You wanted to see me?
To give me a test?
The Crystal Empire has returned.
You want me to help protect an entire empire?
It must be you, and you alone.
But what if I fail?
Let's just say the empire isn't
the only thing that's returned.
Go, go!
Sparkleriffic!
But with Cadence putting all her strength
into keeping her spell going,
and me trying to keep an eye on
signs of trouble in the arctic,
we haven't been able to gather much
information from the crystal ponies.
There are crystal ponies?!
I wish I could help you.
But I can't seem to remember anything
before King Sombra came to power.
History of the Crystal Empire.
The last page in the book mentioned a
crystal heart as the fair centerpiece.
So I used my magic to cut one
out of a crystal block.
The whole purpose of the crystal fair is to lift the spirits
of the crystal ponies
so the light within them can power the crystal heart
so that the empire can be protected!
I think we may have a problemâ¦
I didn't know it was an actual relic!
It's alright, Twilight.
Twily...
[My little pony theme]
The empire is under att*ck.
- I have to find the crystal heart!
- No. You stay here with Cadence.
She needs you, Shining Armor.
- I'll retrieve the heart.
- Let's do this.
I've been trying to figure out how
I'm meant to pass Celestia's test.
Retrieving the crystal heart must be it.
- But there is something else you can do.
- Name it.
You and the rest of our friends have to keep the fair going.
What? With that thing moving into the empire?
The whole purpose of the fair is to
lift the spirits of the crystal ponies,
- so they can activate the crystal heart.
- Yeah, and?
If the crystal ponies find out that King
Sombra is trying to take over the empire againâ ¦
their spirits are going to be anything but lifted.
It won't matter if I find the crystal heart.
They won't be able to make it work.
You have to keep them happy here at the fair.
Keep the fair going, and the crystal ponies'
spirits high. Done and done!
- Twily, be careful.
- I will.
- Ok, here's the planâ ¦-whispers-
- Huuuh?
Uhâ ¦I just found out they're offering face painting
for the little ones! Ha ha!
Uh huh. We can do that.
â ¦Twilight's doing -what-?
Heâ ¦really loves getting his face paintedâ ¦haha.
- Who wants a flugelhorn?
- I want a flugelhorn!
- Who ELSE wants a flugelhorn?
- I WANT A FLUGELHORN!
Twilight, wait! I'm coming with you.
You can't. I have to retrieve
the crystal heart by myself.
I know. I promise I won't lift a claw to help you.
Not a claw, Spike.
Um, where are we going exactly?
I think I might know where King Sombra
hid the crystal heart.
The castle?
The king would have been counting on the fact
that nopony would dare come looking for it here.
They'd have been too afraid to even try.
- I hope you're right.
- You and me both.
What are you lookin' at? That's what I thought!
Uh, Rainbow Dash? We're supposed to be
acting like nothing's wrongâ ¦
Exactly!
What I mean is, maybe you should let me keep
the crystal ponies away from the fake heart
while you show off your jousting skills.
Huh. Seeing my awesomeness does have a way
of putting ponies into a pretty good mood.
C'mon, Knight Fluttershy.
- Huh?
- It's show time!
How y'all feelin? Havin' a good time?
The best I've had in over a thousand years!
That's good! Gotta renew that spirit of love and unity
if you're gonna power up that crystal heart, right?
I sure would like to see it before the ceremony.
It's been such a long time.
Oh, I hear ya, but uhâ ¦ whew. Gettin' a little toasty out here!
Bet you'd like to cool off with
a little Crystal Empire nectar!
Uh, you tried the Crystal Empire fritters yet?
Made from a traditional Crystal Empire recipe!
You're gonna love 'em!
Ah, I hear there's a jousting match about to start!
You don't wanna miss that!
C'mon, Twilightâ ¦these crystal ponies
are more curious than a cat!
It's gotta be here somewhere. It's just gotta be!
Not a claw, Spike!
Uh, heh heheh.
Celestia's orders!
If the empire is filled with hope and love, those
things are reflected across all of Equestria.
If hatred and fear take hold...â
Of course!
Ah! What? Did you find it?
No. Because this isn't King Sombra's castle.
Uh, isn't this where he lived when he was in power?
It is. But it didn't look like this.
Whoa. When did you learn to do that?
That was a little trick Celestia taught me.
You stay here.
Huh, if you insist.
Can you see what's down there yet?
Not yet. I can't even tell how far down this goes.
- Spike?
- Yeah?
Can you see outside?
Yeeeeesâ ¦ Cryyystaaaalsâ ¦
It's not good! Cadence's magic must
be fading faster than before!
Ugh! Ah! Eh! Uh!
Twilight? Are you ok?
Yes...
What in theâ ¦ Stop moving!
Spike, I think it's here!
Huh?
(angrily) What are you doing here?
- I don't knowâ ¦I opened the door, and...
- And now you must go.
Go where?
Doesn't matter to me. You failed the test, Twilight.
I don't understand! The testâ ¦?
Not only will you not move on to the next level of your studies,
you won't continue your studies at all.
Butâ ¦you didn't say anything about no
longer being your student if I failed!
Didn't I?
Butâ ¦ What do I do now?!
...Twilight! Twilight? Twilight! Twiliiiiight!
I know you told me to stay up there but you were down
here for such a long time and you weren't answering
and I got worried so I came down hereâ ¦
â ¦and you were just staring at that wall andâ ¦ I was calling
your name and I couldn't seem to get your attention, andâ ¦
What were you looking at? I mean, it's just a wall...
â ¦Ponyville? Well, how did I getâ ¦
â ¦No! I-I don't want to go!
Please, Twilight! Don't make me!
King Sombra's dark magic.
A doorway that leads to your worst fear.
You were homeâ ¦ and you told me you didn't need me anymoreâ ¦
You were sending me awayâ ¦
A fear that will never come to pass.
I'm never gonna send you away.
And I'm not gonna fail my test!
What's in there?
Stairs. Lots and lots of stairs.
Maybe you should come with me this time.
Bravo, Knight Rainbow Dash!
Isn't thereâ ¦ somepony else who couldâ ¦
take over the jousting demonstration with youâ ¦?
Tsk! The fate of an entire empire rests on
us showing these ponies a good time!
But, you know, if that isn't important to you...
Ok, ok, I'll take it easy on you next time.
But not too easy! I've got a reputation to maintain!
What if this is just more of his magic?
He makes a door that leads to your worst nightmareâ ¦
why not a staircase that goes on forever?
Hold onto me.
Uh...
Heh, excuse me, pardon me, heheh...
I am running out of weaving materials
for the traditional crafts booth!
I just made a hat out of pieces of
hay and a drinking straw!
I made it work. But still!
We gotta do everything we can to keep this thing goin.
The princess isn't lookin so good.
I can't imagine her magic is gonna last much longer.
It's gonna be fine. These ponies are gonna power up
that crystal heart when the time comes,
and we won't be needin' her magic anyway.
I sure hope that time comes soon.
Even I can't keep this party going forever.
This isn't the crystal heart!
- Oh, of course it isn't! The real one is-
- on its way!
I was going to say "being polished"
to buy us some more time...
Oops.
It's him!
Cryystaaal heeeeart!
Whoooa hahaha! I actually studied gravity spells
thinking it might be on my test!
Turns out, I -was- prepared for this!
Wooohooo! Hahahaha!
The heartâ ¦Where's the crystalâ ¦?
Here! It rolled over to me when you dropped it!
Don't move!
You can move, just not toward me!
How could I have been so foolish?
I was just so eager to get itâ ¦
And when I saw what was going on outside, I...
You have to get out of there, Twilight!
You have to be the one who brings the
crystal heart to Princess Cadence!
If you don't, you'll fail Celestia's test!
King Sombra is already attacking the empire.
He could reach the crystal ponies at any moment.
Reach Princess Cadence, my brother, my friends...
There may not be enough time for me to find a way to escapeâ ¦
You have to be the one to bring the crystal heart to the fair!
- Me? But twilight-!
- Go.
- But-
- Go!!
Now don't y'all worry your pretty little crystal heads!
The real crystal heart will be here any second!
I don't know if they believe you...
Don't know if I believe me...
He's back! I can't take it! Aaah!
King Sombraâ ¦
Myyy cryyysstaaaal slaaaaaves...
- Hey! Up here!
- Spike?
I got the crystal heart!
Thaaat isss miiiine!
Spikeywikey!!
Huh?
Behold! The crystal princess!
The crystal heart has returned. Use the light and
love within you to ensure that King Sombra does not.
What? Noâ ¦ No! Stop!
Ooooh!
♪sigh♪
Good job, Spike.
Ah, I do so wish it was permanent!
Did you see how my mane just absolutely sparkled?
But good things are better when they're a rarityâ ¦
Aww!
Everything's going to be OK.
You've gotta stop saving my rump like this,
it's starting to get embarrassing.
Não fui eu quem te salvou, no final das contas. Foi o Spike.
Você tem que parar de ficar me salvando desse jeito, está começando a me deixar constrangido.
It wasn't me who saved you in the end.
It was Spike.
It's just a test. Maybe she'll let you retake it.
I don't think she's going to give me a new test.
Keep it together buddyâ ¦Gotta stay strongâ ¦for Twilight!
It's beautiful.
I wish it had been me who ultimately made it so.
But it wasn't.
Twilight, as I understand it, Spike brought
Princess Cadence the crystal heart
You weren't willing to risk the future of the citizens of
the Crystal Empire in an effort to guarantee your own.
Far better that I have a student who understands
the meaning of self-sacrifice
than one who only looks out for her best interests.
Does this mean...
She's totally gonna lose it! *hyperventilating*
Keep it together buddyâ ¦I gotta stay strongâ ¦for Twilight!
-I passed!
-Yeah! Alright! Haha!
[You were prepared to do your best
Had what it takes to pass the test]
[All those doubts you can dismiss
Turns out you were prepared for this!]
[You clearly have just what it takes]
[To pass a test with such high stakes!]
[We knew for sure you would prevail]
[Since when does Twilight Sparkle ever fail?]
[All those doubts that you can dismiss
Trust yourself and you cannot miss]
[Turns out you wereâ ¦] [Turns out I was...]
[Turns out you wereâ ¦] [Prepared for this!]
Aheheh! Yeah! I knew everything was gonna be fine! Haâ ¦
â ¦ugh.