The rest of the vacation seemed to pass by in a flash. Anthem was enjoying his time with Winter so much that he almost forgot he was on vacation. All too soon, the time had come for Anthem and his family to return to the Crystal Empire. In the afternoon of their final day in Mihaymi, they were preparing to leave. Shining was writing in the magic book, informing Shine of their return.

"We should be back by evening." Shining wrote in the book. "It'll be good to see home again."

"And I guarantee home will look better then ever." Shine replied. "Repairs are complete, and the castle's all ready for you."

"Terrific." Shining wrote. "We should have everypony come by sometime. You, Celestia, Miracle, Mist... maybe even Big Red and Cherry."

"That may be tricky." Shine wrote. "Big Red told he's busy with some houseguests right now. He may not be available."

"Fair enough." Shining replied. "Must be some important houseguests..."

"I wouldn't know." Shine wrote back. "He hasn't mentioned anything about them to me. All he said was he and Cherry were going to be occupied for a while…but enough about me, how did things go with Cadance? Did my advice help you at all?"

"Oh, yeah, it really did help." Shining replied. "I can't remember the last time Cadance was so frisky."

"Did you try the 'rodeo wrangler'?" Shine asked.

"It must have slipped our minds." Shining fibbed. "Besides, we didn't pack a saddle."

"Well, I might as well leave you to your packing. See you soon." Shine finished.

Shining closed the book, and began packing.

Meanwhile, Anthem was also packing, but less enthusiastically. He know this day would come, and that it would mean returning to the Crystal Empire and leaving Winter. Though they had pledged to write to each other, Anthem wasn't sure if he could handle no longer seeing her beautiful face every day, hearing her angelic voice, or smelling the hint of azaleas wafting from her mane whenever the wind blew through it.

"All packed, Anthem?" Cadance poked her head into his room, having already packed hours ago.

"Pretty much." Anthem sighed.

"I know that look." Cadance noted, walking over. "You're missing Winter already, huh?"

"That obvious, is it?" Anthem sighed. "What if we can't make the long-distance thing work?"

"I'm sure you will." Cadance smiled, placing a hoof on Anthem's shoulder. "Take it from the princess of love. I know when a love between two ponies is pure and strong, and that's exactly what you and Winter have. Believe me, the two of you can easily handle the 'long-distance thing'."

"Thanks, mom." Anthem smiled.

"Anytime, dear." Cadance beamed, hugging her son.

Shining entered the room.

"Come on, guys." He announced. "Time to go."

The family handed their room keys in at the front desk, then stepped outside... and were greeted by a loud "SURPRISE!!"

"What the..." Shining gasped.

A crowd of Mihaymians were gathered outside the hotel, Winter among them. On the beach nearby, some tables filled with food were standing.

"What's all this?" Cadance asked.

"This is a farewell party." Winter smiled. "A little something we all put together to thank you for gracing our little town."

"It's not often we get royalty out here." The hay dog vendor declared. "And you've all been so friendly and polite to us. We all agreed that we had to repay the favor."

That much was true; Whenever the family had left the hotel to walk around town, they had been nothing but pleasant, courteous, and openly friendly to the ponies they met.

"Young Winter here helped put it together." One of the ponies from the Mihaymi marketplace pointed out.

"Really?" Shining smiled. "Well, thank you all."

"You shouldn't have." Anthem declared.

"But we did anyway." Winter smiled.

At that point, the crystal carriage returned, pulled by the two Pegasi.

"We're ready to go, your highness." One declared.

"There's been a change of plan, gentlecolts." Cadance told them. "The citizens of Mihaymi have thrown a farewell party for us, so we'll be staying for a little while longer."

"Feel free to join us, boys." Shining offered.

"As you wish, sir." The other Pegasi nodded.

The group moved over to the tables (Shining taking a moment to inform Shine that they would be late getting back), and their impromptu farewell party begun. Surprisingly, Crashing Waves and Summer Breeze were among the attendants.

"So you're Winter's parents, huh?" Shining smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Charmed, I'm sure." Crashing said dully.

"It's an honor to meet you, your highness." Summer bowed respectfully.

"Had enough slumming, I suppose?" Crashing sneered.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Cadance asked.

"I was merely asking if you've had enough of our common little town, and are going back to your fabulous crystal palace, where you won't have to look upon the lower class quite so closely." Crashing smirked.

'Boy, Anthem wasn't kidding about this one.' Shining thought, having been informed of Crashing's sour attitude by Anthem. "I don't know where you get your ideas about us, but we certainly don't think that way."

"As a matter of fact, we loved our stay here." Cadance added. "This is such a nice, quiet little town. And such wonderful ponies."

"Thank you so much." Summer smiled. A glare from Crashing stopped his smile cold.

"Of course they're wonderful." Crashing snorted. "What pony isn't, when they're fawning all over you?"

"What is your problem, anyway?" Shining glared.

"My problem is stuck-up royals like you!" Crashing declared. "Walking around like you own the place... I can't stand it."

"If you dislike us so much, then why are you even here?" Shining asked.

"...Winter asked us to come." Crashing admitted bluntly.

"She's certainly taken a shine to that son of yours, hasn't she?" Summer noted.

"She certainly has." Cadance nodded. "They're so sweet together, don't you think?"

"Oh, yes." Summer nodded.

"Hmph." Crashing snorted. "It's just puppy love. It won't last, mark my words."

"If you say so." Cadance smirked, knowing better.

"Where is Winter, anyway?" Summer wondered.

Meanwhile, Anthem and Winter had gone further down the beach, in order to get some privacy.

"So, this is it." Winter sighed. "You and your folks are headed home."

"Yeah." Anthem nodded. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Winter admonished him. "It's not the end of the world. We're still gonna write to each other, and hey, maybe we could even come visit each other from time to time."

"I know, I know." Anthem nodded. "It's just... going to be hard, not seeing you every day."

"Same here." Winter declared. "Life in Mihaymi just won't be the same without you."

"Thanks, Winter." Anthem smiled.

"Seriously, though." Winter pressed on. "I've never met a colt like you before."

"And I've never met a filly like you." Anthem grinned. "I'm so glad we met."

"I'm gladder." Winter teased.

"Prove it." Anthem chuckled.

"Gladly." Winter purred.

The two kissed deeply.

"I think I'll miss this the most." Anthem sighed.

"Ditto." Winter whispered. "We'd better get back to the party, before anypony notices we're gone."

The happy couple returned to the party, indulging in some snacks and dancing.

"And where have you two been?" Crashing asked. "Not getting up to anything inappropriate, I hope?"

"We just went for a walk, mom." Winter rolled her eyes. "That's all."

"It'd better be all." Crashing frowned, walking away.

"I think she's starting to warm up to me." Anthem joked. "Instead of sneering, she only glared at me this time."

"Maybe someday, she'll manage an actual smile." Winter remarked.

"We can only hope." Anthem shrugged. "You up for another dance?"

"Try and stop me." Winter grinned.

Eventually, the party wound down as night fell, and the royal family decided it was time to go. The two Pegasi slipped back into their harnesses (with a little difficulty, due to all the party food they ate), and the royal family boarded the chariot. The crowd gathered to see them off.

"Goodbye, good ponies of Mihaymi!" Shining called.

"We'll be back some day!" Cadance added.

The crowd (minus Crashing) cheered in response.

"Come back soon!"

"We love you!"

As the chariot took off, Anthem waved to Winter, who blew him a kiss in return. Once Winter and the rest of Mihaymi disappeared from view, Anthem laid back in his seat, content, and already writing his first letter to Winter in his mind. Down below, Winter was doing the exact same thing.