The other saw the worst in people, spreading fear everywhere he went.

It was fairly obvious that Batman didn't like her one bit, that he didn't trust her at all. She honestly expected that, but the way that he watched her every move for the duration of the meeting, safe to say that she checked every shadow in the room to make sure that he wasn't there watching her.

He could be right behind her and she would never know it.

She involuntarily shivered as she continued down the hallway, still searching for the library so she could meet with Twilight. Her teacher had asked her to meet her in the castle's library after breakfast so that they could go over a few things. She didn't want to be late, so she had to hurry up and find the library.

Why did this castle have to be so big?

"Okay. Library... Library... Where did they put the library?" Starlight asked herself as she peeked her head through the door in the hallway. She looked from left to right, only to find more hallways. She let out a deep sigh as she said, "This castle looked a lot smaller from the outside."

The unicorn approached the door opposite her and used her magic to open it, but instead of the library, she found Spike brushing his teeth with a bathrobe around his waste. Hearing the door open, Spike turned around and waved to his friend, toothbrush still in his mouth, "Morning, Starlight!"

"Whoops!" Starlight exclaimed, hastily shutting the door to let the dragon have some form of privacy. "Sorry, Spike!" She apologized, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. "I guess I'm still trying to find my way around. You don't happen to know where the library is, do you?"

The door opened and Spike popped his head out and directed the mare to the door on her left, "Next door on the left!" He promptly shut the door and resumed his business, leaving Starlight to feel even more stupid than she already felt.

"Oh. Thanks!"

She opened the door to the library and walked in, noticing Twilight straight away sorting through a very large list that she had compiled prior to her entry. "Acceptance, mm-hmm. Altruism, definitely." She listed off before her left ear twitched, enticing her to turn to the door. Her smile brightened upon the visage of her student. "Starlight, good morning, come in!"

"Sorry I'm late. I got a little turned around." Starlight explained as she approached her teacher. She looked around the library, the many books that dwarfed her, but her line of sight fell upon the bookshelf that was secretly hiding the Gateway leading to Foundation Prime. "I still can't believe you're letting me stay here... as your pupil... after everything I did." It was clear that Starlight felt guilty for actions in the past, believing herself unworthy of a second chance.

But Twilight didn't believe that, she believed that Starlight could change, and she was going to prove it to everyone. Honestly a part of her couldn't wait to rub it in Bruce's face, do a little dance, and be totally smug about turning Starlight's life around.

She couldn't wait to prove him wrong.

God, how she couldn't wait.

But more to the matter at hoof, Twilight raised her hoof and reassured Starlight gently. "Well, I'm not one to dwell on the past, and neither should you. 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!" They trotted over to the table as Twilight explained, the alicorn presenting her list to her pupil with her magic.

"Oh, well, it looks like you're really narrowing it down!"

Oh, the poor fool.

"Oh, these are just the A's. After this, I move on to the B's!" The alicorn gestured to the table behind her, a table full of scrolls, scrolls full of friendship lessons that Starlight was going to learn.

Twilight beamed at her student.

Starlight had sweat dripping down her brow. Was Tartarus still an option?

Unknown Earth

Vorton

The Reverse-Flash blitzed into the Gateway room, a small device in his hand.

He ceased vibrating and approached Lord Tirek, who was lost in thought, stroking his beard as he went over the plan in his head multiple times. They had spent the past few days going over the Babel Protocols that Thawne had stolen from Batman, memorizing it down to the very last details, altering them so that they were fatal.

If they were going to do this, then they were going to do it right.

"Well?" Thawne asked the centaur, taking him out of his thoughts.

Tirek looked to Eobard and said, "I've gone over the plan hundreds of times, looking for any flaws that could cause it to go sideways. And I have to say," His thoughtful expression turned evil as a smile tugged on his lips, "I like it." The smile left his face as a thought came to him, "This Crystalling. I'm not supposed to interfere, am I?"

Thawne shook his head, "No. In the original timeline, you'd still be locked away in Tartarus."

"So, we're changing history?"

"Correct."

Tirek looked down in thought before smiling, "Well, I'm not complaining." He placed his hands behind his back and turned away from the speedster. "But there still lies the problem of me not being at full strength. If this plan is to work, I need to feed on magic."

"I can help with that."

Now that caught Tirek's attention, the centaur turned around and eyed Eobard carefully. "Explain."

The evil speedster threw the small device in his hand onto the table, the device sliding over towards Tirek. "This little toy I developed, has the capability to drain anything with any form of magic contained within it. So, before I freed you, I made my way through the Everfree Forest and drained it of some of its magic." He saw the excited glint in Tirek's eyes and gestured for him to calm down with his hand. "I couldn't drain much, otherwise the Tree of Harmony would've noticed the shift and alerted the Element Bearers to what was happening. But there should be enough magic inside to get you started."

The centaur reached for the device with shaky hands and tapped the circle in the middle, unlocking the device, and unleashing a swirl of magic into the air. Tirek stared at the swirl of magic for a moment before opening his maw, the magic being sucked in and used to power the villain. Tirek's eyes glowed menacingly as orange electricity circled his growing form, his muscles growing bigger, his horn elongating in size. His faded red skin color becoming more pronounced and exaggerated.

Lord Tirek laughed as the magic coursed through his veins and empowered him, flexing his biceps with his arms as he proclaimed, "WELCOME BACK, BABY!" He punched his palm with his fist and grinned evilly, the anticipation of what was to come fueling him.

Eobard smirked at the centaur, "I assume that will suffice?"

"Oh, this will suffice greatly."

Earth 2010

Equestria

"Well, I think we should leave ASAP. I don't want to miss the Crystalling!"

The sound of Rainbow Dash's voice caught her ears as she entered the throne room. There, the Mane 6 were sitting in their respective thrones discussing the upcoming Crystalling in the Crystal Empire. They were excited to say the least, which was made obvious by Rainbow Dash, who honestly couldn't wait to leave.

"But, um, shouldn't we wait for the invitation?" Fluttershy said from her throne.

"Frankly, I'm not exactly clear on all the customs and traditions of the Crystal Empire, especially when it comes to a Crystalling." Applejack confessed, still unsure with the customs in the Crystal Empire.

Starlight approached the apple farmer and asked, "What's a Crystalling?"

It was Rarity who answered, "Well, that's just it, darling. 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."

"We know it's got somethin' to do with the new baby." Applejack added.

"And a party!" Pinkie exclaimed, popping up between Applejack and Starlight.

"And the Crystal Heart." Fluttershy added meekly.

"And a party!" Pinkie exclaimed again, appearing behind the shy pegasus.

Rainbow got off from her throne and floated over and hovered above Starlight, "And some kinda cool energy."

They all looked to the table, where Pinkie was currently standing with a huge smile on her face, "And... a party!" An explosion of confetti went off behind the party mare, the rest of the girls simply shrugging at their friend's antics.

It was then that Spike entered the room with a scroll in hand, "It's not hard to understand. Most things in the Crystal Empire aren't. Like how I'm a big hero there, for example!" He boasted by showing them a poster of him saving the Crystal Heart. His boast was met with unimpressed looks from the other mares, all except for Rarity, who giggled at the dragon. Seeing that he didn't get the reaction he wanted, Spike chuckled in embarrassment and put the poster away, leaning down and picking up a crystal vase and placing it on the table. "Eh... plus, I've had to help Twilight do a lot of research on Crystallings. Whenever a baby is born in the Crystal Empire, 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!"

Even after that explanation, Starlight still had some questions, "What do you mean it increases the Crystal Heart's power?"

"The energy it uses to protect the Crystal Empire, I guess." Spike responded as he put the vase down on the floor.

"Protect it from what?"

Spike rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "I... didn't help Twilight with that part."

"Hey, Twilight, can I ask you something about the Crystal Empire?" Starlight asked as she re-entered the library, seeing her mentor shifting through various papers.

The alicorn turned to her student excitedly, "Huh! Funny you should mention it. Because I just narrowed your first friendship lesson down to three options, and one of them is in the Crystal Empire!" She presented Starlight with three different scrolls.

"Really?"

"I found out that's where the first pony you ever cared about lives!"

Starlight's heart stopped, "S-Sunburst?"

Whatever it was that Twilight said afterwards was drained out, the butterflies were back, causing her belly to feel like it was eating itself. She felt like she needed to throw up, her breathing became ragged and unhinged, her ears were ringing and she was on the verge of having a panic attack.

But it wasn't a big deal, right?

It wasn't like him leaving was the entire reason she went crazy to begin with, right?

It wasn't like that one moment in history charted her course for the rest of her life.

Her stomach rumbled, she was going to freak out, she needed to get some air.

She needed out.

Now.

"Starlight?"

She was brought back to reality by Twilight, who looked at her with concern evident in her eyes. She placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder and asked, "Is something wrong?"

She should tell her the truth, tell her that she's not ready to face Sunburst, that she's close to having another panic attack. But, then she would seem weak. Was she weak? No. No, she needed to show Twilight that she was willing to accept any challenge she would throw her way. So, she did what she did best.

She lied.

"What? O-Oh, no, heh, those all sound great!"

Twilight seemed to buy it, which was back up by her smiling at Starlight and saying, "I know! I guess you were right! It is gonna be hard to choose one!" With that, she trotted out of the room, oblivious to the terror that Starlight was feeling right now.

"Ugh! I am never gonna find my way around this place!"

After being crushed under a closet full of cleaning supplies, and walking in on Spike flexing in the mirror, Starlight had had enough and let out her frustrations, which Spike had heard and decided to follow her to see what was wrong.

"Gee, Starlight, what's wrong?"

"I don't know, Spike. 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." Starlight explained to the young dragon.

"Which one?"

Starlight sighed, "Reuniting me with my first friend."

"What's so terrible about that?"

Of course he asked that. With a heavy sigh, she began to explain. "When we were foals, Sunburst knew everything there was to know about magic. He always knew just what to do. And he was always there to help me. I guess it's not surprising that Sunburst got his Cutie Mark in magic and... went off to Princess Celestia's school. But when he left..."

"You blamed Cutie Marks and stripped a whole village of theirs, and when Twilight and the others stopped you, you went back in time and almost destroyed Equestria." Spike finished with a deadpanned voice.

Starlight rubbed the back of her head in shame, "Not really stuff I'm super eager to tell Sunburst about. I mean, he's probably some big important wizard now, and... I can't even find my way around Twilight's castle."

"Well, if Sunburst is that good at magic, maybe he'd appreciate your, uh..." Spike cleared his throat, clearly feeling awkward talking about Starlight's past. "...exploits. You should talk to Twilight about it. I'm sure she'd want to hear what you have to say."

"I know. 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."

"Spike! Come quick!"

Upon hearing Twilight's exclamation, the two made their way to the balcony where Twilight was waiting with an excited smile on her face. As the wind blew, a letter in the shape of a snowflake made its way into Twilight's wing, where she caught it softly.

"It's a Crystalling invitation!" Spike shouted happily.

"Shining Armor's a father! I'm an aunt!" She declared with a posh accent, hoof planted on her chest. Twilight then approached Starlight and said, "Well, this settles it! Since we're going to the Crystal Empire, your first friendship lesson is going to be... reuniting with Sunburst!"

"....Greeeaat."

Just outside the Crystal Empire

A red streak tore through the snow after dropping off the red centaur, disappearing into an Interdimensional Breach and leaving this world. Tirek watched as the speedster left him, presumably off to prepare the next part of the plan. He turned his head and set his sight on the Crystal Empire, a smirk tugging on his mouth.

He carefully traversed the snow and made his way toward the train station, making sure that he wasn't seen by anypony. He watched hungrily as the crystal ponies walked around and went about their day. The magic within them, they didn't deserve it. They were unworthy of such power, it belonged to him.

It was time to feed.

But before he could, the Friendship Express pulled into the station, and when he set sights upon the mare he despised most, his hatred skyrocketed. He watched as Twilight Sparkle and her friends got off the train.

All... Seven of them?

Tirek watched closely as a new, pink unicorn stepped off behind Twilight.

His interest peaked, now who was this? She wasn't there during their last encounter, a new friend perhaps? Maybe somepony he could use to his advantage? There was something intriguing about this mare, but Tirek couldn't place his finger on it. She looked... Uncertain of herself. Her face displayed guilt and shame. Her body language screamed shame, she looked as if she would rather be anywhere than there.

She looked ashamed.

Tirek smiled devilishly, "And just who is that with you, Princess Twilight? A mare seeking redemption, perhaps? A new member to your merry band? Whoever she is, she intrigues me. I'll have to look into her in the future, she could prove of some use to me." His sights set upon the clueless civilians walking the streets. Tirek licked his lips, "But first, to enact the plan. And I think I know just where to start."

With the Mane 6

"Step one, 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 listed off as she walked off the train, too busy focusing on the list that she didn't even realize that her brother was waiting for her, resulting in the two of them bumping into one another.

The unicorn stallion was white in color, with a blue mane, blue eyes, and a blue tail. And plastered on his flank was his Cutie Mark, which was a star inside of a shield.

"Shining Armor!" Twilight exclaimed her brother's name happily, but frowned slightly upon looking at him. He looked tired. It appeared that he hadn't slept at all since the baby was born, which wasn't healthy in the slightest.

"Twilight...!" Shining greeted tiredly, instantly slumping forward slightly.

"I didn't know you were meeting us!"

"Of course I am! It's me, right here. Here I am. Why wouldn't I come meet my sister? Though we have met before, heh heh..." Shining rambled on in a tired fashion, slumping forward again as if he wanted to go to sleep.

Twilight furrowed her brow in concern, "Are you all right?"

"Never better! Being a father is amazing! And wonderful, and amazing, and confusing, and amazing, but surprising too, you know? I mean, not that you'd know. You wouldn't know, I know... You know?" He continued to ramble before sighing, looking at his sister with exhausted eyes, "Sorry. I haven't really slept since Cadance had the baby. Come to think of it, she hasn't either. It sure would be great to get a break."

Twilight looked at her brother with sympathetic eyes, "Oh, of course! I don't know what I was thinking! You two probably need all kinds of help!" She turned her head to Starlight, who was feeling all forms of relief. "I'm sorry, Starlight, but I guess combining your first lesson with this visit wasn't such a good idea."

The unicorn student simply dismissed her with a wave of a hoof, "Oh, uh, don't be ridiculous! You're an aunt now! That's way more important than some friendship lesson."

"I just wish there was a way to do both."

Cue Spike!

The young dragon waddled up to his mother and said, "Maybe there is!" When both mares looked at the dragon, Spike explained, "You've already done the work for Starlight's lesson with this list. All we have to do is follow it!"

Starlight's hoof met her face.

"Spike, you're a genius!" Twilight beamed.

"Yeah.... a genius." Starlight repeated through gritted teeth.

"Then it's settled! Shining Armor and I will head straight to the castle, and you two can head straight to Sunburst's!" Twilight planned with a smile on her face.

"Aye-aye, Princess!" Spike saluted.

"Alright, big brother, let's go see this amazing baby pony!" Twilight said to her brother, who was quite literally sleeping while standing.

Earth 1

Gotham City

"Master Bruce?"

Bruce Wayne was currently sitting at the Batcomputer going through his contingency plans, considering adding Starlight Glimmer to the list, but he didn't know enough about her to come up with a feasible plan to counteract her powers. He was currently wearing a black suit with a blue buttoned up shirt underneath it.

He spun his chair around and came face to face with Alfred, who had a solemn and disturbed look on his face.

"What is it, Alfred?"

Alfred looked uncomfortable, like he was about to pass out. It was clear that he was disturbed by what has occurred, "I have some... Unpleasant news."

Bruce Wayne had never run so fast in his life.

Ignoring the rain pelting down on him, he crashed through the doors and sprinted up to the cemetery behind Wayne Manor, specifically to where his parents were laid to rest. Sweat mixed with the rain dripping down his head as anxiety overtook him, his normally composed self became unraveled and unpredictable.

Fear overcame him as he approached the graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

He sucked in a gasp as he came face to face with two empty graves.

"No..." Bruce whispered before clenching his fists so tightly that it drew blood, the crimson liquid dripping down his hands and falling to the grass. "How could this have happened?! WHERE ARE MY PARENT'S CASKETS?!!!" He couldn't stop the tears falling from his eyes, just like he couldn't stop whoever grave robbed his parents graves.

Just like he couldn't stop the red streak from slamming into his back, sending him crashing against the tombstone in front of him. Bruce's head crashed against the stone, rattling his brain, before falling into the open grave in a dazed state. His back crashed against the dirt beneath him, his vision becoming blurry.

The last thing he saw before unconsciousness overtook him was a vibrating man in a yellow suit looming over him.

Earth 2010

Equestria

"Before we go in, I should probably tell you. Seeing the baby might be a bit of a shock." Shining Armor warned Twilight as they stood outside the baby's room.

But Twilight dismissed his warnings, "Come on, big brother. I've met babies before. I expect meeting this one won't be any different."

As they entered the room, they were greeted to the sight of three alicorn princesses, one of which looked extremely exhausted. The first was large in size, her coat was a heavenly white that emphasized her greatness. She had both wings and a horn, showing that she was in fact royalty. Her mane was rainbow colored and flowed behind her as if the wind were pushing it. She wore royal regalia and had a sun Cutie Mark, showing her talent of being able to move the sun at will.

The second was a slightly smaller alicorn who had a dark blue coat with a flowing blue mane. She two wore royal regalia which had her Cutie Mark engraved on the chest piece. Speaking of her Cutie Mark, it was that of a half crescent moon, showing her control over the moon and the stars in the sky.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked to the third alicorn, who was pink in color, with a pink, purple, and white mane and tail. She wore golden regalia, which included horseshoes, chest plate, and a tiara on top of her head. Her wings faded from pink to purple, and she had the kindest of smiles anypony could have. Her Cutie Mark was that of a crystal heart, showing not only her status as the Princess of Love, but of her status as the Princess of the Crystal Empire.

Princess Cadance offered her sister-in-law a gentle smile as she approached her newborn.

Twilight let a smile appear on her face when she came in contact with her niece, she was adorable, perfect in every sense of the word. But that sense of happiness was overcome with shock when the baby's wings unfurled, removing her blanket, revealing that she was an alicorn.

She was pink, just like her mother, she had a curly blue and pink mane, very large wings, and very large, adorable eyes that anyone could love.

The baby cooed as Twilight turned to the shocked faces of her friends, before turning to Cadance and exclaiming, "The baby is an alicorn?!"

"It looks that way." Cadance responded with a yawn.

"But... But... But I thought alicorn wings had to be earned by accomplishing some great, princess-worthy deed!" Rarity thought aloud.

Applejack seemed to concur, "Yeah. How can you just be born with 'em?"

"Um, we were." Luna snidely reminded, to which she was slapped behind the head by the wing of her sister.

She grumbled as Celestia explained, "While we were born as alicorns, we were born outside of Equestria. The birth of an alicorn is something Equestria has never seen!" She smirked slightly at her sister's annoyed expression.

"It is beyond even our understanding." Luna agreed, still rubbing the back of her head.

"That's not very reassuring." Fluttershy said in a hushed tone.

Pinkie, however, was as excited as ever. "Wow! A unicorn, and a Pegasus! So she could be a super-strong flyer and have crazy baby magic!"

"Well, I know all about super-strong flying!" Rainbow boasted with a flip through the air.

Twilight turned to Cadance and said, "And I can help keep tabs on her magic!"

How hard could it be?

She was answered when the baby sneezed and fired a large laser from her horn, tearing multiple holes in the ceiling.

They all watched the baby as if she were a ticking time bomb.

"It appears her magic is more powerful than that of a newborn unicorn!" Celestia stated, nervousness evident in her tone.

Luna trotted over to the window and saw the crystal ponies making their way to the Crystal Heart, "The crowds have already started to gather."

In response, Pinkie Pie blew up a balloon and let it float her into the air. Her smile was humungous, she always did love making ponies smile, that's why she loved parties so much. "This Crystalling is gonna be some party!"

"Should we call it off?" Cadance asked with a worried tone. She didn't want the baby's magic to hurt anyone at the event, maybe it was best to call it off until they got her magic under control.

But Rainbow wasn't fazed in the slightest, "Um, we've all faced a lot worse than baby magic."

"I can't imagine cancelling such a beautiful and important ceremony over something so potentially adorable!" Rarity agreed, staring at the baby, cooing at her cuteness.

The rest of the girls all nodded in agreement, not wanting to cancel The Crystalling either. Twilight stared at her friends lovingly, things were going great lately. They had come a long way from where they were previously, she was really grateful to have them.

"In light of the little one's abilities, this Crystalling might be more important than ever." Celestia said before turning to Cadance, "Perhaps you should address your subjects and remind them of that."

Cadance nodded, leaning down and planting a kiss to her child's forehead. The baby cooed as the three princesses left the room to address the citizens of the Crystal Empire. Twilight turned to her brother, who was sleeping on the head of the bed, and trotted over to wake him up.

"Shining Armor! Do you have everything you need for the ceremony?"

The stallion suddenly screamed and zoomed away from the alicorn, "Oh, no! I still have to interview the honor guards, choose the purity crystal, and pick a crystaller!"

Before he could go into a full on panic, Twilight rubbed her brother's back comfortingly as a small smirk appeared on her face, "Alright, take it easy. Pinkie can stay here with me and keep an eye on the baby." She turned to Pinkie, who appeared to have a baby clung to her face.

Wasn't that painful?

It was Pinkie Pie. Why question it?

"And we'll all help you with everythin' else." Applejack reassured the stallion with a smile.

Said stallion was fast asleep.

"That is, if you can stay awake long enough to tell us how." Rarity commented with a smirk.

"So... the Princess of Friendship wants you and I to be friends again?"

Starlight wanted to die right then and there. It was sooooo awkward, so cringe inducing, her heart had stopped at least thirty times ever since she stepped hoof on Sunburst's doorstep. Speaking of Sunburst, he was an orange unicorn with a thin, yet, scraggly beard. A messy dark orange mane, with a stripe of white going down his face. He wore circular glasses, as well as a blue cloak with stars on it.

The nerves started flaring up when Sunburst didn't even recognize her when she and Spike arrived, which hurt to say the least. She nearly destroyed the entire timeline because this guy abandoned her, and he didn't even remember her. And she felt stupid enough already.

"Heh, I know. Weird, right?"

Sunburst adjusted his glasses and stammered, "Uh, I don't understand. Did something happen to you after I left for magic school?"

Busted.

"What?!" She exclaimed as she used her magic to refill her cup of tea. How the heck did he deduce that so quickly? Maybe it was some kind of hidden wizard trait? She honestly didn't know, but she needed to steer this conversation away from her, and fast. "No! I-I don't see what that has to do with anything. W-Why would you even ask that?" She looked at him closely before asking, "I mean, did something happen to you after you left for magic school?"

It was Sunburst's turn to panic, she couldn't know how much of a loser he was, he needed to impress her, and fast. "What? Um, no. L-Like you said, I'm a," he cleared his throat, "i-important wizard."

Meanwhile Spike was off to the left, going through Twilight's list thoroughly to see if there was anything that could help. "I'm sure there's something on Twilight's list that can help here."

Back at the Crystal Castle

"Well... at least she's having... fun!" Pinkie shouted as she was being dragged around by the baby. The party pony was currently clung to the baby's legs, in a feeble attempt of grounding her, but it seemed that she picked up on how to fly faster than anticipated.

Something that irked Twilight slightly, but she would just keep that to herself.

Speaking of the Princess of Friendship, she was firing blast after blast from her horn to stop the baby's own lasers, making sure that she didn't cause anymore damage to the castle. "Pinkie, hold her still!"

"I'm tryiiiiiiing!"

Twilight sighed, it was almost time for The Crystalling.

Hopefully nothing else would go wrong.

Cadance was surprised to say the least. Earlier it seemed like her husband couldn't even stay awake, but now he actually looked presentable for his subjects. She would have to thank Rarity later. She trotted down the stairs with Celestia and Luna trailing behind her, feeling her heart bloom when the love of her life galloped over to her.

"Okay. I chose the honor guard, picked the purity crystal, and I know exactly who I want to be our crystaller. So, all we need is..." He trailed off, tapping his chin with his hoof.

"The baby?" Cadance said in an unimpressed tone.

Shining froze, but let out a sigh of relief at the sound of her sister's voice.

"We're here!"

They all turned to see Twilight holding both Pinkie and the baby in a pink bubble, with the former holding onto the latter's legs for dear life.

"She's a really strong flyer!" Pinkie commented.

Cadance let out a giggle as she lit up her horn to retrieve her baby, but as she did so, Shining's ear twitched slightly. A feint sound catching his attention, it was the sound of something rushing through the air. He turned around and used his horn to open up the curtain behind them.

He wished he hadn't.

An insanely large orange blast soared across the air and struck the ground, causing a massive explosion that sent everypony flying through the air. The curtains were burned to ash, the Crystal Guards died on impact, and the castle above them shook from the impact.

Everypony present flew through the air and landed harshly on the ground. They couldn't hear anything due to the ringing in their ears, their vision was blurry, due to the damage they all sustained to their heads. Shining was the first to recover, then the princesses, then Twilight and the rest of the girls.

"Ugh... My skull's ringing like a bell." Rainbow commented, rubbing the side of her head painfully.

"I don't feel so good." Pinkie said weakly.

"What in the hay happened?" Applejack asked the question on everyone's minds.

Shining groaned as he checked on his sister, to which she nodded to assure his worries. He then got to his hooves, his ears still ringing as dust clouded his sight, and galloped over to his wife. "Cadance, honey?! Are you okay?! Anything broken?!"

Cadance groaned and slowly got to her hooves, her wings twitching from the damage, and looked around for a moment before her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. "The baby... Shining, where's the baby?" When his own worried eyes met hers, she panicked, "The baby!!! Where's my baby?!"

Twilight was now in full on panic mode, her breathing became unhinged as her worry for her niece finally set in. She looked around in a panic, really wishing that they had decided on a name for the baby so that she could call it out to see if she was okay.

Everyone looked around in a panic, hoping to see any sign of the newest royal alicorn.

Their hearts stopped at the sound of somepony chuckling.

The voice was familiar.

Twilight's eyes shrunk in horror. "...no..." She whispered as she slowly turned to the burnt curtains, where a massive silhouette stood, his orange eyes glowing menacingly through the smoke. But what caught her attention was the bubble floating above his shoulder.

A bubble containing the baby.

"Quite the festivities you have here." The voice said, stomping over to the ones he hated.

The ones who took everything from him.

His eyes set on her.

"My invitation must've been lost in the mail."

As the baby cried out for her mother, Lord Tirek stepped out from the smoke, a cruel smile on his face. He was noticeably larger now, his arms having increased in size, his entire form much bulkier, and his horns were now larger and curved upward.

Tirek smiled at the horrified expressions on the ponies' faces. They were afraid, stunned, and worried. Just how he wanted them, afraid, it made their magic taste all the more sweet.

He flashed them a grin as he said, "I hope you don't mind me crashing your party?"

Author's Note

DUN DUN DUN!!!

Things are moving here folks! The Legion has already begun their attack on the Guardians, with Reverse-Flash having dug up Bruce's parents graves, and Tirek disrupting The Crystalling, having drained the magic of multiple crystal ponies to power himself.

And now he has Flurry Heart!!!

Looks like they aren't messing around this time, and with Batman's contingency plans, can they truly be stopped?

We'll just have to wait and see.

Next chapter we catch up with the other Guardians and things will really start to pick up. Stay tuned folks, it's gonna be a hell of a ride.