MAU5 BRONY: Sorry I don't update as often, but that's mainly because I've pretty much caught up with the series. Back when I started this story, Season 1 was already finished. It was already around in the middle of Season 2. With those episodes, I've had time to plan ahead. Now, since I'm with the series, it takes at least a week if I keep up with every episode.

ReesesPieces247: Heh, thanks. Well, I can't wait to blow everypony's minds.

Kyubbiman: Thank you very much.

Mr. Williams: I've read that before. It was nice, but that was done before the finale was aired. People originally believed that on becoming a Princess, she would then receive letters from the girls. Of course, I doubt that's the case. Princess Celestia only received letters because it was more a teaching. Otherwise, Luna and Cadence would also receive those letters.

FlutterDaisy: Thanks. I'm glad you got the right message I was trying to send. I hope you're still in one piece for the finale! (\.

the evil guest: Haha, wow.

Matthais123: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold your horses. I'm absolutely not making Luna have feelings like that for Alex. I can tell you that right now. No, sir. You'll know why what happened happened soon enough.

EpsilonX029: Thanks. I hope you meant season instead of series.

PinkAuraWolf: That statement might become false soon. :)

ponyman: *blush*

Inkweaver22: Heheh, yeah. Geez, every time I just want to cry...

TwilitPonyWhiteAbyss: I wonder how it went for you.

Ecomonococo: Hah, thanks. I was wondering how many people would get it.

Shisarakage: Oh, really? Heh. I know what you mean. There's not going to be a filler, but... I'll just say something really epic. :).

Azturner: Ah...

Chief Wolfee: Good luck to you.

Pikmin3411: Yeah, I remember. I honestly still don't understand what you mean by the "push". I'll continue trying, but I'll still wont know exactly what you mean.

MovieNerdKing: I'm glad it did. I honestly don't have any plans right now of including Discord in the finale. I've been thinking about it, but I couldn't really find any reason to include him so.

Tinyfoxhybrid: Mm-hm...

charizardag: Haha, thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i: That may have been going a little too far...

Note: Wow. We're finally this far. Well...here you go. I'm sure you all will enjoy this piece.

Also, there are a couple of songs that I want to put a disclaimer for in this chapter.

The songs used are:

Paramore - "Whoa"

Paramore - "Never Let This Go"

Yep. Just so you know that I didn't write those.

Episode 63 – Games Ponies Play

---

"Oh, Alex!" A singing voice followed after three knocks.

"Hm?" I lifted my head from under the bed sheets.

I made my way down the stairs and readied myself to open the door.

"Alex! Alex! Alex!" The voice sung again in a cheery tone.

I opened the door to see Twilight Sparkle wearing a saddlebag. "Oh. Hm. Hey, Twilight." I brushed my mane with my hoof a little. "What's going on?"

"You ready yet?" She asked.

"Ready for what?" I inquired.

"Ready to head to the Crystal Empire so we can help Cadence welcome the Equestria Games Inspector!" She answered, sticking me in a trance for a while.

"…heading to where so we help who welcome the what now?" I questioned, unable to grasp the handle on her explanation.

She replaced her cheery look with a concerned and suspicious one. "…didn't Rainbow Dash tell you about the invitation we got from Cadence…?"

"Rainbow Dash? I haven't seen her at all lately." I responded.

She remained looking at me for a moment until she began fuming with a growl. "I told her to make sure you knew at least by yesterday!"

"Whoa, calm down, Twi. It's fine. There's no big rush, is there?"

"Now there is!" She pointed behind her towards a stationed train. "That train is about to leave in thirty minutes to the Crystal Empire!"

I widened my eyes and looked around me to see if I needed anything. "Okay, okay. It's fine, Twi. I don't need to bring anything with me. I'm fine. Let's just go get the others and we'll get on the train." I walked out the door and began walking her out, trying to calm her down. After a few moments during our walk, she seemed to lighten up a bit. "You alright?"

She released a sigh. "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry about that. It's just that the Equestria Games are a big deal. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were hoping they could get it hosted at the Crystal Empire this year."

"Really? I remember something about those games… I think it was hosted in Fillydelphia when I was a colt. Anyway, we're going to help Cadence welcome the Equestria Games Inspector?"

"Yeah, so we could show her that the Crystal Empire really is a great place to host them." We arrived at her door. She pushed it open to have the both of us see the place filled with critters. Not just any critters, but specifically the pets of all the girls. "Huh?" She released as she walked in with a confused expression. "I don't remember seeing critters on the invite list."

"That's 'cause we're leaving them here with Spike." Applejack answered. "He's gonna do a little critter-sitting for us."

"Oh, really?" Twilight sent an irritated and scolding look towards Spike, seeming to recognize his mischief behind it.

Spike smiled nervously and held a measuring cup behind him. However, Rainbow Dash's pet, Tank, bumped into his head and dazed him for a bit.

"Hi, honey." A sunny yellow mare passed by me at the door and walked in, holding a basket of grooming items. She placed it down near the table and apologized. "So sorry I'm late. Silly bunny had hidden his brush." She looked towards Angel, who was on her back and crossing his paws in an upset manner. "Be sure you get plenty on his tail, or it won't get as poofy as he likes it." Fluttershy directed at Spike, bumping her nose with the rollers on Angel's tail.

We heard the train whistle in the distance.

"Come on, y'all, or we're gonna miss the train." Applejack advised. She spotted Winona running around and grinned. "One more for the road? Oh, you little puppy, come on here." She began playing with her as she rubbed Winona's furry belly.

Nearby, I could hear Pinkie exclaiming loudly.

"No, no no no. I love you more." She expressed towards her pet alligator, Gummy. She listened to him as if he was actually speaking and began retaliating aggressively. "No, I love you more!" She listened once more and then screamed out loudly. "I LOVE YOU MORE!"

Hearing her say that was both frightening yet funny as well. I chuckled and walked towards her. "Geez, Pinkie, any louder?"

"Why?" She asked, placing Gummy down. "Do you want me to scream louder?"

"Uh…never mind…" I quickly retracted that last comment and noticed Rainbow Dash in the background. She was nervously looking around as she remained by Tank. Once she released a smile towards him, she quickly nuzzled her nose with his head and then quickly pulled her head back, looking around suspiciously.

"Oh, I promise it'll be okay." Fluttershy assured towards Angel, who seemed to be upset about staying with Spike. "I'll fluff your tail twice next week." Angel didn't look back and kept his furry white paws crossed. He emphasized by flapping down his ears. "Three times?" She offered in order to make him happy. He opened his eyes and raised his ears at the offer. Then, he turned back and nodded his head while keeping his eyes shut. She delightfully petted his head which caused him to shake his leg rapidly to show his happiness.

On the other hoof, Rarity was by her cat, Opal, wrapping a blanket around her tightly as if the room was freezing. "Oh, I know. It's a chilly eighty one point two in here. Spike, take care of this, would you please?" She asked of Spike, who was with Twilight.

"You got it." He responded, holding out a thumb up. He faced back to Twilight. "So, uhh... What are you thinking about that hooting little friend of yours?" Twilight's expression remained in a somewhat scolding manner until he mentioned about her owl. "Suppose you want me to keep an eye on him too." He scratched the top of his eye.

"That would be nice." Twilight thought through it too, realizing that it could tie up one loose end." You sure you don't already have your hands full?"

"Nah, pshaw." Spike flicked his claw away, indicating that it's no trouble. "I'll be fine. But, uh…" He leaned in closer to Twilight, whispering something and holding out the measuring cup. Whatever it was caused her to shake her head and sigh. She threw in a lavender diamond-shaped jewel in his cup.

Nevertheless, I called Twilight to make sure she didn't forget about the train. "We should be going, Twilight. You never know if the train will leave earlier or not." I advised.

"Got it. Coming." She answered and began following all of us out the library. "You absolutely sure you can do this?" She asked Spike as she passed by him at the door.

"Of course. Wouldn't have agreed to it if I couldn't. Piece of cake." He assured. "Speaking of cake, I got a little something I need to attend to." He stated as he pulled out a cook book and a pink chef's hat.

"Yeah, like keeping an eye on a house full of critters." Twilight reminded as if Spike wasn't entirely focusing on the pets.

"Uh, yeah, uh, that was totally what I was talking about." He turned back to Twilight. "Relax." He gestured for Twilight to move along. "Go to your welcoming thing in the Crystal Empire. Spike's got it all under control."

I had been standing there, waiting for Twilight and not even realizing that the others were already gone. However, the train was still there, so I didn't freak out. Twilight walked a few steps but stopped to wave goodbye to Spike. He waved as well and then closed the door shut.

"C'mon." I gestured with my head. "Let's get going."

"Right with you on that." She responded.

Just as we were about to start walking, an extremely loud noise of ruckus sounded from the tree. We both looked back to feel havoc coming from inside. Twilight was about to go check until Rainbow Dash appeared by us and pulled Twilight's tail. "Hurry up, Twilight, we can't miss our train!" She warned hurryingly, causing us to both begin running to the train station.

---

We arrived just in time to hear the conductor loudly asking for the tickets.

"Oh, this is gonna be a real treat. Princess Cadence said she'd never seen the Crystal Ponies so excited." Applejack commented towards the others as we were waiting for the line of ponies walking in the train to lower.

"Duh!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Of course they're excited. They're up for the Equestria Games. It's only the biggest sporting event in all of Equestria." She emphasized by flying up on top of the building near the train and holding her forelegs stretched out into the sky.

"Didn't Cloudsdale host the Equestria Games one year?" Rarity asked.

"Hate to burst your bubble," I intervened. "But Fillydelphia took that opportunity away from them." I looked back in thought. "I'll never know why they would ever consider them…"

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Cloudsdale should have hosted the games one year. I'll never forget when we got the bad news." She sadly lowered herself down and held her head down low. "You should have seen me. I was so confident that Cloudsdale was going to take it! But as soon as she made that announcement…I had never been so disappointed in my life…" Rainbow Dash changed her saddened expression to an angry one when she recalled the event in the past. "These Crystal Ponies lost a thousand years to an evil king's curse. They've had enough bad news. No way we're letting them experience the pain of losing out on these games."

"Exactly." Twilight began confronting everypony. "Princess Cadence is counting on us to do our part to convince the Games Inspector to choose the Crystal Empire. And we are not gonna let her down. Are we?"

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pinkie randomly slid in the middle of our circle, screaming at the top of her lungs so dramatically, which all surprised us. She noticed the looks we gave her. "What? I was just answering Twilight's question."

I smiled after she said that. "Well, try to save that when something devastating happens, alright?" I joked.

"All aboard!" The conductor yelled out.

"Come on, let's get our seats." I offered, boarding the train with the girls following me.

We walked through several carts, most of which were full. The last train cart didn't have many ponies, so we decided to stay in that one. As I walked inside, I heard a singing voice that seemed to have come from the cart behind me.

"Whoa, whoa-oa. Whoa, Who-oa."

I stopped, forming a confused expression while looking back with my eyes.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked before the girls took their seats.

"Did you girls hear that?" I asked.

"Yeah." Rainbow Dash answered. "Probably just somepony passing the time. Why?"

"Uh…nothing." I responded.

I continued walking and took a seat next to Fluttershy. Twilight was in front of me while Pinkie Pie and Applejack were across from her. Flying in the middle of Pinkie and Rarity was Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie unexpectedly pulled out a megaphone and began talking in to it, seeming to disturb the other passengers inside the room. "Okay, everypony! Why don't we start practicing on the way over there?"

"Practice? For what?" I asked, feeling like I had missed out on a lot.

"Our cheer." Twilight explained. "If we really want to wow the Games Inspector, we need to give it everything we got." She looked towards the other girls. "Ready, girls?" She asked.

"One, two, three, four!" Pinkie Pie counted before they began reciting their cheer.

"Two, four, six, eight!

Name a place that's really great!

One, two, three, four!

Keeps you coming back for more!

Two, seven, nine, three!

The place that we all wanna be!

Four, three, two, one!

The Crystal Empire, that's the one!"

"Wow." I commented on their catchy lyrics. "It sounds really great! Do you have a routine to go with that as well?"

"Of course!" Twilight answered. "You know what?" She asked the girls. "Why don't we try that routine too instead of just the lyrics?"

"Uh… I don't know, Twilight." Applejack returned. "I think we should wait until we get there."

"Oh, alright. Fine." Twilight reacted, not exactly looking disappointed, but a little uneasily.

---

During the whole train ride there, the girls continued to recite the lyrics to the song. I honestly didn't mind and actually found it pretty cute. However, I couldn't say the same for the other passengers who were trying to talk to each other or read the newspaper. They would look back with annoyed eyes every once in a while.

I looked out the window to see us leaving the snowy land into the bright sunny paradise where the entire Crystal Empire stood.

"Four, three, two, one, the Crystal Empire, that's the one!"

"Okay, everypony, great job!" Pinkie Pie congratulated through the megaphone. "Sounds like we're ready."

The girls cheered with Applejack and Fluttershy even hoof bumping each other. However, Twilight seemed to stray out of the party.

"One more time, from the top." She shared after releasing a worried frown.

"Oh, please! I think that was perfect." Rarity answered as the rest of the girls groaned.

Applejack sighed. "Well, we've run this like twelve times already. I think we've got it."

"Cadence said the Games Inspector really puts folks through the wringer on her visits." Twilight explained in order to get the others to agree with her. "There's no margin for error here. And this time we need to practice the steps."

"On a train car?" Applejack asked, not so sure on the safety of doing so.

"Leave it for now, girls." I added as I looked out the window to see that we just arrived. "We're already here."

The train car suddenly halted, causing us to lurch forward a bit.

Applejack narrowed her eyes towards Twilight. "And you wanted us to practice our steps…"

Twilight shrugged and blushed a bit. "Heheh… Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. Twilight only wanted to make sure you all got the routine right. I think you all will do just fine." I shared as ponies already started boarding off the train.

"See?" Applejack clarified. "Alex thinks we've got it. I say we're ready."

"I suppose so." Twilight responded. "But as soon as we get the chance, we practice some more, okay?"

"Sure thing." Rainbow Dash understood.

"Crystal Empire, ladies!" The second conductor announced after he opened our door. "Watch your step leaving the train!"

"Ooh! Cinnamon buns!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed out loud, pointing out the window. She immediately rushed out the train.

I chuckled as the rest of us boarded off as well. When we were off, we began heading towards the Crystal Empire which appeared to be much more attractive and shiner than ever. We passed by the shop Pinkie was in. She grabbed the cinnamon bun and completely stuffed it in her mouth in one bite, munching loudly. "Wow! The Crystal Empire looks crystallier than ever!" She joined our trotting towards the empire.

We noticed how every crystal pony was helping out for the picking of the Equestria Games. They were all washing and cleaning the place to make it look just completely magnificent. It may just be my opinion, but I believe this place deserves to win without a doubt.

"They must have everypony in the Empire out sprucing it up!" Applejack commented as we noticed every part of the city being polished. There was even a pony sliding down on the outside of the castle to wipe it clean.

"This must be why we were asked to handle the welcome committee routine." Twilight mentioned.

"And it's probably also because we'll be awesome at it." Rainbow Dash included as we passed by the crystal heart.

A couple of fillies ran by us, each carrying a flag of their empire in good cheer and spirit.

"Princess Cadence was right." Applejack spoke. "These ponies do look pretty darn excited."

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at one of the fillies and suddenly lifted her off the ground, causing for the filly to drop her flag. "Yup, I remember that feeling." She expressed as she held the filly. However, her mood changed when she placed the filly back on the ground. "But not as much as I remember the crushing wave of disappointment that came when things didn't work out." Her recalling thought caused the filly to begin pouting and shaking her lips in sadness. "That right there." Rainbow pointed. "That is the face I do not want to see."

"Then stop talking so negatively about it." I told her. Twilight noticed her cue and grabbed all of them with her magic to bring them along. Before I left, I picked up the flag with my magic and gave it back to the filly. "Don't worry; we'll make sure you guys host the Equestria Games." I messed with her mane playfully a bit and then continued moving on forward.

We ended our walk upon a large crystal building that presented hearts on the top. When Twilight opened the door, I looked around to notice that it appeared to be a spa. "We're here." Twilight announced softly.

I immediately brightened up when I saw Miss Cadence pop herself up from the ponies that were working on her. She noticed us and giggled. "There they are!"

She hopped over to Twilight and they immediately began their insider greeting towards each other.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Both of them giggled.

Miss Cadence spotted me. "Alex!" She then hopped over to me and quickly embraced me. "So nice to see you."

"Haha." I responded, accepting her embrace. "Same here, Miss Cadence. You know, it's actually really nice to finally meet you when you're not in distress."

Miss Cadence chuckled as well, pulling away. "You're right about that, Alex."

We heard Rarity gasp as she adored every little thing in her sight. "Oh, my. This is spectacular. Please, everypony, stand back! I need air!" She exclaimed, even accidentally knocking back one of the spa ponies near her.

"Go ahead and try whatever you like." Miss Cadence offered, placing a friendly hoof around Rarity. "It's all complimentary for the welcome committee.

"Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Rarity expressed excitedly.

Miss Cadence pointed over to what appeared to be a bath tub. A mare was just getting out. "That over there is a crystal mud bath, which relaxes your body and rejuvenates your coat. Now, I realize it can be kind of strange to climb into mud, but if you'll just give it a chance, I'm sure—"

"Woo-hoo!" Pinkie Pie suddenly screamed out, swinging on one of the crystals that was hanging off the ceiling.

"Pinkie, no!" Twilight shouted.

Pinkie continued laughing until she dropped down into the mud bath and was eaten up by it, figuratively and somewhat literally. "Ahh, so relaxing!"

"Pinkie Pie, honestly!" Twilight scolded, rushing towards the side of the bath.

Miss Cadence joined her by her side. She placed a hoof on her and instructed her with something. She breathed in, placing a hoof to her chest and closing her eyes. Twilight repeated the same action. Miss Cadence opened one eye in order to see if Twilight did so. Afterwards, she breathed out with closed eyes again as she stretched her hoof out, seeming to resemble pushing the anger away. Twilight did this, instantly seeming to feel relaxed and calm. "Go ahead, have a good time while I get my ceremonial headdress done." Miss Cadence offered.

"Ceremonial... headdress...?" Rarity asked in shock, who was over by another spa mare that was filing her hoof.

"When meeting with important guests, it was tradition for rulers of the Crystal Empire to weave crystals into their manes in a very specific way." Miss Cadence explained as another pony brought a cart of tools to fix her mane. "The Games Inspector is known for doing her homework. She'll certainly be expecting my look to reflect the importance of her visit."

The door suddenly opened, surprising the girls. We all looked back to see a mare rush in. "Princess," She bowed before continuing to speak. "If I may have a word... I-I have two pieces of news for you. First, your mane stylist has the flu and won't be able to make it for fear of you catching it, too."

"Oh." A shock of disappoint hit Miss Cadence's tone. "Well... I hope she's better soon." She looked across the room. "Do any of the other stylists here know how to do the traditional royal ceremonial headdress?" Other of the stylists responded with mumbles and nos. "Oh…" Miss Cadence seemed to allow a hint of worry into her tone. She performed her breathing experience. "Just a... small detail."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You're trying to land the Equestria Games here. There is no such thing as a small detail!"

Rainbow's comment caused the worry in Miss Cadence's eye to grow more.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight scolded once again.

"I suppose… I could give it a shot." Rarity spoke up.

"Oh, Rarity, you would do that for me?" Miss Cadence asked, feeling her worries escape.

"Way to step it up, Rare." Rainbow praised.

"Fortunately, I have all the precise instructions right here." Miss Cadence looked towards a chest two spa mares were holding up and brought out a scroll with her magic. However, when it was unrolled, it certainly filled from the ceiling to the floor.

"Oh, my!" She expressed at the sight of the large list of instructions.

"You sure you're up to this?" Miss Cadence questioned.

"Working on the hair of royalty on such an auspicious occasion is the opportunity of a lifetime! I will give it everything I've got." Rarity answered.

"See? No worries!" Twilight ensured.

"Besides, the Games Inspector isn't expected for several hours." Rarity added as she walked over to the list of instructions. "I'll have plenty of time to figure out exactly how to... do... this..." A gap grew between her last few words, due to the size of the instructions.

"Oh, Rarity, that's wonderful!" Miss Cadence reacted, placing a hoof on Rarity's shoulder with worries gone. After, she faced the messenger. "You said you had a second bit of news?"

She suddenly began to sweat nervously. "Yes, quite. The Games Inspector, Ms. Harshwhinny, will be arriving on the... next train."

Everypony gasped, especially Miss Cadence. She was now utterly speechless as she only widened her eyes and stared in shock.

"What!? You couldn't have told her that news first!?" Rainbow yelled towards the messenger. "That's fifteen minutes from now!"

"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy commented on the news.

Applejack quickly ran towards the doors to go check if the Games Inspector was already on her way. Rainbow Dash was breathing in a panicked motion.

As Twilight performed her breathing exercise, I shook my head and attempted to try to get everypony on their hooves. "Alright, I know this is an urgent matter, but we're not getting anywhere if we start panicking."

"How long before Cadence is ready?" Twilight asked Rarity.

"Hmmmm... " Rarity analyzed the instructions. "I'm sure to find some shortcuts."

"Can you have her back at the castle when we're done?"

"Done."

Twilight walked over to the still sweating messenger pony and pulled out the letter from her saddlebag to read it. "Okay, we'll be fine." Twilight walked over to the doors and opened it to lead all of us out. "Everypony, just be on the lookout for the pony with the flower print luggage."

"Easy peasy, pudding in the freezy!" Pinkie stated.

Twilight began explaining on what the plan was for us to use. "We bring the Games Inspector back to the castle, put on our big welcome committee how-do-you-do and then..."

"Put the pudding out to thaw before you eat it or you'll crack a tooth?" Pinkie Pie guessed.

I opened my mouth and angled my eyelids to form an expression that clearly presented "…what?"

"I'll just ignore that." Rainbow returned. "We need to remember that the Games Inspector arriving early is probably part of a plan to psych us out." She warned.

"What do you mean?" Twilight inquired.

"You said it yourself, she's got a rep for trying to catch hosts off-guard, just to see if we can handle the kind of massive pressure that comes with hosting the Equestria Games."

"Oh, no... We're gonna blow it..." Fluttershy reacted worriedly.

"Not if we always stay one step ahead and don't fall for any of her mind games. Anything she throws at us, we just need to remember she's testing us and roll with it." She emphasized by rolling in the air.

We continued quickly trotting towards the train station, just as it was about to arrive.

Getting there just in time, we saw a mare with red glasses holding a flower print luggage, which had a big scratch mark in the middle. I analyzed her and was really surprised. I was expecting a much more fancier and professional looking pony to be the Games Inspector. However, this pony looked more like a tourist…

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

She placed the suitcase down and lowered her glasses to view her angrily. "Yes, what is it?" Her tone was absolutely…aggressive. Maybe she is, after all…

"Oh, no!" Fluttershy exclaimed in a whisper, backing away from the tone of her voice.

"Be cool." Twilight advised.

Her eyes were scanning among us until stopped at me. They suddenly widened along with her jaw dropping in awe. "Oh, my!" Her glasses were dropped from her face as she rushed over to me, surprising. "…why…I've never met an Alicorn Prince before…" The mare, who was supposed to be Ms. Harshwhinny, began sounding flirtatiously.

"Uh…" I slightly backed away. "I'm not exactly a Prince…"

"Golly! With those wings and horn, you must be!" She answered, leaving me completely blank on what to say.

"Hey!" Rainbow whispered. "This is all a test! She's met tons of princes and princesses before! She's only trying to distract us from doing what we're supposed to do which is welcoming her!"

"Oh, right!" Twilight heard and faced the mare. "Okay. I know you're not expecting us, but we're here to personally welcome you to the Crystal Empire." She announced.

Ms. Harshwhinny looked at us with narrowed eyes and an agitating frown. "The whole lot of you came to do that?" She asked, sounding like she didn't believe us. Was this a part of the test too?

"Uh, well, um, yes!" Twilight stumbled upon her words, most likely to make sure she made the right answers.

"Well, darn tootin', ain't that the cat's meow!" She exclaimed and seemed to have suddenly changed her expression. "Y'all didn't need to do that." She commented as she shook each of our hooves warmly. "Why, I hardly expected anything like this."

"The Princess wouldn't have had it any other way." Applejack answered proudly.

"The Princess? Princess Cadence?" The mare asked, seeming to be very surprised.

"None other!" Twilight responded.

"Well, tie me up and throw me down, this just keeps gettin' better and better!" She spun on her luggage.

"Can we help you with your bags?" Fluttershy offered.

"Don't mind if you do!"

Fluttershy lowered herself and placed her hooves on the luggage to pick it up. "Ooh, I love flower print!" She tried picking it up, but it seemed too heavy for her, so she brought herself down instead. "Sorry." She apologized and managed to pick it up while it still looked a little too much. I used my magic to help her pick it up. "It's fine, Alex. I've got it." She mentioned.

"Are you sure?" I asked, forming a concerned face.

"Mm-hm." She nodded while closing her eyes.

I smiled at her response and removed my magic from the luggage as we continued on back to the empire.

However, there was something I wanted to bring up with Rainbow Dash. This mare just seemed…unlike a Games Inspector would be…

"Rainbow Dash…" I whispered to her, bringing her lower. "Are you sure this is the Games Inspector? I don't mean to sound rude but…she sounds or acts nothing like a Games Inspector would be…"

"It's a test. She wants us to see if we're capable of doing our tasks for not only her, but any pony." She answered.

I sighed and shrugged. "I suppose so… You seem to know more of this than me… It's not like I got the chance to go to the Equestria Games in Fillydelphia anyway…"

"Our first stop is the castle, where we got a big razzamatazzy welcome planned for you!" We heard Pinkie announce at the view of the entire castle."

"The castle? Are you kidding? Hot-diggety-dawg!" She bounced along with Pinkie.

"See that?" Twilight announced to us, noticing her extremely happy behavior. "We just gotta roll with it until the Princess gets there and we'll be just fine."

"Exactly!" Rainbow pointed out.

We followed Pinkie as she bounced her way towards the castle, just as I heard the train chugging away.

---

"My golly, the crystal castle!" The mare gasped as we walked into the main hall of the castle. "Why, I've seen pictures but I never expected to see it with my very own eyes!" She suddenly gulped. "From the inside..." She added a little nervously.

"Oh, my gosh!" Fluttershy tapped her hooves together in soft excitement. "She's so nice!"

"You're letting her lull you into a false sense of confidence." Rainbow Dash warned Fluttershy. "Watch that. It's all part of the game."

"If you say so…" I muttered.

"Oh, my, I'm so excited." She continued gazing around, beginning to motion her back legs in a stretching motion.

"Please, have a seat, won't you?" Twilight offered.

"Mind if I take a quick run outside first?" She asked as she trotted in place. "It was an awfully long train ride and my legs could use a stretch."

"Oh, well... we were just about to start." Twilight replied, changing the mare's mind.

"Oh!" She quickly sat down on the couch nearby. "Never you mind. You go on ahead. I'm listening."

"She was probably testing us to see if we could remain in control of a complex situation. Looks like we passed." Rainbow commented in a whisper.

"Sure…" I returned.

"Bump-" Rainbow began a celebratory motion with Fluttershy.

"-cha!" Fluttershy finished so adorably.

"We'd like to thank you for this opportunity to introduce you to this wonderful kingdom!" Twilight announced as the others joined her side.

"Oh, well, the pleasure is all mine." The mare returned.

"And since we're not even from here ourselves, who better than us to let you know just how welcoming this place can be!" Twilight continued.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie suddenly stood by each other, holding their hoof up.

"Two, four, six, eight!" The girls began cheering loudly with Twilight teleporting to the top of Pinkie and Applejack. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed.

"Name a place that's really great!

One, two, three, four!" They placed themselves back on the ground.

Keeps you coming back for more!

Two, seven, nine, three!

The place that we all wanna be!" They began doing their own thing in an organized manner.

"Four, three, two, one!

The Crystal Empire, that's the one!" They ended by having Rainbow Dash form a heart around them as Pinkie Pie blew out confetti from her party cannon, which also ended up pushing the girls away.

"Oooh, yeah!" Ms. Harshwhinny cheered and whistled. However, the girls were on the floor panting heavily. "Ooh, I tell ya! I have traveled far and wide, but I have never, ever been welcomed anyplace in the fashion that y'all have done here today."

"That's fantastic! Princess Cadence would be so glad to hear that!" Twilight responded in joy.

"Honestly, I'm surprised she knows anything about me at all!"

When she said that, I formed a jumbled expression, just as the other girls had shared. Is this a part of the test too…?

"Of course she does! She's been looking forward to your visit for weeks!" Twilight answered nonetheless.

"Oh, goody! Is she here?" She quickly looked around.

"Uh…" Twilight thought, learning that the time Miss Cadence was supposed to come must have been delayed.

"Where the heck is she, anyway?" Applejack asked her in a hushed tone. "Wasn't she supposed to be here by now?"

"Oh, that's alright." Ms. Harshwhinny assured and then suddenly looked up towards the ceiling with a scrunched face. She gulped. "Maybe- I-I-I'll just take my little run outside now." She quickly dashed towards the outside.

I looked at the others. "Does she have some problem being indoors or something…?"

"Probably not." Rainbow answered. "Probably just testing us to make sure we're responsible." She flew over to her. "Or, if you like, we could give you a tour of the castle! That way you could be learning and stretching all at the same time!"

"Dash!" Twilight exclaimed in a hushed tone. "We've hardly ever even been here before!"

"It's just another test! We gotta roll with it, remember?" Rainbow answered in the same tone.

"Everything's just a test, isn't it?" I couldn't help but share.

"Oooh! Lemme give the tour! I'lldoit, I'lldoit, letmeletmeletme!" Pinkie exclaimed excitedly.

Twilight performed that breathing exercise and responded. "Fine. You all start giving her the tour and I'll go see what's keeping Cadence." She trotted out to go see what the situation was with Miss Cadence and Rarity.

"Pinkie." I called. "Are you sure you even know what to say for this…tour?" I questioned her.

"Don't worry your little head!" She patted the top of my head pretty hard. "Pinkie's got all this under her hooves!"

"Um… I think you mean 'under control'…"

"Pie!" She exclaimed and faced Ms. Harshwhinny. "Okay, let's go!" Pinkie dashed back into the castle, having us hesitantly follow her as we had no idea how she would perform. "So, you see this here?" Pinkie asked, presenting the entire first room. This, um, this is, um..." She tried to think, lightly pacing around. "…a big, round room." She came up with, causing me to place a hoof to my face. "It's known for its roundness, and bigness, and did I mention that it's round?"

"I think they call it a rotunda...?" Ms. Harshwhinny replied. "A small, confining, rotunda..." She began to oddly look around fearfully. I really didn't know why…

Pinkie blew a raspberry. "Whatever. Round is round, am I right?"

"Easy, Pinkie, let's play this safe!" Applejack warned the surprised Pinkie in a hushed tone. "We got her in a good mood, so let's not do anything to ruin that."

"You know... I love this sort of architecture, I-I-I detect a neo-gothic inspiration in the design, yes?" She asked, paralyzing the ponies to any speech answering this question.

However, I slightly grinned and walked up to her. "Why, yes, actually." I joined her by the window, looking out at the buildings. "Considering that this empire was built over a thousand years ago, I'm sure there is some neo-gothic inspiration in the design. From the origin, it was intertwined with deeply philosophical movements from many many years ago." I looked at the crystal walls and lightly caressed them, feeling their smooth shine rub on my hoof. "Normal neo-gothic design actually didn't look like this, of course. But these are the crystal ponies we are talking about. Carrying on this neo-gothic relation, the crystal ponies wanted to infuse their heart and spirit along with it, so…" I looked out towards all the lovely buildings. "They built this entire empire… Not for fame… Not for glory… Just for themselves…"

I continued gazing out the window with a warm smile on my face until uncomfortable silence struck me. I turned around to see the girls with their mouths hung open, except for Ms. Harshwhinny who was absolutely stunned my description, in a good way.

"…how…did you know that?" Rainbow Dash asked me.

"I…may have dabbled in some books speaking of the matter…" I felt a little embarrassed now. I rubbed my head with my hoof and slightly looked away. "It was related to art, so…" I blew somewhat a raspberry to express what I meant without using words.

Pinkie was still stunned and shocked in awe. "…that's the smartest thing I've ever heard anypony say about anything…!"

I scoffed lightly. "Twilight's said much more smarter things than me, Pinkie."

Unexpectedly, the door near Applejack and Rainbow Dash opened. Twilight was back pretty quickly.

"Speakin' of Twilight… Where's Cadence? Please tell me she's right behind you." Applejack hoped.

"There's a bit of a problem with her headdress." Twilight explained. "How's it going here?"

"Well…things could be better…" Applejack answered and began whispering to Twilight. "Alex just came up with an actual tour thing to say, but now we have nothin'!"

"Don't worry, Applejack! I'm on it!" Pinkie heard and exclaimed. "Look at me!" She shouted out in glee towards Ms. Harshwhinny and began bouncing around like a clown. "Boingy, boingy, boingy!" She then wibbled out her tongue.

"I, uh, hate to be a bother," Ms. Harshwhinny politely interrupted and began stretching out her legs again. "…but the legs are cramping up on me with all this standing around..."

"Huh?" Rainbow questioned.

"She's getting bored, and we have to buy Rarity some more time." Twilight spoke aside to the girls. She performed the breathing exercise once again. "I'll see if Shining Armor can come help." She began trotting out. "Can't one of you other ponies take over in the meantime?"

"Well, I suppose I can—"

"I got this!" Rainbow Dash spread her wings and flew, cutting me off in the process. I lowered my head and narrowed my eyes. "Wanna stretch your legs, huh?" She asked Ms. Harshwhinny. "Well, whatever you need, I'm sure we can provide. Let's just make our way to the castle's gymnasium." She led us outside the room. "Our tour will now be headed..." She looked around to only see many doors of identical appearance. Her view shifted away from them and met with a staircase that led down. "…this way." She pointed. "And we're walking, and we're walking..." She continued saying, gently gesturing Ms. Harshwhinny to follow her with her hooves. "…and we're walking, and we're walking, and we're walking, and we're walking, and we're walk—"

"You know you don't have to keep saying that?" I finally cut off, starting to become slightly annoyed.

"Oh, it's quite alright." Ms. Harshwhinny spoke. "I'm really just looking forward to stretching these legs of mine." She inhaled a great breath and exhaled. "I can smell that fresh air already!"

"Come on, gang! Are we gonna gallop, or are we gonna trot!?" We heard a familiar voice shout from beyond the door in front of us. That sounded like Shining Armor.

"It sounds like Twilight's brother is trainin' those crystal ponies for the games." Applejack shared.

"Let's move, move, move!" He exclaimed.

"I guess he's doing anything he can to get these ponies ready…" I added.

However, before we could open the doors, Ms. Harshwhinny grew too excited and burst through them, gasping. "I'm outside!" She laughed and began racing at the track, even surpassing the other ponies running. "Feels so good to stretch the old legs!" She accidentally tripped the others as she bumped into them and didn't see them.

"Uh, what the—" Shining Armor tried to make sense of. He was wearing a cap and whistle.

"I thought this was the way towards the gymnasium." Rainbow Dash explained.

"Watch it!" Shining Armor shouted to Ms. Harshwhinny, who jumped over a hurtle and continued to unintentionally bump into other runners.

"Woohoo!" She cheered.

"Make her - stop!" Shining Armor directed at Rainbow Dash.

"Wait, that's the Games Inspector! Let her do her thing." Rainbow told him.

Ms. Harshwhinny made her way through three other ponies. "Good. Oh, these hooves! I'm outside!"

"Why would she do that?" Shining Armor not only just asked, but showed a hint of irritation. That's what I'm wondering…

"I have no idea, but, that's why she's who's in charge of choosing who gets the Games, and we're not, heh." Rainbow Dash answered, but now a little nervously.

Ms. Harshwhinny continued to crash through every hurtle and obstacle until a vase flew up and landed on her face, completely covering her eyesight and causing her to panic. "Oh! Oh, get me outside for a run!" She panicked in a muffled tone.

"Look out!" Shining Armor warned as she was headed towards the wall.

However, it was too late and she literally broke through the wall, continuing to run.

"Yeah, okay, we need to stop her." Rainbow finally released and began flying after her. I spread my wings and followed her. Fluttershy joined.

The three of us could see her speeding down the city, knocking over anything in her path as we remained in the skies.

"Where's she going in such a hurry?" Fluttershy asked.

"She must be freaking out because she can't even see where she's going!" I answered as I tried to keep my eyes on her.

However, Rainbow Dash managed to slowly catch up to her. Wow… This mare must be really fast to even be able to outrun Rainbow Dash! "Closer...! Closer...! I think we've got her...!" Rainbow managed to place her hooves on the vase blocking Ms. Harshwhinny's eyes. Just as she began pulling it off, Ms. Harshwhinny stopped, causing Rainbow to fly off with the momentum. "Yaaaaaaah!" In the distance, I could see her smack on top of a glass ceiling, causing me to instantly flinch and suck my teeth in as I saw her slowly slide down, just like I had with the Dizzatron.

"Hoo-eee! Oh, that felt good!" Ms. Harshwhinny exclaimed out loud as Fluttershy and I landed back on the ground. "Nothing like a great run to shake the cobwebs off these old bones."

Rainbow Dash dragged herself towards our location, panting heavily.

I rushed towards her and grabbed her hoof, helping her up. "Are you alright?" I asked, dusting her off a bit.

"Just…" She panted. "Fine…"

"Hey there, speedy!" Ms. Harshwhinny greeted Rainbow. "Ah, these wide open spaces y'all got here remind me of home. This is great!"

"Oh!" Rainbow continued panting. "So you're…" She stopped to pant. "enjoying your visit?" She stopped again. "Well, I'm so…" She really looked horrible… "glad!" I lightly patted her back with my hoof.

"Oh, good golly, yes, I just love to travel and see new places. Such a beautiful spot you got here, too!" She replied just in time as Shining Armor, Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie ran towards us.

"Why... thank you so much!" Shining Armor thanked, feeling flattered after hearing those words. "I'm Shining Armor."

She gasped. "The Prince!"

"Yeah." I included, playfully nudging Shining Armor. "Now, he's a real prince."

"My oh my... Then, I've never met a Prince before until just now..." She embarrassingly giggled through the word "prince", acting almost like she was with me.

Shining Armor chuckled. "I'm surprised. I'd think in your line of work you'd meet princes all the time."

"Hardly." She answered. "Just an ordinary wild mustang from Mustangia here to enjoy a little vay-cay." She flipped her hair upwards. "Never thought I'd also be meeting royalty to boot." She performed the same action with his whistle and giggled a little…too…friendly.

I widened my eyes, having the fear that was haunting around me about this mare as Shining Armor opened his mouth in shock.

"…you're not the Equestria Games Inspector, Ms. Harshwhinny…are you…" I asked her.

She merely cocked her head slightly to the left. "Inspector what-now?" She questioned.

Everypony's expression immediately formed into a disastrous one after having realizing our entire mistake.

"We got the wrong pony?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pinkie slid into the middle of us screaming out. She paused for a moment. "I mean, YEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!"

In the meanwhile, Twilight could only attempt to perform that breathing exercise, but panic got the best of her as she so desperately tried to calm herself down.

"Quick!" Rainbow Dash pointed out. "We have to go back to the train station! Maybe she's still there!"

"The train she was supposed to come on left hours ago! There's no way she'd be staying there, waiting for our welcome!" I responded.

"Wherever she still is, we've gotta find her before Cadence finds out what a mess we've made of things!" Twilight offered.

"Okay okay," Rainbow Dash shook her hooves and legs to come up with a plan. "Here's what we do. We split the Empire up into five sectors."

"Each of us search a sector." Fluttershy included.

"Well..." Pinkie spoke. "Except for the spa. What's the point of checking there? That's where Cadence is. If Ms. Harshwhinny is there, well, then, game over, right?"

After a moment of silence, the girls suddenly gasped.

"Forget our plan!" Rainbow crossed out. "Let's go to the spa! That's the first place she'd go after arriving in the Crystal Empire!"

I looked around for the mistaken mare and realized that she was gone. "Uh… Where's the…?" I gestured to Shining Armor.

"I don't know." He answered. "She said something about going to the spa."

"Let's go!" Twilight ordered us and ran off.

"Wait, but I just—" Pinkie yelled out as the other girls pulled her with them. We all headed towards the spa in a great hurry.

---

Rainbow Dash made it there before the rest of us did. As soon as she landed, she quickly placed herself on the window, looking for any sign of the actual Games Inspector. "Oh, there she is! We're in luck! I don't think either of them knows yet that the other one's here!"

"How's that great?" I inquired. "She's still in the spa and she never received our welcome!"

"Come on!" Rainbow pulled me inside, opening the door and sounding the ringing noise by the bell.

"Wonderful news, look!" Rarity exclaimed from near the dressing blinds. She presented Miss Cadence, who absolutely looked terrific and wonderful for the occasion. "Princess Cadence, better than new!"

"Princess Cadence?" A mare suddenly shot up from her seat, who must have been the real Ms. Harshwhinny as told by her accent. "So, this is where you've been!" She mentioned, causing me to slightly flinch and brace myself for what was to come. "I will have you know this is by far the worst welcome I've had in all my years!"

"I-I can't believe it..." Miss Cadence answered in disbelief. "What was wrong with your welcome?"

Uh-oh…

"There wasn't one!" She exclaimed.

"What is going on?" Miss Cadence demanded. For the first time in my life, I saw a look of disappointment and slight anger in her eyes. I slightly lowered my head sadly due to this.

Twilight sighed and moved herself in order to explain, but Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Princess, we gave our welcome to the wrong pony, left the right one waiting at the station, and completely ruined everything."

Miss Cadence gasped in silence and look at the rest of us. I couldn't bear see the disappointment in her eyes face-to-face, so I looked away by staring at the ground.

"Cinnamon bun?" I heard Pinkie nervously offer.

"When I was a little filly, I wanted so badly for Cloudsdale to win the Equestria Games." Rainbow Dash continued explaining. "But, it didn't happen. So I thought I could make up for that disappointment by helping the Crystal Empire win the chance to host the Games. But it looks like I ruined your chances instead."

"Not so fast, speedy." The mare we had actually given the welcome to spoke up, causing me to lift my head and look at her.

"I just finished hearing about how this pony was just treated to the warmest, finest, most fabulous reception she ever had." Ms. Harshwhinny responded, seeming to not be angry about the no-show anymore.

"Darn tootin'!" The mare agreed.

"Courtesy of these fine ponies right here." She presented all of us. Miss Cadence looked towards us and grinned lightly, making me perk up at that sweet smile she sent us. "Which, in my expert opinion, amounts to the first ever unvarnished, unrehearsed, and unbiased appraisal of a potential host of the Equestria Games. Which can only mean one thing..." The girls pushed their heads forward in suspense. "The Crystal Ponies are hosting the next Equestria Games!"

Every one of the girls cheered while Twilight rather released a huge wave of relief through her body. I noticed her and did so as well.

"Pardon me…"I walked up to the rather wild mare. "I'd really love to know your name so I can thank you properly for helping the Crystal Empire become the next host of the Equestria Games."

"Oh." She giggled nervously, seeming to still be stunned on how I was an Alicorn. "You can call me Ms. Peachbottom, but really, it's no need."

"Thank you so very much, Ms. Peachbottom." I expressed. "Without you, we probably wouldn't have been able to accomplish this task."

Ms. Peachbottom lightly blushed and looked away, continuing to giggle while being flattered of my thanks.

"Why, I can certainly see your younger brother has been raised well with good manners." Ms. Harshwhinny mentioned to Miss Cadence.

"Oh!" Miss Cadence chuckled warmly. "He's not my brother." She smiled and walked over to me. She placed her hoof delicately on my head and rubbed it a little. "However, he is a precious student of mine and I've been proud of him ever since the first day I met him." I grinned almost tearfully when she stated that.

"Come on!" Rainbow Dash announced excitedly. "We have to tell the crystal ponies that their dream is now true!"

Miss Cadence lightly sighed in a content manner. "Yes, of course."

---

After telling Shining Armor of the news, Miss Cadence led both him, the Games Inspector, and us to the top of the Crystal Castle. It was there where she stood before all the Crystal Ponies who were eagerly awaiting the answer, all of them holding either flags, balloons, or other celebratory items in this momentous occasion. Miss Cadence held up a microphone, proud to read the next line to them.

"The next host of the Equestria Games is... the Crystal Empire!" She announced cheerfully. Every single one of the crystal ponies cheered and waved their flags. "Congratulations, crystal ponies!" The Crystal Heart immediately began powering up, due to the high spirits of the ponies. Then, it released a huge glow and threw it towards the sky, causing a huge explosion of beauty, just like that last time we were here…

"Well, I suppose I must be taking my leave now." Ms. Harshwhinny spoke. "I must send the message back in order to start making the preparations for the Equestria Games."

"What's the hurry?" Miss Cadence asked. "Why not spend some more time in the spa? Complimentary, of course!"

"Perhaps one crystal mud bath isn't a bad idea…" She returned, lightly smiling at the idea of relaxation.

Miss Cadence turned towards the other girls. "Why don't the rest of you spend some time at the spa too? I have some quick errands to run."

"Sure thing, Princess!" Rainbow Dash responded and flew off as the rest of them walked contently back towards the spa.

"Alex?" Miss Cadence called me.

"Yes, Miss Cadence?" I asked.

"Would you mind sticking around with me for a while? I was hoping you could help me out with something I needed to do for the Equestria Games."

"Of course, Miss Cadence. What is it?"

"I have an appointment with the entertainment for the Equestria Games." She explained. "Mind if you come with me and help me decide if they're good enough?"

"Sure!" I answered almost immediately, feeling amazing that I'd get to spend time with my old, but very young, teacher.

---

"Here's a paper just for you to take notes and grade how well the performance was, alright?" Miss Cadence explained as she sat me at the desk in front of the stage.

"Sure, okay." I sat down at the right side of the table.

Miss Cadence smiled and sat herself on the left side right next to me. She lightly squealed in excitement. "Oh, you're going to love them! I hear they're the best!"

"Really?" I asked. "They must have been that great and special for you to pick to play at the Equestria Games." I assumed. "I mean… anypony would have loved to perform at the Equestria Games, especially since it's in the Crystal Empire!"

"Of course! I'm just relieved that they actually had the time to come make the audition."

I lightly chuckled and looked down at the paper to observe what I had to write. I lifted the pencil by the paper with my magic and began reading. The paper contained different areas of where information was supposed to go. The first being on what the name of the entertainment was. Then, there were things such as "Most Interesting thing about the audition", "Least Interesting", rating from one through ten, what I would suggest they do better, etc, etc.

"So... What's the name of the entertainment that'll be performing, Miss Cadence?" I asked, continuing to look down at the paper.

"Did I hear a certain somepony say… 'entertainment'?" I heard an announcement through a microphone.

I dropped my pencil and slowly lifted my head towards the stage. My heart began pumping, but as soon as I saw the stage with nopony on there. I released a breath a relief, believing I was just hearing things. "Phew… For a second there, I thought I heard—"

"You did." I was interrupted. All of sudden, the mare unexpectedly revealed herself as she came out from the closed curtains. "Why, what a nice surprise to see you again…" I noticed the same signature bang in front of her face, except it was a lot smoother and brushed on the right side of her face. "…little brother…"

I remained sitting there with a shocked expression for a few seconds. Then, I placed my leg on the table, lifted my hoof towards my face and slapped it against my head.

Miss Cadence immediately gasped.

"You're her brother?!" She questioned to me.

"I—"

"Of course he is." Starlight interrupted me. "Lovable, isn't he?"

"…just do your thing…" I returned, not wanting to start a family feud right here and now.

"Uh…yes." Miss Cadence seemed to notice my attitude and didn't want to have any unnecessary filler to last between us. "You're with your band Four Hooves Strong, correct?"

"That's correct." Starlight formed a smug look on her face. "We're ready to start when you are."

It was now the time where I wanted to express the true intentions of her on the paper Miss Cadence made for me, but I knew that Miss Cadence was going to go over it, and I didn't want to disappoint her. I ended up just picking up the pencil without paying too much attention to Starlight. I glanced at her every now and then as I wrote the name of her band on the name section.

Miss Cadence did the same. "You may begin."

Starlight cleared her throat and gestured towards the closed curtains behind her. They opened to reveal the rest of her band mates behind who will be working on the instrumental portion of the music. I sighed and rested my cheek on my hoof as I looked away uninterested and unamused. She signaled for the rest of them to start up the rhythm.

The guitar began a riff, which was soon followed by the beat of the drums along with the bass. Starlight lightly smirked as she faced her band members and nodded her head along with the beat.

"I've hoped for change,
and it gets better every day
I've hoped for change,
but still I feel the same" Starlight began singing, surprising me. I had never actually heard her sing before and it was actually…pretty good…

"There's something wrong,
cause everybody knows
That we can do this on our own" She continued to sing with closed eyes, having her mouth close to the microphone. Her voice surely captured Miss Cadence's attention, which was left with widened eyes and a surprised agape mouth.

"And we've got everybody singing
Whoa, whoa-oa , whoa, whoa-oa" She exclaimed. Miss Cadence's mouth immediately formed an excited grin. However, I was left shocked. I heard this exact same line before…
"We've got everybody singing
Whoa, whoa-oa, whoa, whoa-oa"

The instruments halted for a quick moment, but they rapidly picked up again.

"We're doing fine
And it gets better every time
We're doing fine
But I'll let you decide

There's something wrong,
cause everybody knows
That we can do this on our own"

The rest of the instruments stopped while the drums continued a zesty beat. Every instrument joined again when Starlight continued singing.

"And we've got everybody singing
Whoa, whoa-oa, whoa, whoa-oa
We've got everybody singing
Whoa, whoa-oa, whoa, whoa-oa" All throughout this, I could tell Miss Cadence was heavily interested and amused. I could all tell it in the excitement in her eyes. The sparkle that appeared in them.

The instruments then slowed down to a more calming nature. The guitar then began to send out a riff.

"And I'll confess
That I can be a little selfish" Starlight slowly opened her eyes and looked directly at me. She blinked playfully towards me in an insulting way. I removed any trace of happiness on my face and rolled my eyes back, sending a huff out through my nose.
"Yeah I'll admit
I don't want you to help me through this
I don't want to start over again"

Starlight then stopped singing and allowed the guitar to have its own solo. After, all the instruments slowed down once again.

"And we've got everybody singing…" She sang calmly.

Immediately after a second, they sparked up once again.

"And we've got everybody singing
Whoa, whoa-oa, whoa, whoa-oa
And we've got everybody singing
Whoa, whoa-oa, whoa, whoa-oa"

Following the same rhythm of when she made that remark to me, she yet continued to sing as she performed a dancing motion with two of her front hooves.

"And I'll confess
That I can be a little selfish, I can, I can
Yeah I'll admit
I don't want you to get me through this
I don't want to start over again…"

The guitar played one last riff until all the instruments joined together for the end of the song, which faded out.

"So…" Starlight spoke, flipping her bang to the side where I was able to partially see the other eye. "How'd we do?" She asked.

I looked at Miss Cadence's face to see what her reaction was. She was still presenting an absolutely blown away expression.

"That was…incredible!" Miss Cadence exclaimed in delight. She then faced towards me. "Alex, what did you think?"

Of course, I absolutely wasn't feeling the same way she was, but I couldn't really express what I felt… She was looking at me with beaming eyes, eagerly awaiting my answer. In the corner of my eye, I could see Starlight looking at me…knowing what I had to say.

I sighed inside. I couldn't disappoint Miss Cadence. I knew she wouldn't be disappointed in me, but the fact that she would refuse the band's offer because of my decision. Then, she would have to rush all over to find another piece of entertainment to check off on. And what if the auditions weren't good? What then? I couldn't let Miss Cadence stress over that…not because of a single opinion of mine, due to the fact of the mutual disagreement between Starlight and me. She's too good for that…

"They're…amazing." I faked a grin towards her.

"You really think so?" She asked.

"Heheh…" I laughed a bit nervously. "Yeah…"

"Wonderful!" Miss Cadence exclaimed and faced towards them. "You guys are set! I'll get you a place to stay here until the Equestria Games! Why don't you all have a look around in the Crystal Empire? I'm sure you'll enjoy it!"

"Don't worry." Starlight answered with a smirk. "We will." She looked towards me.

As she did, I dare couldn't make eye contact, so I drifted my eyes away from her.

Afterwards, Starlight flipped her hair to the side once again and led her band members out of the area.

I sighed out loud this time.

"Alex, is everything alright?" Miss Cadence asked me.

"Yes… I think I'll just join the girls at the spa, Miss Cadence." I answered.

She lightly chuckled and rubbed my mane a bit. "Go on. You deserve it."

"Thank you. I'll see you before I go." I mentioned and then began leaving.

Miss Cadence waved before I left the area.

---

By the time I arrived at the spa, it was already growing dark. Hm…maybe I'll finally get some peace after all. I entered through the doors and looked around. There weren't that many ponies inside… Where are the girls?

"Oh, hey, Alex." I heard Twilight call.

I looked to see her relaxing in the crystal mud bath. "Oh, hi, Twilight."

She lightly moaned. "Princess Cadence was right! This crystal mud bath is really relaxing!"

"That's nice." I returned. "Where are the others?" I asked.

"Oh, they're going to a few more places before we leave." Twilight looked out the window. "I can't believe the day has already gone by."

"Me either…" I was hoping we could leave before Starlight caught up to us. I wasn't afraid of her anymore, but just the trouble it could cause. Especially if she meets her competition for being a sister…

The doorbell rang, indicating the door was opened. I looked back and saw Starlight once again.

I sighed. I spoke too soon…

"Hello there." She tried to friendly say, but she was really trying to spark a new argument for her own pleasure.

Twilight was too busy closing her eyes and relaxing, so I merely looked away and ignored her. I sat near the crystal mud bath, hoping something would happen that would cause her to leave us alone. I could already feel something coming on. Something bad.

Hoofsteps sounded closer and closer. She was purposely coming this way. Once she was at my side, it seemed as if she was trying to get me to look at her, but I merely ignored her, turning my head away. Then, she faced Twilight and it seemed as if the tone in her voice instantly changed for the worse.

"I believe that's my spot your in?" Starlight began her aggravating tactics towards Twilight.

"Excuse me?" Twilight responded, being unaware of Starlight's harsh tone.

"Don't mind her." I advised Twilight. "Let's just get out of here. We should be going anyway."

"Oh what?" Starlight became aggressive. "Just because you're an Alicorn, you think you're better than me?"

"You're the one who purposely tries to intimidate and annoy me, Starlight."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on." Twilight intervened, getting out of the mud bath. "Starlight?" She asked, facing her. "You're Alex's sister?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Starlight was really reacting in not such a friendly mood. Perhaps because Twilight already knew about her true self.

"Twilight, let's just go. There's only going to be more trouble if we stay." I advised, wanting to disengage from the situation.

"Yeah, Alex. Run away like you always do." Starlight added.

The aggression side of me turned on. However, I quickly inhaled a breath and deeply exhaled, trying to remove as much anger as possible. "Starlight… Why do you keep doing this? I'm serious. Why? Is it all a game to you? You may be annoying me, but you don't damage me anymore. Twilight and I can easily leave the area and ignore you. It's that simple. I know how much you love me getting angry. But it doesn't matter anymore. You don't matter." I placed a foreleg around Twilight. "Twilight more of a sister than you'll ever be to me. She's my Little Sister Best Friend Forever. And I don't mean 'little' the way you use it towards me. The way to already start annoying me as if you have power over me. No. You're already performing as the entertainment in the Equestria Games. What else do you need? Don't the cheers of the crowd give you enough? Aren't loving parents enough for you? What else do you need? What else can you possibly and permanently gain by continuously annoying me? What is it that is driving you to do this every single time you see me?"

Starlight narrowed her eyes and huffed an aggressive breath. "You think I care about you loving this ugly mare as your sister? Well I don't care at all!" She faced towards Twilight, who was now shocked. She began to walk towards her, making Twilight back away slowly. "Why should I care that you have such a close relationship with Alex? Why should I care that you both love each other so much as brother and sister? So what? You're nothing. You'll always be nothing. The fact that you're so special to Alex means nothing!"

"Starlight, cut it out!" I ordered and placed my hooves on her to pull her away from Twilight. "You have no right to tell her that! You keep her out of this!" I demanded as she struggled to pull herself out my grip. She growled and suddenly turned around, punching me. The force of her sudden punch caused me to fall to the ground harshly.

She was huffing and panting aggressively. She looked at Twilight and then back at me. There was a long silence until she turned around and walked away, right out the door.

"Alex, are you alright…?" Twilight asked, wrapping her hoof around mine and helping me up.

"Yeah…" I rubbed my cheek, which was beginning to become a little sore. "Sorry about that Twilight…"

"It's okay…" She responded, a little gloomy.

Feeling as if it was from Starlight's cruel lies, I immediately took it to my attention. "Listen, Twilight. Don't even let her words touch you. She only said those things to you to make you feel bad. You're not ugly at all. You're a very beautiful mare and you'll always be. That's the truth. Don't let anypony tell you otherwise."

Twilight smiled softly. "Thanks, Alex…" She sighed. "I can see how terrible your sister really is… I just wonder what her problem is…"

"I wonder about that too…" I sighed as well and looked back at the door. I narrowed my eyes aggressively. "I'm going to take care of this once and for all. I'm done with her trying to hurt all of us."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I'm going to give her a piece of my mind. If she still doesn't leave us alone…" I shrugged. "I'll just get everything off my chest that I want to say to her."

"Okay… I'll get the others ready to leave then. The train leaves in little than less an hour. Just make sure to be at the train station by then. Okay?"

"Sure thing, Twilight." I hugged her gently for a moment. "See you back there."

Afterwards, I left the spa.

---

I assumed Miss Cadence gave several rooms, which was a part, in the main inn in the Crystal Empire. I entered the inn and looked around. There were different flights of stairs that led to different parts of the inn. Starlight and her band were sure to be in one of them.

I flew a bit and continued looking around. I noticed two big and gruff ponies by one hallway the stairs led to. That must have been where she was… I landed in front of the two ponies. I didn't start walking through, but they immediately spotted me and moved their hooves in front of my way.

"Sorry. No ponies allowed up here." They cleared stated.

"I'm with Miss Cadence." I responded.

"Miss Cadence…?" The one on the left side questioned confusingly. He noticed both my horn and wings and widened his eyes. "Of course! You mean the Princess!" They both stepped to the side.

"Apologizes for the inconvenience." The right one apologized.

"It's no problem. Thank you." I returned and walked through.

I walked through the hallway, looking for Starlight's room.

I kept my eyes on the doors, noticing that the names of the ponies in the band were on the door.

Reserved for… Shredder.

Reserved for… Electrance.

Reserved for… Starlight.

There she was.

I was right in front of her door. My heart was beginning to pump faster and actually pound for some reason. I felt a little nervous. Nonetheless, I drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. I remembered the harmful things she spoke up, especially at Twilight. I immediately began becoming angry. I clenched my teeth and readied my magic to force the door open to give her everything I've been holding in my mind. As soon as I placed my magic on the door, ready to burst it open, I suddenly heard a piano being softly played.

I released my magic and opened my mouth in slight shock. The piano contained a steady rhythm. Is this another one of Starlight's songs…?

A few seconds after, I heard her begin singing, all while continuing to play the piano.

"Maybe if my heart stops beating
It won't hurt this much…" I immediately began feeling sadness surround my heart. I know I've only heard Starlight sing once before now…but…I've never heard so much…distress…in her voice.
"And never will I have to answer
Again to anyone...

Please don't get me wrong…"

I placed my right ear on the door to get a closer hear on her song.

"Because I'll never let this go!" She began singing strongly, increasing the force of the piano's keys, all while keeping it…well…beautifully done…
"But I can't find the words to tell you!
I don't want to be alo-one!
But now I feel like I don't know you…"

My left ear flopped down, and a frown grew on my face.

Wow…never before have I heard so much…emotion and heart…into a song of hers…

"One day you'll get sick of
saying that everything's alright…
And by then I'm sure I'll be pretending
Just like I am tonight…

Please don't get me wrong…"

She was setting herself up on the piano to sing out very strongly once again.

"Because I'll never let this go!
But I can't find the words to tell you!
I don't want to be alo-one!
But now I feel like I don't know you!"

Returning to her soft and calm yet saddened state on the piano, she tenderly sang.

"Let this go…let this go!" She began to forcefully press the piano keys once again.

She continued playing with such anger. It wasn't the destructive kind of angry playing…but…the kind where you could actually channel your anger into an emotionally and heart-wrenching song…

Finally, she softened the taps of the piano keys.

"But I'll never let this go…" She sang softly, but then quickly shifted into the forceful tone.
"But I can't find the words to tell you!
I don't want to be alo-one!
But now I feel like I don't know you!

And I'll never let this go-oo!
But I can't find the words to tell you!
That now I feel like I don't know you …"

Afterwards, she immediately ceased her playing. I could only hear the last keys of the piano slowly fading away. I was completely shocked. I felt no intention to barge in anymore.

Actually… I felt really…sorry…for Starlight. Something was bugging her, and I actually wanted to find out, despite the awful things she's done. I…really…just wanted to go in there and…ask her what was wrong…so caringly like a real brother…

I sighed.

But…she probably would have screamed at me and told me to get out…most likely…

I looked down the hallway and realized that I should be going, especially since the train is scheduled to leave soon. I looked back at the door and was hesitant for a moment. It took me a while before I was able to pull away from the invisible grip that held so tightly on me from Starlight's door. I shook my head and began walking out.

"Find whatever you needed, sir?" One of the guards asked.

"Y…yeah…" I answered, a little saddened now. I flew lightly towards the exit of the inn and back towards the train station.

---

When I arrived, Miss Cadence was there to send me off with a farewell.

However, she surprised me when she pulled out a snow globe that seemed to have come from the gift shop.

"Here." She offered to me with her magic, grinning lightly.

I lightly accepted it and observed it. "Why are you giving me this?" I asked.

"I know those three adventurous, yet troublesome, little Cutie Mark Crusaders will love this." She answered. "Why don't you give it them as a gift?"

"Wow…" I expressed. "That's…really nice of you, Miss Cadence."

She giggled lightly. "Anything for you, Alex." She lightly rubbed my mane again. "Shining Armor says his goodbyes too. Unfortunately, he can't be here tonight. He's too busy training the athletes for the games."

"Well…tell him I said goodbye too, okay?"

"Of course." The train whistle blew, indicating its warning that it's almost about to leave. "I guess I should wrap things up then." She moved closer to me and wrapped her hooves around me. "Goodnight, Alex and I hope to see you very soon."

"Me too, Miss Cadence." I accepted her hug warmly. "Have a goodnight."

Afterwards, she allowed me to begin boarding the train as she waved. I waved as well. I walked through the train cars and looked around for the girls. When I found them, I sat by Fluttershy and looked out the window. Miss Cadence noticed me and waved once again. I lightly smiled and waved at her as well until the train began to slowly move, slowly increasing its speed by the second.

"I'm glad you caught up." Twilight told me with a small smile of hers.

"Heh…thanks." I responded.

"Huh, bummer Spike had to miss out on all this. He woulda' had fun here." Rainbow Dash mentioned.

"I'm sure he's having a great time watching all the critters back at home." Twilight replied.

"Think he's still got a handle on things?" Applejack slightly joked.

Twilight looked out the window towards the moon and performed that breathing exercise one more time. "If he's staying calm and collected, I bet he's doing a terrific job as a leader."

A sudden noise lightly sounded and Applejack was immediately alarmed.

"You all hear that?" She asked.

"I think so…" I answered.

"Did Princess Cadence give that to you?" Fluttershy asked me, noticing the snow globe I was holding.

"Oh." I used my magic to carefully place the snow globe on her hooves. "Yeah. It's a gift for the little girls." Fluttershy smiled, seeming as if she enjoyed the sight of it. This caused me to smile a little as well.

"Hey Alex…" Twilight called me. I turned my head around to face her. "I don't mean to…bring her up again…but…what did you mean she's singing at the Equestria Games?" She asked.

"She? Who?" Rainbow Dash inquired.

I sighed. "Starlight, Rainbow Dash."

Every one of the girls gasped except Twilight.

"Starlight?!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Why's a punk like her singing at the Equestria Games?!"

I shook my head. "I know how you all are feeling. Yes, I'm sorry. She's performing at the games…but let's just leave it at that. Just let her do her thing. As long as she doesn't bother us, then leave her be. Besides… I couldn't let Miss Cadence know her real self. Miss Cadence would have to rush and stress about finding another entertainment group for the games. I didn't want to put her through that…especially after what happened today."

"Right." Twilight agreed with me. "As long as she doesn't damage our friendship, we shouldn't worry about anything." She looked towards me.

"Oh…" Rainbow calmed herself. "I guess I understand…"

Twilight nodded and winked.

I chuckled softly and smiled a bit at her.

---

As soon as we arrived back at Ponyville, the girls were really eager to see their pets.

"I can't wait to scratch the belly on Winona. Oh, I miss her." Applejack expressed as we all began getting off the train.

"I can't wait to see Owlowiscious!" Twilight giggled.

"Hello!" We heard, turning our heads as the train left the station. It was Spike with all the pets, including the three little fillies. They all appeared to be out of breath as they were huffing greatly yet silently. "Thought we'd meet you at the station!"

"So we could hear all about the Crystal Empire, and find out if you brought us one of the crystal snow globes that they sell at the train station!" Sweetie Belle included as Rarity walked over to hug her.

However, Rarity, including I, were quite surprised to learn that she knew about the snow globes.

"How did you know about the snow globes?" Rarity asked, suspiciously.

"Um..." Sweetie Belle paused for a moment. "…lucky guess?"

"I've gotta hand it to you, Spike, you did a really good job of taking care of the animals." Twilight praised as the girls were happily reunited with their pets.

"Oh, Spike, Angel looks perfect!" Fluttershy exclaimed, observing the little bunny's tail. "You did such a good job fluffing his tail."

"Yeah, well... we're like this now." Spike crossed his fingers. Twilight's owl hooted from her hoof. "You know who." Spike answered, causing for Owlowiscious to playfully hit Spike's head with his feathered wing.

I smiled and looked over to Sweetie Belle, sending the snow globe over to her with magic. "There you go, Sweetie Belle. A gift from Miss Cadence to you three Cutie Mark Crusaders."

Sweetie Belle gasped and hugged my foreleg tightly. "Thank you, big brother!" She exclaimed. "We'll put it in our tree house right away!"

Afterwards, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom raced out of the area with the snow globe. Rarity sent a slight smirk towards me and began walking off with Opal.

I was about to walk off myself until I felt somepony stop behind me. I turned around and noticed Zecora standing right there.

"Oh hey, Zecora." I greeted. "What brings you here?"

"You!" She pointed towards me in not such a friendly tone. "You haven't happened to been by my hut, have you?"

"Uh…no…?" I answered, beginning to become confused. "I haven't been in Ponyville all day… Why? What's wrong?"

"It has come to my attention that there has been a wrong that needs a correction." She responded, keeping me in confusion. "I have felt the presence of one with dark intention. Tell me Alex, how has this gotten in my possession?" She held up a blue feather. It wasn't just any blue feather. The color of the feather was MY exact color. I couldn't really say anything.

"Zecora…" I tried to think. "I…I don't know. Honest, I haven't been to your hut. And I didn't take anything. I swear."

"What's going on here?" Twilight asked, noticing the scene we were in.

"The Alicorn Amulet has been taken." Zecora explained, shocking me. "Somepony has it, and it needs to be forsaken." Her eyes darted towards me and immediately narrowed.

Twilight gasped. "Zecora, are you saying that Alex took it?"

"It is the only evidence I hold. This certain pony must be quite bold." She revealed the blue feather to Twilight.

"But…Zecora…" Twilight tried to speak as well. "Alex would never take anything without permission! Especially the Alicorn Amulet! What reason does he have to do so?"

"She's right, Zecora." I included. "I don't know if that blue feather is really mine. Even if it is, I don't know how it got there. Maybe it happened to have flown away towards the hut? I don't know. But I can tell you one thing. I don't ever remember stepping a hoof near your hut lately and I would never steal or take anything away from you. If I ever wanted the Alicorn Amulet, I would ask for your permission. Other than that, I have no reason or motive for even taking it!"

"It still does not explain the disappearance of the Alicorn Amulet. If this amulet has arrived in the wrong hooves, then it shall be disastrous towards the public debt." Zecora returned.

"…maybe you just misplaced it?" Twilight offered. "Why don't you look around your hut, Zecora?"

Zecora sighed. "I hope that the both of you are right. Maybe it shall come into the light. But if it's what I expect, the amulet may so desperately wish to be kept."

With those final words, she left. I'm sure of myself that I didn't take anything…but I couldn't help feeling…bad…

Twilight turned around and faced me. She placed a hoof gently on my shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry about it. See you tomorrow, Alex…"

"See you…" I answered softly as she began walking away.

---

After I gave every one of the girls my good wishes, I went to bed and realized how I could sure use some rest after the hectic day we had.

One again, it was just another one of those nights where any little thing bothered me and made me unable to sleep. For one, there was Starlight. It was more about after that bothered me. When I heard her sing that song as she played the piano, it was as if I had encountered a completely different Starlight. I had never heard her become that emotional before. Was it all just for an act? Or was it for real?

Either way… I couldn't stop thinking about that…

And what about Zecora?

Did she really lose the Alicorn Amulet?

I mean…who would take it?

Well…there's Trixie but…I doubt she would go after it again… She already learned her lesson and knows what it does.

But…the most annoying thing was that Zecora thought it was me…all because of a blue feather that looked exactly like one of mine… Was it really mine, though?

I sighed and placed my hooves on my head.

Everything about today is bothering me so much… Like if everything just piled up on me and I have work out every little thing.

Come on…maybe you can think about this later on after some sleep… You've had enough for one day…

"Whyyyyyyyyy?!" I suddenly heard something exclaim from outside.

It sounded like Spike.

I placed my hooves on the window and looked out. Twilight's home was still lit up, so I assumed that it was. Hm… I wonder what he's being so dramatic about…

I planted myself on the bed again.

So… I don't think I'll be finding out the Starlight issue anytime soon. I don't think I'll be seeing her again for a while… Who knows when I will?

And about Zecora? Well… I guess I can't really figure out why my blue feather was there, IF it's mine. However, for the missing Alicorn Amulet, the only solution is if Zecora had actually accidentally misplaced it and ended up finding it after all.

But then again… Zecora's not known for being so clumsy…

I raised my hooves towards the air and looked at them for a while.

What if she's right? What if…somepony really did take it? I don't think she's ever been wrong about something before…

I growled and wiped my eyes.

I'm only making myself worse in terms of getting sleep.

I pulled the blankets over my body and turned to my side. I closed my eyes shut and tried to clear my mind to get some sleep.

But it definitely wasn't easy.