Twilight Sparkle sat next to Spike on the moving train. She looked out the window at the familiar landscape passing by at a steady pace. The train's passengers were just a bit more talkative than usual, but she didn't pay too much attention to that fact. Twilight Sparkle wondered several other things. She was a bit surprised when she realized that she wasn't pondering on what their errand was regarding this whole affair, whatever it was. Instead, she was most curious about where most of her friends were, because they certainly weren't sitting next to her.

"I think Pinkie Pie started a dance party in the train's restaurant," said Spike, being on the same wavelength as her.

"Again?"

"Are you really surprised?"

"No," said Twilight simply, with a smile, taking a sip of her tea. Suddenly one of the staff on board walked up to Twilight Sparkle. Next to him stood a yellow mare with a long pink mane. She seemed terribly shy, and the staff member seemed quite annoyed.

"Miss Sparkle?"

"Y- Yes?"

"This mare says that she knows you, is that true?" asked the pony, glancing at the mare at his side with an unhappy look on his face.

"Yes, this is Fluttershy. She is my good friend," answered Twilight.

"She has brought an animal onto the train. On this particular train that is against the rules."

"I'm ever so sorry, but this-" Fluttershy whispered, unheard.

"Please, Sir, there is no reason to be upset with her. She is a caretaker. I assure you nothing bad will come of this."

"I'll let it slide this one time, mostly because I... I told you the same thing the first time you took this train. Hey, Spike, how are you?" the stallion added to the dragon a bit embarrassed.

"Hello, Loco," Spike said flatly, still a bit annoyed over that day.

"Thank you for being so understanding," said Twilight and apologetically bowed her head slightly at Loco.

"Actually, you'll have to do me a favor," said Loco, looking up at the roof. "Another mare says she knows you as well. She won't get off the roof, tell her to come inside at once," said Loco and then promptly left. He had work to do. Twilight sighed.

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight said and groaned. Fluttershy sat down next to Spike, for some reason holding a duck. "You just stay here and I'll go get her."

"Be careful," said Fluttershy very gently, as was her usual way of speaking.

Twilight got up and walked to the end of the cart. She opened the door between the carts and walked outside. She carefully climbed the ladder up to the roof. She immediately saw Rainbow Dash, with her cyan colored coat and rainbow-like mane. She called out the her but wasn't heard at first. Eventually Rainbow Dash turned around, smiling when she saw Twilight. She walked over, basically unaffected by the strong winds. As a pegasus, she was more than capable of handling it.

"Hey, Twilight. I thought it was that boring train guy. So, what's up?"

"Rainbow, would you get off the roof?"

"Why? I've been flying at ten times this speed. Just sitting here isn't exactly dangerous, not for me."

"If I get on Loco's bad side again, I can say goodbye to these train rides. The Canterlot officials won't allow me to use these for free if I keep getting in trouble on them. I'm just glad Pinkie Pie's not breaking any rules with her party, I think that's not against the rules anyway. In any case, you can probably get hurt out here. So come on, get inside."

"No, you can just be down there with Fluttershy and her goose, and let me feel the wind in my mane," said Rainbow Dash a bit stubbornly.

"Duck," said Twilight.

"Oh yeah, it was a duck Fluttershy had with her, what's that about?"

"She got it from a vet in Canterlot to keep while he was busy, she's taking the opportunity bringing it back. Anyway, duck."

"Yeah, why can't it ever be anything cool, like, a tiger?"

"Rainbow, duck."

"Yeah, I should stop wishing she had cooler animals, I know. You take what you get, but still."

"Duck."

"What's your probl-"

"For Celestia's sake, duck!" shouted Twilight and grabbed hold of Rainbow Dash, pulling her down to her. Just about two feet above, the top of a tunnel went by, almost knocking her head off. Once they had passed the dark tunnel, Rainbow Dash was breathing very quickly in small bursts.

"I think I'll go inside now," said Rainbow Dash while shivering slightly. Twilight rolled her eyes and climbed down the ladder, quickly returning inside to her seat with Rainbow Dash. She sat down and noticed Loco giving her an approving nod before he left the cart to continue his work. "Where's Applejack?" asked Rainbow Dash, sitting down on her seat and sighing deeply, trying to wind down after the initial shock. Twilight shook her head.

"I have no idea. None whatsoever. I don't know where Rarity is either."

"Isn't that Rarity right there?" asked Rainbow Dash and pointed towards the front of the cart. Twilight had to stand up, but it turned out to be true. Rarity was indeed sitting there at the end and was holding a conversation with three... crystal ponies? Their coats were shimmering in the light of the setting sun, although their crystal coat was slightly dimmed, most likely because they were so far away from their home.

"What are crystal ponies doing so far away from the Crystal Empire?" asked Twilight, curious.

"Well, you could just go over and ask them. Rarity certainly seems to be on the ball," said Spike who stood up on the seat to get a better view.

"I can't believe I didn't see them," said Twilight.

"I can't see over all these passengers' heads... I'm going over there to check it out," said Spike suddenly, jumping down on the floor. Before Twilight could grab him, he strolled over to them, getting to hear some of their conversation.

"I admit, seeing so many new things in such a short time is a bit overwhelming. While we've grown used to it during this trip, first seeing this locomotive was intimidating. Most practical, however. A a thousand years ago a journey to Equestria would have taken two months at least, and they would be dangerous trips. Now we can come and go as we please within a week, barely three days if you plan the trip well. The wonders of modern engineering," said the crystal stallion, taking a sip from his cup of tea. "Still, it's amazing how some things have stayed the same. This tea tastes just like it did a millennium ago. I mean that in the best sense possible."

"I can not wait to see some of those airships, they sound incredible," said the crystal mare right next to him.

"If what you're saying is true, I expect a large number of airships to fly in during this time. You will see more than enough of them during your visit," said Rarity. Spike noted that the white and purple mare eyed their crystal coats with admiration.

"Hey, Rarity. What's up?" asked Spike, a bit clumsily getting into the conversation. He didn't notice Rarity's slight annoyance at his entrance, but she still gave him a genuine smile when she spoke to him.

"Hello, Spike. I'm just having a lovely conversation with these fine ponies," said Rarity and drank some of her own tea. It was clear to everyone but Spike that she hoped he wouldn't mess something up. The reaction that Spike got was to her favor, however.

"By the Princess, an actual dragon! In our time, dragons had almost been completely wiped out by Ki- by Sombra. This is incredible," said the mare, putting down her cup of tea. The two stallions looked at him as well, fascinated. "I'm actually not up to date on the dragon population. How many are there now?"

"Celestia told me there's at least twenty thousand," said Spike, feeling a bit embarrassed by the attention from such strangers. He preferred the admiration from his close friends. The mare looked overjoyed at those news.

"That is wonderful. In my day, dragons only had five thousand of their kind in the world when they were at their peak, before Sombra. It is such a relief to hear they are stronger than ever. Intimidating creatures, but powerful and old. I've seen three of them in my life, including you, little fellow. Majestic," said the mare. "The first one was fully grown, thankfully respectable and kind, or I might have been in real trouble. The second one was a baby dragon, and that was recently when-"

"Amethyst, I knew I recognized him!" exclaimed the second stallion and pointed at Spike. He turned to his two friends. "This is the same dragon that helped the Princess save our empire! This is the Crystal Bearer," said the stallion, quite exited. Without missing a beat, the three crystal ponies stood up from their seats and bowed respectfully towards Spike. Spike couldn't stop himself from blushing.

"Well, it was its own reward, really. Although, it was easy, since I'm so awesome," said Spike and laughed a bit nervously. Why can't the rest of my friends be like this from time to time? he thought, trying not to squirm in childish embarrassment at all the attention, but he did enjoy it. Twilight came over.

"Come on, Spike, let the grown-ups have their little talk," said Twilight. Spike noticed that she was a bit strange in how she walked and moved. It was like she tried to be somewhat regal for once. She seemed to expect similar attention because he had received it. The crystal ponies stood up and returned to their seats.

"So, I'll just take him back now. I'm Twilight Sparkle, as you might know," said Twilight, a bit embarrassed herself. They exchanged looks with each other and then turned to Twilight.

"Never heard of you," said the crystal mare, returning to her tea and conversation with Rarity. Twilight returned with Spike, bothered by lack of attention for once in her life.

"You know, we must have saved Equestria at least three or four times. Why doesn't anyone ever even think about that? Why doesn't anypony ever remember that? I mean, shouldn't we at least get some recognition for it?" asked Twilight.

"I'm glad. I don't want all that attention," said Fluttershy.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not too fond of that either, it's just that it doesn't make sense that nopony ever says something like, 'Oh, what an honor, the Bearers of Harmony'. It's just odd, and that bothers me a bit," said Twilight.

As the train went through another tunnel, Twilight looked out through the window on the other side of the train. Once they exited the tunnel, Twilight saw their destination not too far away. The capital of Equestria: Canterlot. The majestic city, with its castle towering above, making the rest of it look almost like a castle itself. A town filled to the brim with ponies of the highest class. A town of families dating back to Equestria's founding. It was a town filled to the brim with history and knowledge.

"If it wasn't for Celestia and my family, I probably wouldn't ever come here anymore," said Twilight.

"Twilight?" asked Spike.

"It's just... I don't know. I just don't really like much of Canterlot, I mean, it's not like I dislike it or anything like that, but... I've only been in Ponyville a relatively short time of my life, and I still have more ties to it than I have to this city," said Twilight.

"I guess that's true. Your only friends here are the princesses. Not even Shining Armor, since he moved to the Crystal Empire. Does your parents count?" asked Spike.

"It wouldn't make much of a difference, really. Still, it will be nice to pay them a visit, unless Celestia's planning on sending us away again."

"I bet ten bits we'll be sent away to the ocean," said Rainbow Dash.

"I suppose I would, would bet to the kingdom of dragons, that would just be our luck. I don't want to actually bet, though," said Fluttershy, trying not to shake in fear at the prospect of that journey.

"I'll take your bet, Rainbow. I bet we'll stay in Canterlot," said Spike.

"Spike, you shouldn't gamble," said Twilight sternly. Spike nodded and looked down on the floor, but when Twilight wasn't looking he leaned over to Rainbow Dash, whispering about a sum of twelve bits instead of ten. At that moment, Rarity walked over to them, taking her seat.

"Those crystal ponies were apparently ambassadors. There is supposedly going to be something of an important meeting with government officials from all over the world. It sounded awfully boring, but oh, how they made for good conversation despite that."

"Certainly doesn't sound much fun. Hey. Sorry I was gone for a while, but I found a relative here on the train. I had stay for a chat myself," said a voice behind Twilight who turned around, finding Applejack standing behind her. The orange pony adjusted her hat as she sat down next to Rarity. "Pinkie wants to know why you all aren't at her party," said Applejack.

"It's not like we don't want to be, but we are too busy thinking about this whole thing Celestia wants us to do. We can't quite relax right now. Like, what is it?"

"Would it be ironic if she wanted you to be at a party of mine?" asked a voice right next to Twilight. Everypony jumped in shock. A shockingly pink pony seemed to have appeared from out of nowhere.

"Pinkie?! When did you get here?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I've been here for the last five minutes. Wow, you're really easily distract- ooh, look, those ponies are all shimmery-shiny," said Pinkie Pie and pointed at the crystal ponies.

"Are you having fun at your party?" asked Rainbow Dash in a playful tone, clearly expecting the obvious answer.

"No. I'm not having any fun at all. And that's perfectly fine," said Pinkie Pie. Every single of her friends, and even some surrounding strangers that seemed to know her anyway, maybe by reputation, were starring at her in shock.

"Are you a changeling?" asked Spike.

"Not that I'm aware of, but that guy is," said Pinkie Pie, casually pointing at the pony behind her. The stallion turned around, completely calm, and simply gave them a simple 'hey, just a tourist, we changeling need vacations too, you know'.

"Wait, what?" said Spike flatly.

"Listen, could we just, pretend this never happened? I just want to relax. I have nothing to do with the Canterlot invasion a while back. I'm just a curious changeling on a vaca-"

"Boring! So, girls, are you wondering about what Celestia wants, too?" asked Pinkie Pie. Twilight turned to her.

"Yes, we all are in one way or another," said Twilight.

"There's a changeling on the train," stated Spike in slight worry.

"I made a bet we would be sent away to an ocean," mentioned Rainbow Dash, ignoring Spike, just like everyone else did.

"Like, maybe, just maybe this could be a big deal?" asked Spike in the background, looking at the supposed changeling just trying to ignore him and reading a newspaper.

"Oh, I counter-bet we're going to be sent to the moon. We can have moon adventures! On the moon!" said Pinkie Pie.

"Seriously? We're just going to ignore that there is a changeling on the train?" asked Spike. The changeling gently hit him with the newspaper. 'It's impolite to stare' was his words as he did so.

"You know, Pinkie, if we're going into outer space, maybe you could try getting back to your home planet?" asked Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie looked at her for a while, the gears clearly grinding in her head.

"I don't get it."

"Ugh, nevermind," said Rainbow Dash.

"I mean, it's just so obvious that we'll try to get back down here, so... hm, I'll have to think about this, I know there's a joke in here somewhere," said Pinkie Pie, looking a bit perplexed.

"I told you to- you know what? Forget it," said Rainbow Dash and rolled her eyes. She almost fell off her seat as the train suddenly shook a bit as it started to slow down. Before long, it came to a complete stop. Twilight Sparkle gave out a sigh of relief. After a long journey, they had finally arrived in Canterlot.