“Why don’t we go someplace alone for a little while Sugarcube?” I asked Spike. “I just want to talk about, ya know, us.”

“Yea. That’d be great AJ.” Spike said. We sat by a tree and looked at the stars. I felt Spike cuddling up against me. I brushed my lips against his, feeling his warm embrace and feeling his heart beating against his chest, which was beating faster than my own. We broke apart from the kiss and looked into each other’s eyes. His eyes were shinning with happiness and Spike blushed.

“Ah love ya Spike. I wish that tonight would never end.” I said to him.

“Same here.” Spike said. I pulled Spike close to me and I felt him nuzzle my neck. “I love you so much AJ. I know we basically just started dating but I really love you.” Spike leaned over and kissed my passionately. When we broke apart, he cuddled with me and we looked at the stars.

“So now what?” Spike asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We told our friends about us, and they seam to be happy for us, so now what? I mean, won’t it be a little awkward around them now? Now that were seeing each other, won’t it be a little…” He said.

“I know what ya mean. And it will be awkward, especially if we kiss in front of them…” I said.

“Yea I know. But what does it matter? They won’t think any different if us whether or not were together. Would they?” He asked.
“I don’t see why they would.” I said to Spike. After all, why WOULD they? I thought. Were just dating. Nothing more. But who cares? I love him and he loves me. And were both happy together.
*****
‘Well, I definitely didn’t see that coming.’ I thought as I watched Applejack and Spike walking away. Spike! Dating AJ! How did that happen! If Spike was to shy to tell Rarity how he felt, then how did he ever tell Applejack! It must have taken a lot of courage. Or maybe AJ asked him. But it still would have taken courage to tell her and the rest of there friends about their relationship.

‘All well.’ I thought as I left the kitchen and went out to enjoy the party. “I’m happy for them.’ I said to myself. I watched as Spike and Applejack went to talk to Pinkie Pie. I smiled and went to get some punch. For a while, I mingled around, talking to friends and having fun. Finally, I saw Rarity approach me.

“Um, Twilight, has Spike and Applejack talked to you yet?” She asked.

“Yea. They have. Why?” I asked.

“Well, what do you think?” She asked.

‘Well, I’m happy for them. If they really love each other, then good for them.” I told her.

“Well, apparently, Spike has had a crush on me. Did you know about that?” She asked.

“Well, yes. It was quite obvious. Didn’t you know that?” I asked her.

“No! I had no idea until AJ said something! Why didn’t he ever say anything to me?” She asked.

“Well, he was to embarrassed to tell you that.” I told her.

“Wait, if he couldn’t tell me, then how in Equestria did he have the nerve to ask out Applejack? She asked.

“I think she asked him. But that doesn’t seem like the Applejack I know. I think I’ll ask her how they started dating.” I said

“Okay. Well, tell me what she says.” Rarity said.

“Okay I w…” suddenly, I was interrupted by the sound of trumpeting. Suddenly, Princess Celestia walked through the doors! I thought to myself, ‘How in Equestria did Rainbow Dash guess that Celestia would show up!”

“Twilight Sparkle, It is of upmost importance that I speak with you and your friends.” I walked towards Celestia. “Ahh, but where is Applejack?” she asked.

“Umm, she’s a little busy right now Princess.” Rainbow Dash said. “Well it is of upmost importance that I speak with her as well.” Celestia said.

“Uh, I’ll go get her.” Rainbow Dash said. Celestia nodded.

“Um, Applejack? Spike?” Rainbow Dash called nervously out the back door of the shop. She saw them cuddling and Applejack looked up, saw Rainbow Dash, blushed and stood up. Spike did the same. “Um, Princess Celestia is here and wants to talk to us. Says it’s important.” Rainbow Dash said, blushing a deep crimson.

“O…okay” said Applejack. They followed Rainbow Dash inside. When they arrived, Princess Celestia said,

“Okay, follow me.”
I looked at Applejack and Spike as they walked up beside me. “What does she want?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know. I’m surprised that she is here. It must be important.” I said as we walked past Celestia’s carriage.

“Okay, listen up. I don’t have a lot of time so I’m not giving a background story. I don’t know much, so I’ll tell you what I know.” Celestia said. “Discord is causing chaos.”

“WHAT!” We all said in union. “But…but how? We befriended Discord.” I said.

“Well, we don’t know how, but he’s been wreaking havoc all over Equestria.” Celestia said. “I have been informed by Princess Luna that Discord is in The Frozen North. Why he is there, I have no idea. Probably he thinks that he is out of my radar, and he WOULD have been, if Princess Luna weren’t visiting Princess Cadence. Of course, I would have found out eventually.” Celestia said.

“So what. Lets just get the Elements of Harmony and defeat him again.” Said Rainbow Dash.

“Well, that’s the thing. He took them, again, just like last time. And we befriended him anyways. I don’t want him turned to stone so maybe he’ll listen to you guys.” Celestia said.

“Figured that.” Said Rainbow Dash.

Spike put an arm around Applejack and said, “Did he leave any clues to where the Elements are? Or are they in the book like last time?”

“Spike, ah think that Discord isn’t dumb enough not to put them in the same place again.” Applejack said.

“No. Discord didn’t give any information, which makes me think that it might not be him.” The Princess said.

“Celestia, not to be rude, but what makes you think that it isn’t Discord? Maybe he didn’t give the riddle because he was afraid he would be defeated again or maybe he doesn’t want to be found and would feel bad for doing what he’s doing. Maybe he’s being FORCED to do what he is doing,” said Rarity.

“Well, the reason is simple. Discord thinks it is all a game. He wants to make it possible to beat, but difficult enough for us to not be able to win it. Not giving any clues would make the game impossible to win.” Celestia said.

“Well then, why do ya think that it isn’t Discord then?” Applejack asked.

“Well, we befriended Discord. So there are two possibilities. Possibility One is what Rarity said. The second one, and the worst, is that Discord has teamed up with someone.”

“Ohhhh, boy.” Said Fluttershy. “So what do you want us to do Princess?”

“Well, first I want you to all get prepared for the journey to The Crystal Empire. You will be staying with Cadence. I want you all packed and ready by morning.” Celestia said. “Now go, and be ready by 10:00. That is when the Train will leave.”

“Oh boy! A train ride! I love those!” Said Pinkie Pie, hopping away back towards her home. As we dispersed, Princess Celestia said,

Applejack? Spike? Please stay here. I wish to speak with you alone.”
*****
I looked back, and saw AJ and Spike turn around and head back towards the Princess.

“Spike! Applejack! when you’re done, come to my house. I’ll need some help packing.”

“Okay Twilight.” Spike yelled, and turned to face Celestia.
*****
As I turned to face Celestia, I thought to myself, ‘What could Celestia want?’

Celestia said, “Applejack, Spike, as you know, the power of Friendship is strong. But the power of Love…” Uh-oh, I thought. “Is stronger. The love you two show for each other will help in defeating Discord.

“But…but Princess, how did you know?” Asked Applejack.

Celestia smiled. “I am a lot older than you two think. I know a lot of things, Applejack. I noticed how Spike was treating you earlier, if you must know.”

“S…so what do you want us to do?” Asked Applejack nervously.

“Stay together. You remember what happened last time Discord made you all turn against each other. If you think that was bad, breaking someponys relationship is a lot worse. It can be bad enough that nothing can repair the relationship, even as friends, between two ponies.”

“So you want us to stay together. That’s all?” Asked Spike.

“Yes. That is all. You may go.” Said Celestia.

“P…Princess…could you not tell anypony about our relationship? We…were not sure if were ready for everypony to know about us.” Applejack said.

“Well, it is important that Princess Cadence and Princess Luna knows about it, but other than that, yes. Your relationship is safe with me.” She said with a smile.

“Thanks Princess. Hop on ma back Spike we’d better hurry to Twilights and see what she wants us to do.” Applejack said.

A little while later found us at Twilights house. “Ya wanted something Twilight?” Applejack said as we walked through the door.

“Yes. I wanted some help in finding some books we might need for tomorrow.” Twilight said.

“Okay Twilight.” Spike said.

“Here’s a list Spike. Applejack, if you would follow me…” Twilight said.

“Sure Twilight.” I said, following her into another section of the library, far away from Spike.
*****
“Here AJ, I also need these books as well.” I said.

“Okay Twili.” Applejack said.

“Can I ask you something AJ?” I asked as Applejack walked to a bookshelf.

“Sure Twilight. What is it?”

“It…its about you and Spike.” I said.

“What about us?” She asked.

“How? Like, what got you two to date? If its not to personal of course…” I said.

“Of course not Twili. I don’t really know what made me fall for Spike.” She said as she found the book she was looking for and placed it in a pile in the middle of the room. “I mean, he had to sleep with me cuz there was no place else for him to stay, and he cuddled with me. He said he normally does that and I didn’t mind it. Since he was cuddling, I decided to kiss his forehead as a joke like we were dating. We went to sleep and in the morning Big Mac said he saw us cuddling and wanted to know if we were dating. At first, I said no, and it was true.” She said finding another book and putting it in the pile.

“But then when I went to wake him up, he said he was sorry for cuddling with me and I said I didn’t mind. I liked it Twili! I actually liked snuggling with him! When I realized it, I kind of started to have a crush on him. I felt like I shouldn’t feel that way, but I also felt that you cant help the way you feel. He asked me if I liked him, and I said I didn’t know.
And when I walked to your house to ask for him to sleep over, we talked about what we would do if we dated, and when we walked back to my house, I realized I loved him. But I didn’t know how to tell him. Then later while we were hanging out, he confessed that he liked me, and I told him l liked him back…” She left the comment hanging.

“And you two kissed.” I said.

Applejack blushed and looked away. “Y…Yea.” Applejack said, avoiding my eyes.

“Well I’m happy for you two. It must have taken a lot of nerve for Spike to confess his feelings to you, and for you to tell him how you felt. And even more nerve to tell all your friends how you both felt towards each other,” I said. “What did everypony else say?” I asked.

Applejack put another book in the pile and said “They were happy for us of course. Twilight, is it…wrong to like Spike? I…I mean, I can’t help how I feel, but what should we do?”

“Well, do you love him?” I asked.

“Yes! With all my heart Twili.” Applejack said.

“Well then, keep dating him. It doesn’t matter what anypony thinks of you, just what you think of yourselves.” I told her. I took my pile of books and moved them in the middle with the pike of Applejacks.

“Um, Twili, do we even have enough room for all these books?” She asked.

“Yes of course AJ.” I told her.

“You do know The Crystal Empire has a library, and it is rather large…”

“Oh I know that AJ but they might not have all the books we’ll need. All right. I think that’s all of them.” I said.

“Um…Twili…uh…would it still be okay if Spike sleeps over?” Applejack asked embarrassedly.

“Of course AJ. He can sleep over whenever he wants to, and the same with you. Although I’ll have you guys stay in the guest bedroom. Actually, I think that it is about time Spike got his own room anyways.” I told her.

“Thanks so much Twilight!” AJ said.

“No problem AJ, although I’ll be a little lonely whenever Spike isn’t here.” I said.

“Well, I promise not to take him to often.” AJ joked. I laughed and said

“Take him whenever you like AJ. After all, he is your Special Somepony. Or dragon. Or whatever.” I said. AJ laughed.

“Okay Twili. Are we done?” She asked as she placed the final book on her list onto the pile.

“Yup. That’s about it.” I said. We left the room and found Spike finishing up with his books. “Okay Spike. You two can go.” I told him.

“Okay Twili.” He said and walked over to Applejack. He put his arm around her and walked out the door.
*****
“So what do ya want ta do Spike?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know AJ. Whatever you wanna do is okay with me.” I said.

“You want to hang out someplace? We’ll have plenty of time to get ready to go to The Crystal Empire.” Applejack said.

“Okay where should we go? I asked. I figured we had about two hours before we had to be back at Applejacks, and it would take maybe half an hour to get ready.

“I don’t know. There aren’t really many places in Ponyville to go to. How about we just walk a trail in the country?” Applejack asked.

“Sure. I’d like that.” I told her.

So we headed off towards a trail near Sweet Apple Acers. We walked around for a while just talking about whatever random thing that came into our minds, laughing and joking around. It was a lot of fun, more fun than I can ever remember having at one time. ‘maybe its because I have never been in a relationship before.’ I thought.

“Okay Spike. I am absolutely beat. I think that it is about time we turned in.” Applejack said.

“Okay AJ. I’m a little tired too. But we still have to pack for the trip tomorrow.” I told her.

“I know. We’ll have to do that when we get back to my house.” Applejack said.
“Okay. Do you need help packing AJ? Twilight usually has me pack everything during trips.” I told her.

“Sure, if ya wanna.” Applejack said. So we started walking back to Sweet Apple Acers.

“Applejack,” I said, “I don’t think I have had this much fun in my entire life. And we weren’t even doing anything that would be remotely fun to anypony. We’re just walking, and that in itself is fun, especially since I’m with you.” I told her.

“Same here Spike. I don’t think I have ever had fun just talking to somepony. But there’s a first time for everything.” She said.

“I love you Applejack.” I told her.

“I love you too Spike.” She said.

“Wait, AJ, were technically in the woods right?” I asked Applejack.

“Well, yea I guess. There’s trees, but there are a lot of fields too. Why do you ask?” Applejack said.

“Well, aren’t we in danger from Timberwolves out here?” I asked nervously looking around.

“Na Spike. Not enough trees for them to hide in. They prefer the Everfree Forest.” She said.

“Okay. That’s good.” I said to her.

“Well I would have never suggested the walk if we would be in danger from Timberwolves.” Applejack said.

“How often do you ever see a Timberwolf? Like, do they ever leave the Everfree forest?” I asked her.

“Not really, I mean, they will leave if they see somepony, but usually they like to stay hidden. I don’t really know how may times I have seen a Timberwolf. Not that may times. Four, maybe even five times in my whole life.” Applejack said.

“Is it possible to actually get rid of a Timberwolf? Like defeat it so it doesn’t come back?” I asked her.

“I’m not aware of any methods. Timberwolves are very magical creatures Spike. When they break apart, they just put themselves back together, giving you like a minute or so to get some distance from one. That is usually enough time to get far enough away that the Timberwolf wont chase you anymore.” Applejack said.

“Your starting to sound like Twilight, Applejack.” I said with a laugh. “Don’t tell me you’re an egghead too!”

“I am not Spike!” AJ said with a laugh, pushing me playfully away from her. I laughed and pushed her back, which resulted in a pushing fight between the two of us. “Truce! Truce!” Applejack finally said, putting her hoofs in the air in a sign of defeat. I laughed and we stopped. I put an arm around her and continued walking. We could see the edge of the tree line a few hundred meters away. “Race ya!” Applejack yelled and took off running towards her home.

*****

I ran as fast as I could away from Spike, But Spike was barley lagging behind me by the time I got to my house. I collapsed to the ground breathing hard, while Spike sat by a tree trying to catch his breath. “Good race AJ.” Spike said.

“Yea.” Was all I managed to say. Finally we had managed to catch our breaths and I stood up. Spike did the same. Okay sugarcube, we’d better get ready for tomorrow.” I said.

“Okay AJ.” He answered. We walked up to her room and we started packing. I normally pack lightly, and I had already packed everything I would need.

“Well ah don’t need much Spike. Could you get me my saddlebag from my closet?” She asked as she grabbed some clothes from her drawer.

“Sure AJ.” I said. I walked to her closet and got her bag. I brought it to her and she threw her clothes into it.
*****
“Alright Spike. That’s about everything I’ll need. Thanks.” She said, giving me a kiss. I blushed. She took her bag and put it by her door. “Alright Spike. I’m beat. We’d better hit the hay.”

“Okay Applejack.” I said to her. We climbed into bed and she turned the light off. I cuddled up to her, but suddenly she pulled me on top of her. The moon gave enough light so that I could see her. I looked into her eyes and she said,

“I love ya Spike.”

“I love you to Applejack.” I told her. I kissed her passionately, feeling her put her hooves around me. We kissed for a while, breaking apart to tell each other that we loved each other. Finally, Applejack asked,

“How long have you had a crush on Rarity?”

“Ever since I came to Ponyville.” I told her.

“Do you still like her?” She asked.

“I…I don’t know AJ. I mean, she’s my friend, and I still like her, but the difference between you and her is the fact that I love you.” I told Applejack.

“Aw Spike…” she said, but I interrupted her with a kiss. She kissed me back. When we broke apart, I snuggled up with her, we talked for a while until we fell asleep.

*****

In the morning I awoke to find Spike still on top of me sleeping soundly. I put my hooves around him, as they must have fallen off him during the night. I held him close to me, listening to his breathing. I must have laid there for maybe 45 minutes watching him, until he finally woke up groggily. “Howdy there Spike.” I said to him. Startled, he fell off me and onto the floor, which made me laugh.

“Jeeze Applejack! Don’t do that! You startled me.” He said, which made me laugh even harder.

“It’s not funny…” He said.

“Okay! Okay! Your right, sorry.” I said, trying not to laugh. Spike grinned at me.

“Okay, I guess it was somewhat funny.” He said, and I laughed. He joined in.

“Applejack?” Applebloom asked, walking through my door. “Big Mac says breakfast is ready.

“Okay. Oh Applebloom, could you get Big Mac for a minute? I need to tell him something.” I told her.

“Okay.” Applebloom said, and she walked out of the room. A few moments later Big Mackintosh walked into my room.

“You wanted me?” Big Mac said.

“Yes. Big Mac, I’m going to be gone for a while…” And then I told Big Mac about Discords return. His reaction when he found out was just about the way I thought it would be. “So could you watch Applebloom for me?” I asked him.

“Eeyup.” Big Mackintosh said.

“Okay Spike. We’d better eat quick so we can get to the train station before 10:00.” I told him. We quickly ate some oatmeal that Big Mackintosh made. We grabbed our things and departed. We had maybe an hour until the train arrives, and it takes about 45 minutes to get there, so we were able to walk.

“Applejack, what are we going to do? Without the Elements of harmony, we can’t defeat Discord.” Spike said.

“Ah know Spike. Twilights smart, maybe she’ll know what to do.” I said.

“APPLEJACK! Your smart! So don’t say your not.”

I smiled and said. “I meant book smart Spike, and she knows practically everything. I only know how to farm. If it weren’t for my element, I would be of no use to her.”

“Come on Applejack. Even if you didn’t have one of the Elements, your still useful. Your helpful and you DO know things that would help us! Your strong, your…”

“Okay Spike I get your point.” I told him. We passed Sugar Cube Corner, and Suddenly Pinkie Pie bounded out of nowhere and tackled me.

“Ohboyoboyoboy!WeregoingtotheCrystalEmpire!!!!” Pinkie Pie said and rocketed away from us towards the train station.

Spike fell over laughing and I stood up and dusted myself off. “That’s what you get for laughing at me!” Spike gasped through his laughs.

“Ha Ha. Very funny Spike.” I said but a smile crossed my face. “Come on Spike. We’d better get to the train station.” I told him. We walked for a while and talked about what we would do when we get to the Crystal Empire.

“Applejack, would it matter if anypony in the Empire knows about our relationship? I…I mean, its not like they would be able to tell any pony in Ponyville” Spike said.

“No. I don’t really care.” I said.

“Okay AJ.” Spike said. Finally we arrived at the train station. Most of our pony friends were there. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy with her rabbit Angle, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and SCOOTALOO!

“Um, Rainbow Dash, can I speak with you?” I asked.

“Sure.” She said. When we were out of range from the other ponies, I asked

“Why is Scootaloo here!”

“Well, I was sort of packing and Scootaloo showed up, and refused to leave me alone until I told her where I was going. When I told her, she begged me to take her along. Man, Scootaloo is the best thing to a sister that I have! How could I say no? So I said yes. I…I’m sorry AJ. I didn’t know you’d be upset about it.” She said.

“The only reason I’m upset is because this is Scootaloo were talking about! She’s way to little to be going! Was Twilight okay with this?” I asked.

“Well, she said she was my responsibility and I don’t mind watching her…” She said.

“Well, you have to tell her to go home.” Applejack said.

“APPLEJACK! This isn’t your call to make! If Scootaloo wants to go, then let her. I promise she wont get in the way! I swear!” She said.

“Its to dangerous for her to go Dashie! Do you not care for her safety?” I asked.

“Of course I do! If we go out to do something dangerous, then Scootaloo would stay in the castle or at least, inside the Crystal Empire.” She said.

“Okay then, who will watch her?” I asked

“Scootaloo is more than capable of watching herself. And if somepony has to watch her, Shinning Armor or Cadence will watch her.” He said.

“Oh, so you can vouch for the Princess and her husband than can you? I said.

“Well…no, not really…” She said.

“Well then tell her to go home Rainbow. Now!” She said. Rainbow looked at Spike helplessly and he said,

“Come on Applejack. Scootaloo wont get into trouble.”

“Oh come on! Don’t make me be the unreasonable one here Spike!” I said.

“Please AJ, Scootaloo will be fine.” She said. I threw my hands in the air and said

“Fine! But I swear Rainbow Dash, if she gets hurt, I’ll never forgive you for it.” I said and walked away. Rainbow Dash looked at Spike and he said

“She’ll come around. She always does. Believe me, she’s been mad before, but she’ll get over it.”

“I hope your right Spike.” She said and walked back towards the train station along with him.

*****
Five minutes later the train arrived. “You ready Scootaloo? I asked.

“Yes!” She said excitedly. ‘I can’t believe Rainbow Dash is letting me go with her!’ Scootaloo thought happily.
We found our seats and we sat down. “So what are we going to do there Rainbow Dash? Scootaloo asked.

“Well, I think we wont have to do anything save-the-world-related on the first day. So we’ll probably sight see. Since you have never been to the Crystal Empire I though I could show you around.” I told her.

“Okay. That would be great!” Scootaloo said. As the train got underway, conversations broke out between the ponies. Twilight opened a book and hid behind it, occasionally giving me sideways glares. She was just as opposed of Scootaloo going is Applejack was. ‘Why couldn’t they understand I can take care of her!’ I thought angrily. ‘Nopony trusts me! Just because I’m a daredevil doesn’t mean that I cant be trusted with something important such as someponys life!’ Well who needs em! I’ll prove to them all I can care for Scootaloo!’

After several grueling hours on the train, we finally arrived at The Frozen North. Shinning Armor was there to great us. “Come on!” He yelled through the sound of the blizzard raging. “It’ll get dark soon, and when its dark, it gets colder.” Shinning Armor said. We followed him for half an hour until we finally saw the gates to The Crystal Empire.

Once we entered the protective shield, it was instantaneously warmer. “Wow.” Scootaloo said. “This place is awesome.”

“Pretty cool isn’t is?” I told her.

“I’ll say.” Scootaloo said. We followed Shinning Armor up to the castle. We entered and met Cadence at the entrance. Twilight ran up to her and they both sang

“Sunshine; Sunshine! Ladybugs Awake! Clap your Hooves And Do A Little Shake!” The two shared a laugh.

“Twilight. Its great to see you again.” Cadence said.

“Same to you Cadence. When was the last time we met? Your wedding wasn’t it?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, I believe it was. So this will be like the third time you’ve saved our Empire.” Cadence said.

“Yea Twili, you really need to visit us without lives on the line.” Shinning Armor said.

“Now if you all will follow me I will lead you all to your suits.” Cadence said.

We followed her through the castle until she led us to the guest section of the castle. “There is enough room for you all to each have your own personal room.” Cadence said. We each picked out a room, Spike following Applejack into theirs. We put our things onto our beds and went back into the hall. “Now you guys can go where ever you want. I’m sure Princess Celestia wont mind if you don’t search for the Elements on your first day here.” Cadence said.

After doing so, we all split up. Twilight to the library, Fluttershy wanted to find some animals, Pinkie Pie wanted some cupcakes, Applejack and Spike wandered off to be alone, Rarity stayed in her room to make a dress while Scootaloo and I wandered around the Empire. I showed her the shops and showed her some of the things the Crystal Ponies liked to do. For lunch, we ate some of the Crystal Empire food. Finally, I showed her The Crystal Heart. As we walked, I retold how Spike had saved The Empire.

“And then Shinning Armor threw his wife and she caught The Crystal Heart and Spike and flew back down. She threw The Heart to where it goes and then the Crystal Ponies used it against Sombra and defeated him.” I told Scootaloo.
“Wow. That’s awesome.” Scootaloo said, clearly impressed.

“Yea. It was pretty awesome.” I told her. “Especially the way King Sombra and his crystals disintegrated when the powers of The Crystal Heart were used against him.”

“So what do we do now?” Scootaloo asked, still looking at The Crystal Heart.

“Um…. I don’t know Scoo. I guess when you think about it, there isn’t much for a filly to do in The Crystal Empire.” I told her.

“Yea, your right. I guess being absent for 1,000 years; they don’t really know what fun is. Like when Nightmare Moon was returned to Princess Luna. She didn’t know what fun was because she was banished to the moon for eternity.” I told her.

“But Luna escaped though. Or did Princess Celestia let her return?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well yes, she escaped on the longest day of the thousandth year on the summer solstice. But we defeated her and returned her to her normal self. She isn’t evil anymore.” I told Scootaloo.

“Well I know that. But you’re saying that NOPONY stayed awake during the night?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well, if anypony DID, Luna sure didn’t know about it, or wanted other ponies to enjoy her nights.” I told Scootaloo.

“But don’t ponies enjoy her nights now? Like I see ponies all the time outside at night. Pinkie Pie throws parties at night too.” Scootaloo said.

“Well, yea now ponies realize how awesome her nights are so they stay out at night.” I told her. We finally reached the Crystal Palace again.

“So what now?” Scootaloo asked.

“Meh, I don’t know why not relax for a bit? Were going to be pretty busy tomorrow searching for Discord and besides, there isn’t really much to do in The Crystal Empire. They have been gone for over 1,000 years now so they don’t have much on the knowledge of fun for fillies. It’s like being in the olden days.” I told her.

“Well okay. I’ll leave you to relax for a while. Maybe ill go talk to Twilight for a while.” Scootaloo said. Scootaloo then flew off in the direction of the Library.

*****

Twilight Sparkle was in Heaven. Surrounded by literally billions of books, she hadn’t remembered the last time she had been this happy. Twilight was most at home in a library, much like Vinyl Scratch was at home behind her turntable. At the moment, the Lavender Unicorn was at a long table with several dozen books opened to important places, along with a large pile of un-used scrolls and quills and inkbottles. So far, Twilight had written a few hundred pages on spells and information of the Elements of Harmony, defeating enemies and taking over entire Empires.
One question was burning in her mind. ‘How does the Crystal Empire know so much about The Elements of Harmony?’ She had several hypothesizes on this, the most reasonable being the books were imported to the Library by Princess Celestia. Or maybe Princess Luna put them here. ‘Yea, that was it. Luna had been up here earlier for some unknown reason, maybe she was bringing books about the outside world into The Empire.’ Twilight thought.
The Library was HUGE! The biggest she had ever seen. But she thought something was missing. Maybe it was the life of the other library’s she had been to. This one seemed cold and desolate. Something not sought after and used much. Just a place to store information. Information that, if not written down or were lost, would take centuries to re-attain. Within this library was a plethora of information required to re-catch Discord and find The Elements of Harmony.

It was hard, tedious work that for some reason she didn’t want to do. For some reason, she wanted to abandon her research and go outside. But she as a scholar pony at heart and she knew that. She had to get this done. It was imperative for their search. “Um…Twilight…do you need some help?” suddenly a voice punctuated the soundless air, which startled her, spilling an ink bottle all over her parchment she was writing on. The pony that had interrupted her was none other than Scootaloo.

“Look what you made me do!” Twilight said, glaring at the filly Pegasus. Scootaloo shrank back from her, tears welding up in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. Twilight suddenly felt sorry for her outburst at the little orange filly. She hadn’t really meant to make her ruin her parchment. She was just a filly after all. And even more importantly, she couldn’t deny the fact she had abandoned her hero, Rainbow Dash, to come and see Twilight. And she had wanted the company of a friend and had been reminiscing about the outdoors and was feeling very lonely.
“I…I’m sorry Scootaloo. I didn’t mean to snap at you. Its just that this is very tiring work and the formulas…” she gestured to a bit of parchment not obscured my the black ink which where a very complex spell had been partially written. “… Are very complicated and takes a lot of time to copy down. If I write an error, grammatical or not, it could completely mess up the spell and cause a very dangerous backfire.” Twilight said.

“It…its okay.” I told her. Twilight smiled at me and rustled my purple mane. She then pulled a chair over from another table with her magic and patted it with her hoof. I sat down beside her. “S…so what do you want me to do.” I asked nervously.

“Well, I don’t think there is much for a filly to do. This is very complex magic. And besides, there isn’t a single Pegasus that knows a thing about magic, as there isn’t a single Unicorn that knows a thing about flying.”

“Yea I guess your right.” I said glumly, looking down.

“Come on Scootaloo. Is something wrong?” she asked.

“Its just…Its just I’ve never been outside Ponyville before and I really miss my friends and I just don’t know what to do. Rainbow Dash seems a little upset about something and I think that I am upsetting her because she told me to go play. I want to impress her but I’m just a filly. There isn’t anything that I could do that would impress her, because she’s the best at everything.” I told Twilight glumly.

“Well of course you can. You think that she doesn’t think very highly of you, but that is just the opposite. She told me she thinks that you’re the closest thing to a sister she has ever known.” Twilight said.

My ears perked up at this new bit of information. “She…she does?” I asked.

“Well of course she does. You means a lot to her, whether she wants to admit it to anypony or not.” Twilight Sparkle said. I had always wanted to impress the fastest flier in Equestria, but this was even better! Rainbow Dash! Thought of ME as a sister! Twilight smiled at me. “Well listen, I really have to get back to my work. These spells wont write themselves you know!” Twilight said.

“O okay.” I said glumly. I stood up, but Twilight stopped me.

“I’m sure there is a lot for a filly to do here. Maybe Fluttershy could use some company. She’s probably out searching for some animals to befriend. Hopefully it goes better for her that at The Galla.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“Yea hopefully.” I told her. I then left in search of Fluttershy.

*****
Fluttershy was in Heaven. She was surrounded by hundreds of animals that she had managed to befriend. Polar bears, Bagnold Tigers, Lions, several Phoenixes’ Monkeys, a Chupacabra and a Griffon were jus a few of the animals she had met. At the moment, she was petting a kitten while a lion rested his majestic head on her lap. She wasn’t talking, just lost in her thoughts. She couldn’t stop thinking about Discord. She thought she had befriended him. ‘How…NO why…did he decide to become evil again?’ She thought angrily. Discord filled a place in her heart that none of her other friends could ever do. His humor could be funny and he liked to play tricks on ponies.
‘Well duh.’ Fluttershy thought. ‘He’s Discord; the master of chaos.’ But that still didn’t explain why he would be tearing apart The Frozen North. She would give him a stern talking to when she found him. She had resolved. She had hung out with Discord after his magic for Celestia had been finished. She had let him have free reign in her home, but Discord had been polite and asked before causing chaos. Most of the time she said yes. Like once she let him put the house in the air upside down for the day. And another time Applejack let him cause a flood in one of her fields so the seven of them could go ice-skating again for a while, and he had returned her field to normal when they had finished.
Fluttershy loved Discord, but in a friendly way. Sure she had mixed feelings for him, but she hardly ever felt the want for him to be her special somepony. ‘After all, she was a Pegasus and Discord was…well…he was whatever Discord was. Not that there would be anything wrong with a relationship between the two of them. After all Spike and Applejack…’ She let the thought hang. ‘Well, if anything were to happen between the two of them, surly her friends would be happy for them. Not that anything would ever happen.’ She thought. Suddenly a voice pierced the air that had been filled with the sounds of her animal pals, which jarred her from her thoughts.
“There you are Fluttershy!” Scootaloo said. The sound of her voice scared the kitten away and a few other animals as well. The Lion opened his eyes and lazily lifted his head around to look for the source of the voice. When he saw Scootaloo flying fast towards Fluttershy, He jumped up quickly and growled angrily at her, protecting Fluttershy from potential harm. Scootaloo abruptly stopped and a look of fear crossed her face.
I quickly moved in from of him and said, “There there now…it’s okay Mr. Lion. She’s a friend…she’s a friend. I told him. He calmed down, but watched Scootaloo warily. Scootaloo just stood still; apparent that she was torn apart on whether she should just run away in fear, or brave through this whole ordeal and walked over to me. But in the end, I walked over to her, the Lion glaring at Scootaloo.
“S…sorry about that.” I told her.

“Its fine.” Scootaloo said nervously, still eyeing the circling lion; hate radiating out of his eyes.

“You just scared him and he’s really protective.” I told her. “Why are you here? I thought you would hang out with Rainbow Dash the whole day?” I asked her.

“No. She wanted to relax for awhile so I left her to some peace and she said to find Twilight but she was busy writing scrolls and I messed up her work and she was mad at me so she told me to find you.” Scootaloo said.

“What!” I yelled, startling both the lion and Scootaloo. The lion nearly attacked Scootaloo if I hadn’t stopped him in time. I tend to get upset if somepony hurts a filly’s feelings. “Do I have to talk to Twili?” I asked Scootaloo.

“N…no its fine.” Scootaloo said nervously.

“Well if you need me to I can talk to her.” I told Scootaloo.

“No its fine.” Scootaloo said.

“Well if you’re sure…” I said.

“Well what do I do?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well…um…I don’t know…I mean…the animals…” I gestured. I knew what she was asking. She wanted to hang out with me. But I really wanted to be with my new animal friends but at the same time I liked Scootaloo and didn’t want to let her down.

“O…okay.” Scootaloo said sadly.

“W…wait. Maybe we could…um…do something…maybe find some animals you could cope with…nothing big like these…Not that you couldn’t handle them…its just…um…” I let my sentence hang. But Scootaloo perked up and agreed. So I led Scootaloo to the woods nearby.
We walked through them, talking about animal care and befriending. Finally we came across an Ahuizotl, which is a cross between a dog and a monkey. It seemed easy enough to befriend, although they can have a tendency to attack ponies. This one was young maybe three years, easy enough for Scootaloo to befriend.

“O…okay Scootaloo. Do you want to befriend him…err…her...?” I asked.

“Yes!” Said an eager Scootaloo.

“O…okay. So what you want to do is…um…walk slowly towards him…err…her…err…yea like that.” I told Scootaloo. “N…now offer him…uh…her…? your hoof. Let him…um…her sniff it. Now Ahuizotl’s might lick your hoof or nibble it…but that’s okay. If he or she starts getting all drooly then ill step in because that means she…or he…is hungry.” I told her. Scootaloo seemed worried, but I reassured her. “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” I told her.

The Ahuizotl smelled her hoof and then nuzzled it. “D…did it work?” Scootaloo asked.

“Y…yea I think so. The Ahuizotl made a low growl sound that indicated it was happy.
So after a few hours of playing with him (we later found out) we returned to The Crystal Empire, the Ahuizotl bounding on a chatting Scootaloo’s heals. Scootaloo had decided to name the Ahuizotl Necrofear, because of the way it seemed to have a strange fascination with Crystals, black ones to be exact. Even though king Sombra had been defeated, crystals can still be black, although they will just be normal crystals. We entered the Castle and Scootaloo went into her room with Necrofear following. As I walked to my room, Cadence appeared and walked up to me.

“Was that an Ahuizotl?” Cadence asked worriedly.

“Y…yes, but Scootaloo befriended him. He wont hurt a fly, but he’s a little overprotective.” I told Cadence. “His name is Necrofear, because of his fascination with black crystals.” I added.

“Hmm. Interesting.” Cadence said thoughtfully. “Well, make sure he stays out of trouble. Ahuizotl’s have been known to eat ponies, especially young fillies like Scootaloo.” Cadence said. “The last thing I need is an Ahuizotl running around my palace with a thirst for pony blood.”

“His name is Necrofear. And he’ll be fine. He’s wont know to eat any ponies.” I said. I always did get defensive when protecting animals.

“Okay Fluttershy but still, I would keep an eye on him anyhow. I know how good you are with animals so I trust you when you say he’ll be okay.” Cadence said. She then walked away from me. After all, she probably had important business to attend to.

*****
Pinkie Pie was in Heaven. She was throwing a party for some ponies in The Crystal Empire. There were several dozen ponies in attendance and she had already befriended them all. She was bouncing around chasing some fillies and having some fun when outside when she saw a discouraged Fluttershy leave the castle. The happiness instantly deflated out of her and her mane became straight and for a few moments she stopped, but suddenly her mane popped back up and she felt happy again and she bounced over to Fluttershy.

“Whatcha doin?” I asked.

“Nothing.” She said, kicking a pebble down the road.

“Is something the matter?” I asked.

“N…no I’m fine Pinkie. Go have fun.” She said.

“Come on Fluttershy. You know its no fun when somepony is feeling sad and left out. Come join the party and tell gold ol’ Pinkie Pie what’s the matter.” I told her.

“Look Pinkie, I appreciate the offer, but I need to be alone right now okay?” Fluttershy said.

“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease?” I asked.

“Oh…well…if you insist…” Fluttershy said.

“Yayyyyyyy!” I said and took her by the hoof and darted back over to the party.

“S…so what do you want me to do?” Fluttershy asked politely.

“It’s a party silly! You do whatever at a party. Dance, drink punch…oh by the way food and drinks are over there and…well anyways you dance, eat food, play games, and most importantly HAVE FUN!” I said, yelling the last part. I jumped into the air and rocketed away back to the fillies I was chasing. With a shriek of joy they ran away and I chased them. Fluttershy sighed and tried to enjoy the party.

After several minutes of chasing, I finally stopped and flopped into a chair beside Fluttershy and panted out;

“So…what…was…bugging…you…earlier…Fluttershy…”
N…nothing Pinkie.” She said, avoiding my eyes. But I knew something was up. After all, my Pinkie Sense was tingling.

“Fluttersshyyy? What’s the matter?” I asked.

“I…I’ve just got a lot on my plate right now Pinkie. I thought Discord was our friend.” She said.

“Well, he is! Maybe he’s just mulling things over. Something must have happened with him. Maybe he’s upset. Nopony but us came to his birthday party four months ago. We are the only ponies who ever talk to him. Maybe he’s upset that nopony likes him but us?” I said.

“M…maybe…” Fluttershy said. Fluttershy then told me of the deal with Necrofear and Cadences reaction.

“Well that was a little un-called for.” I said.

“She didn’t seem to even care what I said. She just judged him for what he looks like…not for what’s on the inside…not for what counts…” Fluttershy said sadly, hanging her head. I hugged Fluttershy and said,

“Well it will be okay Flutters. Cadence was probably busy and had something on her mind. That’s all. Now come on. Lets enjoy the party.” I said, pulling a better feeling Fluttershy to her feet.

*****
Rarity was in Heaven. Ever since she arrived at The Crystal Empire she has had a trickle of ideas for her dress shop, which soon turned into a steady stream, which now was a raging river. She was furiously drawing everything that was coming to her mind. “Oh Opalescence, these dresses will be just wonderful!” She said to her cat, which meowed in happy agreement. Rarity finished drawing yet another dress and moved on to making it. When it was finished she said, "Now we just need to find The Princess so we can thank her properly for letting us use her Castle." Her cat meowed in agreement.

They left her room and walked down the hall to Cadences room. On the way they bumped into Twilight.

"Oh hey Twilight. What are you up to?" I asked

"I've been practicing spells for when we confront Discord." She answered. "How about you?"

"Well I've made this splendid dress for Cadence for letting us stay in her Castle. I was just about to give it to her." I said.

"Thats cool. Listen, I'm going to get something to eat; you wanna join me?" She asked.

"Sure. just let me set her dress on her bed and leave a note." I said. I entered the room and laid the dress and not on Cadences bed. I left the room and closed the door. If i would have stayed longer i would have noticed a dark, jet black pony clad in regalia appear from the shadows. The long~lost King picked up the note, read it, and growled. He smashed the note to the floor and said to himself. "So...the Princess has those confounded ponies back into her empire. Doubtless looking for Discord. Well i won't let that happen. FEBREUS!" he yelled. Suddenly a dark, black cloud rocked through the celling and smashed into the floor, the smoke rolling away, revealing a skeletal pony, clad in rusty black and sliver armor. The pony wielded a rusty Pole~Arm, a weapon he was no doubt buried in during the Great Equestrian War in 795.

"You called, my King." He said with a gravely voice.

"Yes. Those ponies are back in MY empire. Make sure Discord is properly restrained, and add those traps i was debating about.

"yes, my Lord." He said. He turned back into smoke and rocketed through the celling, leaving not a single mark.

Sombra smiled.

Author's Note

So now the stories coming together. What do you guys think about it so far? leave your thoughts and comments below. (and yes, Sombra and his guards can teleport like Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters)