Moments later, Dusk Shine and Starlight Glimmer arrived at the manor where her employer lives. After they parked the carriage, they got off, and went inside the manor. After they dried off, Starlight Glimmer said "This way, please. And don't drip on the caravaggio." They walked towards the elevator as Starlight Glimmer said "Step lively. Mr. Donkey does not like to be kept waiting." They went in the elevator, and as they went down, Starlight Glimmer said "You will address him as Mr. Donkey or sir. You will stand unless asked to be seated. Keep your sentences short, and to the point. Are we clear?" Dusk Shine nodded as he gulped. They reached the ground floor where the private room is. As Dusk Shine stepped out of the elevator, Starlight Glimmer said "And relax, he doesn't bite. Often." She closed the elevator door, and went back up. Dusk Shine looked around the private room, and he looked up the fireplace to see a picture of the donkey named Cranky Doodle Donkey, and Apple Strudel. "Grandpa?" Dusk Shine said as he looked at the picture more closely. "Finest explorer I ever met." Crank Doodle said as Dusk Shine turned to look at him. "Cranky Doodle Donkey. Pleasure to meet you Dusk Shine." They shook hooves, and Cranky Doodle Donkey said "Join me in a little yoga?" "Uh, no. No. Thank you." Dusk Shine said as Cranky Doodle Donkey continued on with his yoga. "Did you really know my grandfather?"

Cranky Doodle Donkey nodded, and said "Oh, yeah. Met old Apple Strudel back in Trottingham. Class of 66. We stayed close friends till the end of his days. Even dragged me along on some of his danged fool expeditions. Apple Strudel was crazy as a fruit bat he was. He spoke of you often." "Funny. He-He never mentioned you." Dusk Shine said. "Oh, he wouldn't." Cranky Doodle said as he stretched his body. "He knew how much I liked my privacy. I keep a low profile." "Mr. Donkey, should I be wondering why I'm here?" Dusk Shine asked. "Look on that table." Cranky Doodle said pointed to a table with a book-shaped package on it. "It's for you." Dusk Shine picked the package that said 'To Dusk Shine. With Love, Apple Strudel' with his magic, and said "It's-It's from my grandfather?" "He brought that package to me years ago." Cranky Doodle said. "He said if anything were to happen to him, I should give it to you when you were ready. Whatever that means." When Dusk Shine opened the package, he gasped in shock. It was a navy blue book with light blue lines, and a light blue crystal heart on the cover. The spine was covered with pink cyrstals, and on the side of the book was a heart shaped lock. "It-It can't be!" Dusk Shine said. "It's the Crystal Journal. Mr. Donkey, this journal is the key to find the lost continent of the Crystal Empire!"

Cranky Doodle Donkey laughed, and said "The Crystal Empire. I wasn't born yesterday, son." "No, no, no." Dusk Shine said. "Look-Look at this. Coordinates, clues, it's all right here." "Yeah, looks like gibberish to me." Cranky Doodle said. "That's because it's written in a dialect that no longer exists." Dusk Shine said. "So, it's useless." Cranky Doodle said. "No, no, just difficult." Dusk Shine said. "I've spent my whole life studying dead languages. It's not gibberish to me." "Ah, it's probably a fake." Cranky Doodle said. Dusk Shine then closed the book, and said "Mr. Donkey, my grandfather would have known of this were a fake. I would know. I will stake everything I own. Everything that I believe in that is the genuine Crystal Journal!" "All right, all right." Cranky Doodle said. "So what do you want to do with it?" Well, I'll-I'll-I'll get funding." Dusk Shine said. "I mean I'll-. The museum." "They'll never believe you." Cranky Doodle said. "I'll show them!" Dusk Shine said. "I will make them believe." "Like you did today?" Cranky Doodle asked. "Yes!" Dusk Shine said. "Well, no. How did you-? Forget about them, ok?! Never mind! I will find the Crystal Empire on my own! I mean, even if I have to rent a rowboat!" Cranky Doodle Donkey smiled, and said "Congratulations, Dusk Shine. This is exactly what I wanted to hear. But forget the rowboat son. We'll travel in style." He pressed the button on the table, and a model of the submarine appeared on the table. As Dusk Shine stared at the model in awe, Cranky Doodle Donkey said "It's all been arranged. The whole ball of wax." "Why?" Dusk Shine asked. "For years, your granddad bent my ear with stories about that old book." Cranky Doodle said. "I didn't buy it for a minute. So finally, I got fed up, and made a bet with the old coot."

Cranky Doodle Donkey showed Dusk Shine a picture of Apple Strudel and Cranky Doodle Donkey being disgusted by a kiss as he said "I said: Apple Strudel, if you ever find that so called journal, not only will I finance the expedition, but I'll kiss you full on the mouth." Imagine my embarrassment when he found the darn thing." As he put the picture on a small table, he said "Now I know your grandfather's gone, Dusk Shine. Celestia rest his soul." He walked up to the picture of himself and Apple Strudel above the fireplace, looked up at it, and said "But Cranky Doodle Donkey is a donkey who keeps his word. You hear that, Apple Strudel? I'm going to the afterlife with a clear conscience by thunder!" He chuckled, and sighed sadly. As Dusk Shine looked at the donkey in concern, Cranky Doodle Donkey said "Your grandpa was a great stallion. You probably don't realize how great. Those buffoons at the museum dragged him down, made a laughingstock of him. He died a broken stallion. If I could bring back just one shred of proof, that'd be enough for me. Ah, Dusk Shine." He looked at Dusk Shine, and said "What are we standing around for? We got work to do." As they walked to the table, Dusk Shine said "But Mr. Donkey, you know, in order to do what you're proposing, you're gonna need a crew." "Taken care of." Cranky Doodle said as he took out a stack of paper from a folder. "You'll need engineers, and-and geologists." Dusk Shine said. "Got'em all!" Cranky Doodle said as he spreaded the stack of paper on the table. "The best of the best. Bubble Berry, geology and excavation. The stallion has a nose for dirt. Cheese Sandwich, demolitionist. Busted him out of Manehatten prison. Rainbow Dash, don't let her age fool you. She's forgotten more engines, than you or I will ever know. They're the same crew that brought the journal back."

"Where was it?" Dusk Shine asked. Cranky Doodle Donkey placed a picture of Apple Strudel with the crew that brought the Crystal Journal back, and said "Fillydelphia." Dusk Shine smiled, and said "Yeah, I knew it! I knew it!" "All we need now is an expert in gibberish." Cranky Doodle said. "So it's decision time. You can build on the foundation your grandfather left you, or you can go back to your boiler room." Dusk Shine looked at the picture of the crew that brought the Crystal Journal back in awe, and said "This is for real." "Now you're catching on." Cranky Doodle said smiling. Dusk Shine nodded, and said "All right. Ok. I-I-I'll have to quit my job." "It's done." Cranky Doodle said. "You resigned this afternoon." "I did?" Dusk Shine asked. "Yep. Don't like to leave loose ends." Cranky Doodle said. "Um, my apartment." Dusk Shine said. "I'll have to give notice." "Taken care of." Cranky Doodle said. "My stuff?" Dusk Shine asked. "Packed." Cranky Doodle said. "My books?" Dusk Shine asked. "In storage." Cranky Doodle said. "My cat?" Dusk Shine asked. He heard a meow, and he looked to see Opalescence rubbing against his hooves. He patted her on the head, and said "My gosh." As Opalesence walked away, Cranky Doodle Donkey said "Your granddad had a saying. Our lives are remembered by the gifts we leave our foals. This journal is his gift to you, Dusk Shine." Dusk Shine looked at his journal as Cranky Doodle Donkey held up a green jacket, and said "The Crystal Empire is waiting. What do you say?" Dusk Shine smiled, put the jacket on himself, and said "I'm your stallion, Mr. Donkey. You will not regret this. Boy, I am so excited, I-I-I-I can't even hold it in."