Twilight held her breath as she detached her cybernetic left hand; it always hurt to sever the hand's connection to her nerves, and she winced in pain as a jolt shot up her hand and through her neck. Her stump wrist ached, confused by the lack of an appendage. The hand channeled magic similar to her old one but was not the same. She felt incomplete, broken, a puzzle with a missing piece. Although, it was the scars that hurt the most. That pain was psychosomatic; brilliant flashes of light would bring her back to each memory of her torture, each time she touched a scar. With nothing but her undergarments on, Twilight looked at the scars covering her once beautiful body in her bedroom mirror.

The worst scars were the ones on her chest and neck; they snaked across her once unscathed and uninjured figure, a figure that she once knew. She saw a stranger in the mirror, a wild, unkempt hobo. By no means did she abandon her mane or her makeup, however, but she gave up on pretending like the scars weren't there. She wore scarves, added more blush than usual, wore a glove over her prosthetic hand; Twilight couldn't bear to let others see her, touch her. She often thought, 'What stallion could ever love a hideous mare like me?'. Quietly, she wept to herself, tears streaming down her face and onto her ample but scraped-up chest. She fell on her knees, wiping away her tears with her only hand, and she grabbed the artificial hand off of the ground. Twilight placed it back on her stump and grimaced as its wiring conjoined with the nerves in her forearm.

She put on her green blouse and white scarf, and she placed a glove over her robotic hand. Twilight then put on her makeup, covering most of them with color corrective makeup Masami gave her. It worked, mostly; the deeper scars under her left eye and on her right brow. They were far too severe and too stubborn. Being a mare who suffers from mild OCD, imperfection agitated Twilight, especially in the facial area. And being a walking imperfection, Twilight was infuriated, growling at her own uneven face in the mirror. Twilight now shifted from sadness to anger often, but she only kept her struggles internal, never lashing out at her friends; such an act would only perpetuate her suffering and instigate suffering in others. She didn't want that; for Fluttershy, for Rarity or the others, especially not for Spike. She laughed to herself, mocking how pathetic she had become; a shy and soft-spoken character. It appeared to her then that she had become Fluttershy, back when she had first met her, contained and angry with her own image.

"Hey, Twilight..." It was Fluttershy on the other side of her door, knocking ever so gently. "The Princess of Ccrondil has arrived. And Luna is docking too, so, are you almost done...?"

"I'm..." Twilight almost let her feelings overflow, and she adjusted her cracking voice accordingly to feign her true emotions. "I'll be right out, Fluttershy. I just have to put my eyeshadow on."

"You don't sound too confident, Twilight... can I come in, please?" Fluttershy requested in the most polite way possible.

Not willing to turn down her close friend, Twilight sighed, then opened the door for her. She then walked back to the chair in front of her bureau and finished her eyes. "Come in, I'm done."

Fluttershy was taken aback by the grandeur of Twilight's specially designed room. The purple curtains that blocked her windows were silk and her massive bed was large enough to fit four fully grown stallions. Still in awe, the cream coloured pegasus grabbed a stool next to the door and sat down beside her friend looking in the mirror with her. She looked closely at Twilight, finding something to compliment her on to cheer her up.

"You look very pretty with shorter hair and without bangs, Twilight..." Fluttershy said, beaming at her friend, who said nothing and got out of her chair to tighten her scarf more almost to the point where it became a choker. "Oh, Twilight, you shouldn't put on your sweater like that. You won't be able to breathe."

Fluttershy loosened Twilight's scarf, and as she did so accidentally touch one a deep scar on the back of her neck. Just as this happened, Twilight felt the cold of her touch, cold similar to the chilly air that radiated off of Kaiser. Without thinking, Twilight exploded, knocking her friend's hand away. "Don't touch me! Don't you dare touch me!"

Fluttershy stepped back, eyes wide with fear. Twilight had never raised her voice at her before, and hearing then rendered the shy pegasus speechless. She whimpered softly as she backed against the door, unsure how to respond to Twilight's sudden and unexpected outburst. "Twilight..."

Realizing what she had done, Twilight became desperate, trying to explain herself. "Please, Fluttershy, I didn't mean to! You just scared me is all! Honestly, it wasn't your fault!"

Knowing what Twilight had gone through, Fluttershy understood where her alicorn friend was coming from. She had finally felt what it was like to be vulnerable and weak for the first time, things uncommon for an alicorn to feel. And Fluttershy could see the fear in Twilight's eyes, the pain in her voice; she didn't mean what she said. "It's... okay, Twilight. It's okay."

"Th-... Thank you, Fluttershy. You're a true friend... and I take that for granted. It's not your fault– really, it's not!" Twilight shook her head, containing her tears. "I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be," Fluttershy insisted as she gave Twilight a quick hug before opening the door to leave. "I'll stay here with you until you're ready, then we'll head downstairs, okay?"

"Okay..." Twilight nodded slowly as she felt the scar on her neck sting again, reminding her of the brutal backhand from Kaiser that had left the mark. "Okay."

****

Princess Ocèara and her guards met with Draven's crew at a massive, circular oak table covered by a great map of Ccrondil. Fleet Admiral Pisces, Luna, and his crew entered; the rest had waited patiently for their arrival, eagerly awaiting to be in the presence of The Sea God himself. Although, Draven seemed a little quiet when he entered, and he gestured to him with a nod.

"Captain Draven..." Pisces said as he tipped his peaked admiral's cap.

"Fleet Admiral Pisces..." Draven nodded as he stood up for Luna and bowed to her. "It is a pleasure, Princess Luna. As you know, our mission was a success in Wantthai and Ausrüstung."

"Yes, and I congratulate you, Captain. I congratulate your crew as well..." Luna said as she shook his hand, turning to face the rest of his crew; she waved to Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike especially. "Hello, all. And hello to you three! It has been two moons since we last saw each other face to face."

"I'm glad to see you again, Luna," Twilight smiled as she shook Luna's hand, making sure she was the one to raise her arm first so she could use her right hand to shake.

"Long time no see..." Spike grinned as he greeted the princess.

"Hello, Luna," Fluttershy waved.

"Everypony, these are my Leaping Koi. The changeling next to me is Rear Admiral Dross Roy, the giantess next to him is Commodore Daisy Melina... " The fleet admiral piped up, introducing his crew as they entered. "And the stallion entering now is Vice Admiral Rum-."

"Rummy!" Gin shouted excitedly as she raced past the admiral to Rummy, hugging him tightly as she jumped onto him.

"Ah... so this is the sister you've told me about, Vice Admiral?" Pisces raised his brow as he watched Rummy dance around with Gin in his arms.

"Sister?!" Draven's crew gasped in shock as they watched the two siblings hug each other.

"Everypony, I'd like to introduce you all to my older brother, Rummy!" Gin giggled as she and Rummy walked over to their seats, right next to one another.

The crew greeted Gin's surprise sibling as he walked round the table to his seat; Cyro and Jhettei then entered the large chamber, in awe at its sheer size. Spike jumped up, instantly recognizing his former rivals he had fought in the tournament more than a month before. "Cyro! Jhettei! How have you guys been keeping?"

"Well, as you can see we've joined the navy!" Cyro said proudly as he flashed his long coat around. "Jhettei and I have been in for about four weeks now! We joined the academy not long after the Wantthai business!"

"That's awesome!" Spike said as Cyro and Jhettei found their seats on the other side of the table across from Spike.

"Well, now that we're all properly acquainted, I believe we must start," Luna declared as she and Pisces approached the map laid out on the table. "Princess Ocèara, please join me, would you?"

Twilight's own mental cacophony seemed to drown out the strategies and debates, and she was completely oblivious to the changeling that had just sat down beside her. She was lost in her imagination, wandering off to her quiet realm of solace where she could escape her worries. Then, suddenly, she felt a fluffy white mass brush against her cheek; it was a cat, similar to Rarity' cat, Opal, and it purred pleasantly as Twilight ran her hand across its sleek back. She felt a nudge from her left, the elbow of Dross.

"Looks like Pearl had taken a liking to you, your majesty..." Dross grinned as Pearl wandered to him and sat on his lap. "Are you alright? You seem kinda out of it, your highness."

"Oh, I'm-... I'm fine, thank you, Rear Admiral," Twilight assured him as she shook her head, although the changeling didn't seem too convinced by her answer.

It was casually speaking to a changeling; besides Constantine, who was only half-changeling, Twilight had never engaged in a polite conversation with a changeling before. She expected him to be vicious, snarling at her, but he was quite pleasant to talk to. He was polite, understood etiquette, and referred to Twilight as 'your majesty', which she still had not been used to. It was a common Equestrian belief that most changelings were brainless, feral slaves that served their ruler to the letter. Though Dross seemed to be a little contained, he was still quite friendly, and speaking with him proved all those horrid rumors about changelings to be false.

He was by no means ugly like most would expect. He was actually fairly easy on the eyes if you ignored the chip out of his ear and his one blank eye with a scar across it. His toothy smile was not ferocious like she expected, it was friendly and humble, much like any stallion in Ponyville.

"You know, I have a friend who has a cat just like yours, her cat's name is Opal," Twilight mentioned as she reached over to pet Pearl. "It's kind of funny that you named your cat after a gemstone as well."

"Yeah, I guess gemstone names just fit, I suppose," Dross chuckled as he petted Pearl with Twilight. "Heh, you are a lot quieter than I remember you to be, your majesty– seeing you in your dress with a big smile on your face. You just seem... different is all." Realizing what he had said, Dross shook his head and apologized. "Crap, scratch that... sorry for saying that to you. It won't happen again, your highness."

"Don't be, and you don't have to call me 'your highness', Rear Admiral," Twilight insisted as she petted Pearl more. "I've... had it rough recently. I haven't been myself."

Dross looked closely at her face, noticing the scars under her eye and on her brow, to which Twilight looked away, shielding her face with her hair, blushing. Dross panicked, looking away frantically. "I'm sorry, your-, I mean Twilight... sorry. I didn't mean to stare."

"It's okay..." Twilight shook her head as she parted her hair with her hand and continued to pet Pearl. "As I said, I'm just not myself..."

****

"Alright, Fleet Admiral, what should our method of attack be?" Draven said as he stood up, eyeing the map that was laid out across the wide table at the center of the war room.

Pisces pointed to the southern coastal city of Illioa's Rest at the tip of Ccrondil. "There. We shall meet up with the Lord of Edenmire in Illioa's Rest, and from there we shall join with The Cadre of The Crescent."

"If it still exists after ten thousand years, that is..." Princess Ocèara added.

"It does. They have simply been underground," Luna interjected as she placed a finger on the southwestern region of Ccrondil. "We just need to reach Fortnight Tower to the east. There, we will be able to summon the remnants of The Cadre"

"Who is The Cadre of The Crescent?" Fluttershy wondered.

"Long ago, during the first war against my brother, Leere, Celestia and I had our own specialized sect of elite troops tasked to deal with supernatural threats like vampires or demons– creatures loyal to our brother and the Seven Sorcerers. My troops are especially skilled at fighting vampires, and they have been a part of the Ccrondil royal family for generations," Luna then looked over to Syrune and Galaeron, who nodded as they revealed the symbols on their necks– a sideways crescent moon with a sword through it. "Syrune, Galaeron, is there any more members in Ccrondil currently?"

"There is a chapter somewhere in Edenmire I believe, but only the bell atop Fortnight Tower will draw them out of hiding," Galaeron answered her as he hid his tattoo once again. "They'll arrive in mere moments once that bell is rung."

"Syrune, Galaeron? You're a part of this sect of warriors? Why did you not tell me? Did my father know?" Princess Ocèara piped up, outraged by their deception.

"No. We cannot reveal our alignment, not even to our king. We can only do so when permitted by the Night Princess," Galaeron answered her calmly as he pointed to the map-- along the Gressoel River that divided North Ccrondil and South Ccrondil. "Gressoel is our front lines so far, but the south is losing scores of troops as we speak. We must push across the river to reach Caven Isle and strike at their heart. And with the added might of your fleet admiral and Draven Jaggedtooth, this campaign should be somewhat easy."

"Perhaps..." Admiral Pisces scratched his chin as he pondered over the plan. "We need to remain together for the first stage of the assault; Luna shall lead the way as she knows where this mythical tower stands. I believe Alptraum will send his forces through Mystwood where the south is weakest and flank us from the north-west to cut us off."

"We must also take into account the changelings as well..." Luna added to the debate, using her foresight to try and envision the upcoming war. "If Constantine is supporting Alptraum's forces financially, he must have a plan to occupy if Alptraum succeeds in taking Ccrondil. He needs an ally to help his upcoming war with the Forest Zhophziis of the north. They were not as kind as he hoped is what I heard."

"Do you think the Northern Zhophziis of Whuzikar will aid our campaign with troops?" Princess Ocèara asked as she gestured to the large tribal nation that dominated the Northern Blacklands.

"Forest zhopis helping miriads? I wouldn't count on it, your highness..." Draven chimed in as he pointed to the Cloudsreach Mountains. "And the mountain range is far too treacherous for any troops to pass through. There's no way they'd help us. Besides, they're only in it for themselves."

"So, what then?" Twilight joined in as she continued petting Pearl.

"It appears we have no other ally to aid us at the moment, so we must do the best we can with what we have at our disposal," Luna replied with a disappointed sigh as she looked at the grandfather clock at the other end of the chamber. "We don't have much time. Vampires can walk freely as long as the Blood Moon is active. They can strike at any time."

"Then we must leave today if there is no time to waste, your majesty. Draven shall join my crew on my ship, and with the added speed I will provide, we should be there in two days. Hopefully," Pisces motioned to everypony to stand. "Meeting adjourned, everypony. We will set sail in one hour. Until then, I suggest you prepare yourselves for the coming days. Away now."

Everypony broke off into groups and found a place to dwell for the hour in the castle before the voyage. Spike and Cyro practiced outside, and Twilight and Dross continued chattering as they walked down a long corridor together. Gin and Rummy found a quiet place to talk on the outer walls, watching the troops prepare themselves on the ground for the coming fight.

It had been years since Gin had seen her brother in the flesh. They had talked to each other through mail, but communication via postal services was iffy at best when you were in the Equestrian navy, so far away at all times. She was glad to see him the same as ever, and she had changed since the last time they met face to face, as she was only sixteen last she saw Rummy, who was twenty-two at the time. Now she was nineteen, and Rummy could hardly recognize the strong, independent mare that stood before him.

"You've grown taller, Ginny," Rummy grinned as he leaned against the stone wall of the fort.

"You've grown greyer, Rummy," Gin joked, sticking her tongue out at her brother playfully as she russled the man under his bowler cap.

"Ever the prankster, Gin..." Rummy chuckled as he brought out a flask filled with whiskey. "Want a sip?"

"A sip?" Gin scoffed as she snatched the flask out of his hand and drank half of it. "You underestimate me. I've got dad's drinking habits!"

"Yeah... he was a pretty boozy guy..." Rummy smiled as he downed the rest of the whiskey. "I miss them both..."

"Me too," Gin's expression went blank as she remembered her mother and father from long ago when they were just foals living in Dorio. "But we can't get em' back now, can we?"

"Maybe we can get something; Gaines is sticking his fingers in pies all over the place, especially in Ccrondil. It won't be long before he shows his ugly mug, sis," Rummy reminded her of Gaines– the half-changeling bastard who ruled over their former home with an iron fist. Rummy then pointed to the diamond amulet on Gin's neck. "One of us will have to deal with him eventually..."

"Yeah..." Gin sighed as she hid the necklace underneath her ruffled blouse. "That's what I'm afraid of..."

"Don't worry," Rummy comforted Gin, giving her a warm hug. "It'll be fine, Ginny... I promise. We'll get that bastard for what he did to mum and dad. Now c'mon, let's get to the docks. We'll be leaving pretty damn soon, and I don't want to be late again or Pisces'll make me dodge a tidal wave."

"Alright, alright..." Gin giggled at the thought as she followed his brother back to the castle. "Truth be told, that'd be damn funny to see."

"Shut your trap," Rummy laughed as they descended a flight of stone stairs together. "That ain't even an exaggeration..."

Author's Notes:

Well, I'm starting to plant some seeds here for the future! Who is Gaines? What's Constantine planning? You'll just have to wait and see folks! As always, I hope you enjoyed! See you in the next chapter!