Vacation in the Crystal Empire

A/N I was actually trying to write more of Everypony Loves and watching the premiere episode of the third season when I came up with this. I only have one more chapter planned, TWO max. Unless this is really well received and after the ending people really want more I might consider it unless I can’t think of a coherent way to continue it. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it. I Loooove comments so let me know what you think. Also I’m sorry that Pinkie Pie’s part wasn’t as good, I’m not very good at writing for her, but I’m trying to improve! (yay)

Edit: Thanks to some awesome comments and some constructive criticism from everyone I've edited the first half of the story and I think it quite a bit better now. It's still not perfect of course, but hey I'm still pretty new at this fic stuff! I definitely want to send a special thank you to MarshmallowSundae for his awesome constructive criticism. He helped me see a lot of the problems with this fic. As soon as I have more time (probably tomorrow) I'll finish editing the rest of it. Thanks for reading everyone!

Vacation in the Crystal Empire.

Chapter 1: Vacation gone wrong?

It had been a couple weeks already since Twilight and her friends had saved the Crystal Empire along with the help of Shining Armor and his wife Princess Cadence. Soon Twilight would be starting the next level of her studies under Princess Celestia and apparently Princess Luna would be helping as well. It was both frightening and exciting at the same time. She still had a week before beginning and it was the perfect time for a vacation. What better way to prepare for a new intense study regimen than by relaxing? It was convenient as Twilight Sparkle and her friends had just gotten an invitation to stay at the crystal empire free of charge!

So now Twilight was running around the library packing like a madmare. Books flew around her head depositing themselves near Spike. Spike would then take the books and pack them. Twilight made sure Spike packed things neatly and organized and although she was extremely efficient something was bothering Spike.

“You do realize we’re going on vacation right?”

“Of course Spike. We’re going to be gone a whole week that’s why I have to make sure I've packed everything I need.”

“You shouldn't need anything Twilight. It’s a vacation not a work trip.”

Twilight ignored Spike. He wasn't going to convince her to change her ways and she wasn't going to make him change his. Twilight’s check-list floated below her as she checked each book and item she had wanted to pack and checking it off as she came across the packed item. When she was satisfied that they were ready to leave both her and Spike left the library to join the rest of their friends in front of Sugarcube Corner where a carriage would be waiting for them.

**

“Hey everyone.” Twilight called cheerily.

It seemed like a pretty standard day. Applejack and Rarity were arguing. Applejack was irritated at the amount of luggage that Rarity had brought whereas Rarity was upset that Applejack still couldn't seem the grasp the idea of looking nice for the sake of looking nice. They bickered a lot but they were still the best of friends, it was nothing to worry about. Pinkie Pie bounced happily. She was definitely excited to visit the Crystal Empire again. She was munching on a cupcake that had far too much frosting for any other pony to manage but Pinkie Pie swallowed it without even cringing at how sweet Twilight imagined it was. Fluttershy was a few paces away from the other three and she seemed uncomfortable with the arguing going on between Applejack and Rarity as well as seeming to want to tell Pinkie Pie how unhealthy eating the way she did was. She would never actually say anything though, but that was okay. And the last friend of their group was on her back with her eyes firmly shut. She was not asleep, simply relaxing on a cloud above everyone else.  Everyone turned to Twilight and said their own hello’s and Rainbow Dash came down from her cloud to greet Twilight as well.

As Twilight looked over her friends she was swept with a sense of warmth and pride. Warmth that these were her friends and pride in the fact that not that long ago she didn't have any friends. Now she had a lot and she would do anything to keep all of them safe as she’d already proven multiple times already.

“This is going to be so great!” Pinkie Pie called happily still bouncing on the spot.

“It is sure to be a fantastic vacation. I hope we get crystallized again.” Rarity said as she remembered the way her mane sparkled the last time she’d been in the Crystal Empire.

“’Ya would wouldn't ‘ya?” Applejack snickered.

“Why I-“

Twilight simply rolled her eyes. It was pointless to get involved.

"Look!" Spike brought everypony's attention away from what they were doing.

He was pointing in the distance of the sky where they could see a glimmering in the distance. Although confused at first it didn't take everypony long to figure out what it was. Two crystal pegasi stood at the head of a large carriage pulling it across the sky. It had to be their ride to the Crystal Empire. Everypony gathered round as excitement knotted itself in their stomachs.

The crystal pegasi dove down and landed on the far end of the street, keeping up their running pace. Their wings tucked against their backs as they slowed and finally came to a stop before Twilight and her friends. One of the crystal stallions looked towards Twilight before speaking.

"Miss Sparkle?:

"Yes that's me."

"We're here to bring you to the Crystal Empire. If you and your friends could kindly climb in we can leave right away."

Twilight nodded and smile gratefully. "Thank you."

Everypony climbed in and took a seat each of their respective pieces of luggage beside them. A few of Rarity's stacked in the center of the carriage.

"Ready?" the same crystal stallion called.

"Yes, thank you." Twilight replied politely.

"Let's goooooooooooo!" Pinkie raised her hoof in the air with her words and everyone grinned.

Each had the feeling they were in for a good time.

**

They didn't have much time to spend in the carriage as it was going to be a much shorter trip this time. Rainbow Dash had fallen asleep almost instantly. Pinkie Pie and Rarity had decided to play tic-tac-toe. Twilight had come up with a nifty little spell for them. The game board hung in mid air between them and it was as though it was drawn in the very air itself. Each player only had to tap a spot for their X or O to appear. Once somepony had won the game board would clear and they could begin anew. Twilight herself chose to read a book it hung in the air in front of her and flipped a page every so often. Fluttershy just observed the scenery outside and Spike joined her in this. They soon saw the large column of the Crystal Castle in the distance and both gasped.

"Look!"

Everypony's attention was brought to the large column in the distance. It was beautiful. The Crystal Empire banner stood at the very top swaying with the wind.  The castle itself glimmered as though the sun were reflecting of a thousand different tiny diamonds embedded into the structure itself. Everypony's eye from miles around would no doubt be brought to it.. All around the castle, from the sky, the streets surrounding it were shaped like a star surrounding the castle. A street led out from each tip and between each tip of the star. Instead of being empty of citizens the streets were bustling with activity. Even from so high up they could see the faint sparkle of the crystal ponies as they walked through the streets. It was nice to see them so happy after their depressing attitudes last time.

"Attention everypony, we're going to be landing in the next few minutes."

**

It had been a short trip but the seven friends were happy to stretch their legs anyway. As soon as they stepped out their view from above was confirmed. They could see the citizens of the empire wandering the streets happily. They had clearly gone back to their daily routines.

A sky blue sparkle was running towards them. It was a mare, a unicorn to be exact. She was running towards Twilight and her friends and she stopped in front of them panting a little. She wiped her brow and smiled nodding politely towards the group of friends. She took in a sharp breath before addressing them.

“Welcome, my friends, to the Crystal Empire. My name is Krystal and I’ll-“ She was interrupted by Pinkie Pie who burst out laughing. She fell to the ground with her forehead on one arm while the she banged her other hoof on the ground. She took deep breaths as she was having trouble breathing due to her excessive laughing.

“Your name...Krystal....Your...Crystal pony!” Pinkie managed to choke out.

Twilight kicked Pinkie gently in the side before whispering in her direction. “You can stop now Pinkie...”

Krystal simply rolled her eyes. It wasn’t as though she’d never heard any comments like that before. “As I was saying my name is Krystal.” Pinkie snickered. “I've been appointed to assist you with anything you may need during your stay." Krystal puffed her chest out proudly. "I'm in charge of your accommodations, information and anything else you may desire. Nothing is too much for the ponies who freed us from Sombra." It was funny how fast her voice switched to awe.

"We really appreciate it but why would we need someone to help us with all that? We were here just recently." Twilight had to wonder the reason for this. Surely Princess Cadence knew they would be fine.

"Yes, well...In the time since you've freed us we've had ponies from all over Equestria coming to visit us. It was fun at first but there's simply too many people and some of the citizens are getting annoyed and frustrated. It's caused some of the citizens to become quite rude to outsiders. There's also the problem that some have always believed our kingdom to be better than any others, what with our powerful magic and crystal coats and all."

"I see." Twilight's voice couldn't hide her disappointment.

Krystal quickly reassured the lavender mare. "I'm sure you'll be fine though, after all you did save us! As soon as people recognize you they'll be sure to treat you kindly." Krystal coughed nervously, she hoped she wasn't already doing poorly as a hostess. "Can I bring you to your rooms now?"

Everypony seemed eager for that, they would be staying in the castle after all.

"Now, each of you have been partnered up with another pony. We can't provide each of you with a room unfortunately, we've had to use the castle to house guests as well. Twilight Sparkle will be staying with Fluttershy."

Twilight turned towards Fluttershy and offered her a kind smile. Fluttershy was the ideal partner for her. She knew the yellow mare wouldn't be loud or bothersome. Fluttershy returned the smile, trying to seem calm. Her heart sped up at this news and she had butterflies in her stomach. Twilight was so easy to be around and she hoped she wouldn't be a bother. Maybe she'd finally be able to tell Twilight...

“Rainbow Dash will be sharing a room with Pinkie Pie.”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “We’re gonna have tons of fun Dash.”

Dash grumbled. “Why me?”

“And that leaves...”

“Ah heck no!” Applejack yelled.

“Come now, Applejack. Is staying with me really so awful?” Rarity almost sounded a little hurt.

“Well, no...Ahm sorry Rarity.”

“It’s quite alright, dear.”

Both of them laughed, the entire conversation reminding both of them of a certain sleepover.

“Wait! Where am I staying!?” Spike called out as he jumped up and down from where he stood.

“Well, Sir Spike you get your own suite.”

"Really? Why me?" This was unusual for Spike.

"From what we heard it was thanks to you the crystal heart was brought in time so we made some...Special accommodations for you."

"You didn't have to go to all that trouble. I didn't mind staying with Twilight, really." Spike looked down to the ground, feeling a little embarrassed about the whole thing.

Twilight giggled and rubbed the top of his head with her hoof. "You should enjoy it Spike, you earned it."

"Aw, thanks Twilight."

The other five smiled, he really had.

"Now if you'll all follow me I'll escort you to your rooms. Don't worry about your luggage it will be brought up for you a little later. "

Despite this Twilight still brought a few of her book along. Everypony followed Crystal into the castle, eager to check out their rooms.

**

Twilight hopped onto the bed she would be sleeping on, the one on the left. Using her magic she neatly stacked the books she had brought up early  against the wall on the side that wasn't beside Fluttershy’s bed. She didn’t want to take up any of Fluttershy’s space after all.

Fluttershy quietly climbed onto her bed and observed the lavender mare unpack. She couldn't help but notice Twilight looked quite cute when focused. The way her horn sparkled when she used magic made her horn sparkle with the loveliest shade of purple, it almost matched her fur.

“Is something on your mind Fluttershy?”

“Oh no." Fluttershy quickly made something up, she definitely didn't want to have to explain her thoughts." I just don’t want to disturb you when you’re unpacking. I hope you don’t mind sharing a room with me.”

“Not at all Fluttershy. I’m sure you’ll be going to see all the plants and animals right?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be spending most of my time here reading and studying so it’s no problem.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want to do on your vacation Twilight?”

“Yes. I have a lot to do before I start studying with Princess Celestia again.”

“Oh okay but...” Fluttershy’s words started trailing off at this point. “You could come with me to see the unique Crystal

Empire animals. If you wanted to get out of this room that is...Not that I expect you to...Or anything." Fluttershy hoped Twilight would come. Like a date... she thought to herself.

Twilight didn't really think she had any intention of going but was grateful for the invitation none-the-less. “Thank you Fluttershy. I’ll keep that in mind.”

"Oh, okay Twilight..."

**

Pinkie Pie was already bouncing on her bed. “Oh, oh what do you want to do first Dashie? Do you want to go see what kind of sweets the crystal ponies make? Or maybe just go sightseeing? Or we coul-“

“Relax Pinkie. I want to relax. Alone...” Rainbow Dash wasn’t trying to be mean she just wanted her vacation to feel like, well, a vacation.

“Oh that’s okay then. I’ll catch you later alright Dashie?”

But before the cyan pony could reply Pinkie Pie was already out the door on her way to explore.

I hope I didn’t hurt her feelings. Dash thought to herself as soon as Pinkie Pie had left.

**

“Ahm still mighty sorry how rude I was Rarity. I know it was a joke but I shoulda thought before I spoke.”

“Oh I've already told you Applejack it’s quite alright.”

“You sure?’

“For the final time yes! Instead tell me what you plan on doing with your time Applejack?:

“Well ahm not sure exactly...” Applejack hadn’t thought of what she wanted to do while on this vacation. She wasn’t used to getting much time off. She spent most of her time working at Sweet Apple Acres.

“I for one plan to enjoy the spas here followed by some shopping for the most smashing Crystal Empire fashions. I want to enjoy a nice fancy dinner at a lovely restaurant while I am here. Do you maybe want to accompany me sometime?”

“That there spa and shopping stuff ain’t exactly my style if ‘ya catch my drift but I wouldn’t mind grabbin’ some grub then.”

“I will come fetch you tonight and we can ‘grab some grub’.” Rarity giggled at her use of Applejack’s dialect. It made her feel so...bad but in a good way. Rarity threw on her fanciest hat as well as her loveliest scarf and quickly left the room in a hurry, excited to enjoy everything the Crystal Empire had to offer.

Rarity really ain’t that bad.

**

Spike’s room was on a completely different scale than his friends. He was in a completely different part of the castle on a higher floor and the moment he walked into his suite he could tell he was going to have a good time. There were bowls of every gemstone he could ever possibly want on a large buffet type table in the middle of his room. There was a huge bathroom, a nice view of the entire empire from the window and on the table by the gemstones maps and recommendations of everything he could and should visit while staying there.

Spike grabbed a large shining red ruby and plopped himself onto his bed which was several times larger than he was and exhaled happily with a huge grin on his face.

This is going to be a great vacation.

**

Fluttershy navigated her way through the streets of the Crystal Empire until she was on the outermost edge where there luscious green fields. It had taken her quite a while to make her way out here. She should have waited and come tomorrow. It had taken them the better part of the day to reach the Crystal Empire and a couple more hours to find this spot and now she was worried she wouldn’t make it back to the suite by nightfall not to mention her worry that Twilight would get lonely. She felt bad leaving one of her best friends behind.

Fluttershy eventually came to a place where although she couldn’t see the animals her sixth sense when it came to such things told her that there were animals nearby. Oh! She couldn’t wait to meet all the adorable creatures and critters that inhabited the empire.

It took some time but eventually some of the sheep like creature called Ewes that inhabited the empire came out. They were several different colors. Some were green others pink and other Blue. Those weren’t the only colors of course. Fluttershy nuzzled the adorable animals and soon enough she encountered a species she never had before.

She heard it first. High above her a bird covered in crystal like the ponies of this kingdom was perched on a branch. The whistling coming from its beak was beautiful. Almost trance inducing. It was different than any other bird Fluttershy had ever heard. The bird itself was more beautiful than any Fluttershy had ever seen. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in wonder and delight as she began to gently flap her wings to make her way up to it. Little did Fluttershy know that there were two other ponies watching both native to this kingdom.

As Fluttershy got closer to the bird stared at her for a few moments before simply flying away. Both of the ponies watching began to laugh. This alerted the shy mare to their presence and she fell to the ground with a thud. She picked herself up and turned to face the newcomers.

“You’re obviously not from around here.” The shining pink unicorn mare said with an obnoxious sneer.

“Obviously. Because anypony from around here knows how to get a Crystaljay to come to them. “ This shining sky blue earth stallion sounded just as obnoxious as his friend.

“Oh I’m sorry. My name is Fluttershy and I’m not from ar-“

“Trust me we know.” The mare took a breath before going on. “From your uncrystalized coat to the way you couldn’t even handle a simply Crystaljay. Pfft.”

Fluttershy couldn’t understand why these crystal ponies were being so mean to her. She hoped she hadn’t done something wrong. Maybe she’d done something to offend her? She couldn’t think how she possibly could have. She knew Rainbow Dash would tell her to assert herself and she considered it. Instead all that came out was. “I’m sorry.” She made sure to quickly hide her face with her mane after.

“We return and all of a sudden you outsider ponies think you can come in here and harass us all the time.” The stallion scoffed. “You come in here jealous of everything we have and bother us to find out our secrets. Want to know all about our empire!”

“I’m sorry...”

“Why don’t you just go home? Here we’re all special. You tourists will never be as special as we are got it?”

“Okay...”

Fluttershy’s eyes teared up and she took off running back towards the city. The tears stained her fur along her cheeks where they fell and as she ran she could hear the two Crystal ponies behind her laughing.

**

After a couple hours of searching Rarity found what appeared to be the most happening boutique in town. She was practically bubbling with excitement as she entered it. Everything was so shiny and the styles were so different. Many of the pieces were glimmering obviously to complement the unique appearance of the Crystal Ponies. Not all was well however.

It became quickly apparent that some of the Crystal Ponies in the boutique were snickering at her. It could be because of her appearance could it? She was wearing the most lovely accessories, in fact she had made these herself. One mare who worked in the boutique bumped into Rarity while walking by and Rarity heard a sarcastic “Nice scarf.” At this point Rarity was rather insulted. She made herself to the pony who seemed to be the manager and slammed her hoof onto the counter. The manager gave her a chuckle before addressing her.

“How can I help you today, miss?”

“You, sir, have the rudest employee I have ever met!”

“May I ask what said employee has done to offend you?”

“You may. Not only did she bump into me but she also insulted this lovely scarf I am wearing. I came in here thinking of buying some lovely designs since we can’t get anything like these in Ponyville but I have never been more insulted in my life.”

“Maybe if you knew a thing or two about fashion you would understand.”

This was going too far now. “How dare you?” Rarity was boiling now. “I’ll have you know I am quite a famous boutique owner out in Ponyville! And I’ll have you know I won’t be spending a single bit in your shop.”

“Oh that’s fine madam. Our pieces wouldn’t suit you anyway.” Another snicker.

“What..Whatever is that supposed to mean?”

“Someone as...Plain as yourself ma’am. Well I just don’t think our pieces are for you.”

Rarity had heard enough. She turned around and fled the boutique feeling as though she were going to cry. She didn’t need the crystal ponies’ clothes anyway; after all she was pretty too right?

**

Pinkie Pie had found the best thing she could have possibly ever found during her time in the Crystal Empire. A cupcake making competition! Pinkie Pie wasn’t interested in winning. She was only interested in having fun like she always was. She bounced excitedly as the judges went around to try everyone’s cupcakes. Hers had lots of pink frosting on top, but not enough to make ponies who weren’t her not like them. They had pretty sprinkles too!

When the judge reached Pinkie Pie’s booth he tilted his head. His monocle almost falling to the ground as he observed her cupcake. The whole time pink mare had a humongous grin on her face. The judge looked down at her. “And what is this?”

“It’s a cupcake!”

“Yes, well...It hardly looks like one. “

“Well that’s not very nice.”

The stallion shook his head from side to side. “In fact yours looks nothing like the others.

“That’s good because that means mine are unique.” Pinkie snapped.

“It also means I am deducting points simply from the way it looks.”

“That’s not fair.”

The judge ignore her as he took one of her cupcakes and swallowed it whole. The next thing he said was one of the meanest things anyone could have ever said to Pinkie.

“Do you even know how to make cupcakes where you’re from? This has got to be the worst cupcake I’ve ever eaten!”

Pinkie’s emotion were a mix between rage and sadness and before she either burst into tears or started yelling she ran

back towards the hotel room.

He was even meaner than Discord Pinkie couldn’t help but think to herself.