"Admiral Pisces! We're approachin' the harbor!" Dross shouted from the bow to Pisces as he brought a telescope to his right eye. He then zoomed in and swept the beach with his eye, making sure the shore was clear of any opposing forces. Luckily, there were none, and in the distance, he could see mustering miriad troops on the pier waiting for them. "Syrune, Galaeron! It looks like your welcoming party made it!"

"Good. Then we have nothing to worry about during our landing," Galaeron nodded as he motioned to Princess Ocèara to follow, taking his place on the bow deck beside Dross and the others. "Come, your majesty."

Princess Ocèara walked up the set of stairs to the bow and found a spot to gaze at the shore near the very front beside Spike. Spike had not conversed with Ocèara, as he felt a little jittery around her. She was quite beautiful; her long flowing ginger hair and emerald eyes coupled with her gentle demeanour and waving blue dress made Spike quite red in the face. He happened to notice a strange, delicately rolled piece of paper in her hand, a scroll. It had odd inscriptions on the ribbon that held it together, and she clutched it tightly as she looked ahead.

"Um... hey," Spike tried to initiate conversation, but Ocèara appeared to be a little lost in her own thoughts. "Princess...?"

"Oh? Oh... I'm sorry. Did you need something, Sir Drafir?" Spike found it odd that she called him by his odd last name, one that he was still not very used to.

"No, I just was wondering what you're holding in your hand is all," Spike pointed to the scroll in her left hand.

"This is the Eclipse Scroll. It's an ancient document passed down by my ancestors– it holds the key to finding Fortnight Tower. It is currently hidden somewhere in Mystwood, and this scroll should give us the directions we need," Ocèara explained as she put the scroll in her satchel.

"So... how are you?" Spike forced a half-grin to try and not look nervous in front of the princess, but that tactic ended up backfiring, and he winced a little, struggling to fight against his facial muscles.

"I'm fine, thank you," Ocèara giggled a little at the sight of Spike's nervous expression, and the young dragon blushed even harder in response to her reaction. "I'm sorry, Sir Drafir... that was a very odd look you had on your face."

"Uh... yeah, sorry," Spike scratched the back of his head and looked down at the deck as he leaned over the side of the ship to get a good look at the coast. "So... this is Ccrondil?"

"Yes," Ocèara smiled as she took a deep breath, taking in the cool air of the Grand Sea and admiring the view. Granted, the horrid cloud of smoke to the north stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the sea and the gentle colors of the harbor. "Is is what you expected?"

"Well, you know, it's not exactly fit for a tourist nowadays..." Spike gestured over to the cloud shrouding Caven Isle in a thick haze.

"Yes, I suppose not..." Ocèara smiled; though it felt quite dreadful seeing her country like this, Spike's light-hearted humour put her at ease.

Spike saw the worry in her eyes; perhaps he had crossed a line. "Sorry, your highness, I just-."

"It's alright, Sir Drafir... you mean well with your jesting," Ocèara insisted as she watched the dark cloud swirl and linger in the north. "And I need your humour in times like this."

"So... your father, he-?" Spike cut himself off, clearly seeing the woe on Ocèara's face as soon as he mentioned her father.

"He passed away, yes..." Ocèara nodded slowly as she closed her eyes, thinking back to her childhood memories of him. "But he saved me..."

"If it makes you feel any better... I never really knew my father..." Spike scratched his head as he tried to picture his father.

"Thank you," Ocèara said with a half smile as she crossed her arms.

"I think I'm doing a pretty lousy job at comforting you..." Spike shook his head, disappointed with his attempts to cheer her up.

"No, you have, Sir Drafir..." Ocèara grinned as she turned to face the young dragon. "You mean well... and you're sweet."

Spike's face went red from the compliment, but he shook it off, determined to not become infatuated with a pony way out of his league. He cleared his throat to break the awkward tension, and he put his hand out to shake hers. "Since we're... friends... you can call me Spike."

"A pleasure to meet you, Spike," Princess Ocèara beamed as she shook hands with him. "You may call me Raiel, my birth name."

Rummy leaned on a barrel propped up against the railing of the bow deck, watching Spike and Ocèara exchange jokes and personal stories. He sighed, knowing that his relationship with Gin would not be as easy. It had been so long since they sat down and talked about each other's life; they had existed always in the now, never caring about the problems of the past. It was in their natures to let go, to move on and rebuild. And just in the midst of his thought, Rummy heard her voice, Gin.

"Hey, Rummy..." She walked up to the bow deck with Draven beside her. Gin then turned to Draven, motioning to him to leave them be.

"Hey, Ginny-." Rummy braced himself for a stern talk. However, he did not get what he envisioned. Gin hugged him tightly. She hadn't hugged him since she was a foal.

"I'm sorry for what I said, Rummy," Gin apologized to her brother as she broke away from the hug. "It wasn't anypony's fault for what happened to us. I guess we just have baggage, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess we do..." Rummy shook his head slowly as he looked down at the deck. "I'm sorry for sayin' what I said too... it wasn't my place to shout at you. I was just angry is all."

"It's alright, Rummy," Gin chuckled as she reached into her jacket, grabbing her bottle of rum. "Care for a sip?"

"It's not disinfectant this time, right?" Rummy scoffed as he took the bottle, downing a fair bit of the booze. "Yep... that's spiced rum. The stereotypical drink of a pirate. And the beverage that inspired my name. Kind of ironic that I like gin more than I like rum, isn't it?"

"Quit your babbling and drink, Rummy..." Gin lightly punched her brother in the shoulder as she sat down beside him on a neighbouring barrel.

The waves stirred up by Pisces behind the ship began to calm as the vessel got closer and closer to the pier, and the admiral soon met with his crew at the center of his ship along with Daisy, Cyro, and Jhettei. The dragon admiral stood at main deck and called upon the marines to join him in the docking of The Red Koi. The miriad marines on the pier tossed them a stout line, and the Equestrian marines tied it tightly to the front of the ship. Daisy dropped the anchor, and the miriads tied the thick line around their capstan; many of them began to push and pull on the great pulley, fastening the gigantic vessel to the dock. The crew of The Red Koi then dropped their bridges to the pier below, letting the elite group off the boat so that they could do the grunt work of unloading the supplies carried by the mighty cruiser.

"Get all of these supplies off the ship! I want them all taken to Fort Sunse within two hours!" Admiral Pisces ordered his marines with firmness in his deep and booming voice as he exited his ship, joining up with miriad generals who awaited their arrival at the pier.

"Everypony, follow us," Syrune said to the others as she followed her princess, who stuck beside the fleet admiral.

"Where are we going?" Fluttershy inquired in her usual soft and sweet tone of voice.

"To Fort Sunse, the military base in Illioa's Rest, where the supplies are going," Daisy answered her as she skipped alongside Rummy.

"Are we walking there?" Twilight asked Dross, who placed a hand on her shoulder as he accompanied her.

"It's less two miles away, so it's not too far," Dross assured her as he walked beside the troubled alicorn. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine... it's just... I'm sorry I couldn't do anything with you last night. It's just-. I overestimated my limits is all..." Twilight hung her head in shame; she refused to do anything lewd the night before. Although she wanted it, her body still did not agree with the sensation of touch. They had slept together only in the literal sense that night. "I'm sorry."

Dross stroked the back of her head, convincing her that she committed no folly. "It's alright, Twilight. You still need time. You can't rush this."

"I know..." Twilight frowned as she rested her head on Dross' shoulder.

"That's sweet..." Fluttershy smiled at Winslow as she looked over to her alicorn friend. "They look happy together."

"That they do," Winslow nodded as he put his hands in the pockets of his coat. "I'm glad she's finding her peace after so long. She's been through too much."

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Fluttershy wondered.

"Eventually, the pain will leave her body..." Winslow shook his head in a disappointed fashion. "But, she won't be able to get rid of the memories. Those will stay with her for as long as she lives."

"Twilight..." Fluttershy whimpered as she watched Twilight nuzzle against Dross' neck, tears in her eyes.

****

The trek to Fort Sunse was woeful at first. The town of Illioa's Rest was still and gloomy, devoid of activity. Most were too scared of the ensuing war in the north to go out, and the only visible life in the dreary town was the guards and the occasional hanging vine that crawled up the side of a brick house. The countryside, though, was a relief from the gloom. It was sunny– if you ignored the looming cloud in the distance –and green, and orchards that dotted the landscape were bustling with activity; they needed to support the troops on the front with their resources. The rolling, emerald hills of the country were also rocky, and damp with morning dew, but not enough to take away from the overall uplifting nature of the environment. Creeks ran through thickets below stone bridges, meadowlarks chirped as they rested on fence posts, and willow trees danced in the gentle breeze that seemed to come and go like a whimsical tune. It was as if nature had ignored the chaos and the violence going on in the north as if it didn't even matter.

Fort Sunse was a loud and hectic place; soldiers marched around the outer walls, scouting for invaders, a group of mares prepared crates of ammunition and barrels of gunpowder to be sent to the front by cart. Strange beasts drove their carts rather than soldiers, and this peaked Spike's curiosity. The creatures were quadrupeds, though, they were not mammalian. They were reptilian– almost like tall giraffe-like crocodiles but shorter, like a giant dog. They were very lean and sleek, and their heads were long and slant. Their feet were shaped much like hooves rather than claws, though, they still retained an overall reptilian look to them. Most were either a silvery-green or a dark-brown, and the soldiers that accompanied them fed them fish that they kept in buckets.

"Hey, Syrune... what are those things?" Spike asked, directing Syrune's attention over to the odd creatures.

"They are ckrels, common Blacklands creatures. Most are for pulling, but some are used as mounts," Syrune could see Spike was having a hard time wrapping his head around the idea of a 'mount'. "You can ride them...?"

"Oh, okay..." Spike nodded, though, he was still having a hard time wrapping his head around the idea of a pony riding such a strange lizard.

"Stand at attention, soldiers!" One of the generals that walked alongside the fleet admiral piped up. "Fleet Admiral Horatio Pisces and Princess Luna of Equestria have arrived with our fair, Princess Ocèara!"

Every soldier and miriad in Fort Sunse stood as stiff as a board before the great titans that were the fleet admiral and Princess Luna. Pisces saluted the troops, and Luna waved to them, ordering them to stand at ease. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Thank you all for the welcome, my brothers and sisters in arms. You have suffered under the tyranny of Alprtraum's reign in the north for far too long! And I hope, with the help of you, my cherished allies, we can bring down this tyrant once and for all!"

The troops cheered for Luna as she and the others entered the general's war room in the massive tent in the center of the fort. The tent housed quite the arrangement of tables, including a very wide, circular one in the middle, where a complex map of the northern front was laid out. A single, extensively dressed general in his mid-sixties stood at the end of the tent with his hands behind his back. He wore a red frock coat, like most of the miriad troops, and his while side-cape hung over his shoulder. On his chest were dozens of medals and badges of honour, and his silver epaulettes glistened before the candlelight of the tent. His bearded face was wrinkled, as it should've been, but still he sported a very athletic build and his determined demeanour was as respectable as Pisces'. He wore a patch over his left eye, and a long scar ran across that side of his face. His grassy green, faded mane was cut short like a new soldier. Like every miriad, he sported longer ears and a pale blue coat of fur.

"Everypony, I introduce you to Field Marshal Sebastian Durand, the high commander of Callicera's army." Princess Ocèara gave the field marshal a respectful bow as she introduced him to the others.

"Thank you, your highness," The field marshal gave the princess a bow as he walked over to the Admiral Pisces and Princess Luna. He shook Luna's hand first. "Princess Luna... your presence is a welcome sight to behold, that I assure you. Your speech seemed to bolster the spirits of my troops, and I thank you for that."

"You are most welcome, Field Marshal," Luna said in her most pronounced voice. "I hope I can do more than just that, however."

The field marshal then stood before the towering admiral and spoke to him with the utmost respect. "The Sea God... it is an honour to be in your presence. Tales of your valour inspired me as a young soldier. With you on our side, we are guaranteed victory."

"I wouldn't declare victory so soon, Field Marshal... Alptraum's forces are vast, and Constantine's are even more so," Pisces said as he strolled over to the map of the northern front. "Let us get down to business..."

"Agreed," The field marshal said as he pointed down to Mystwood on the map. "Alptraum's forces are going to be meeting us at Mystwood as we push our way through the north-west. That will be the deciding battle, and I have no doubts that he will send all members of his Indigo Rose to stop our advance."

"That's where we'll come in..." Pisces said as he gestured to his Leaping Koi and Draven's crew. "We can put down the members of his inner circle and shatter their chain of command, letting us push through to the Eclipse Caverns."

"And in that case, I fear Constantine will send his Four Generals and the whole might of the changeling army upon us," The field marshal shook his head. "That will be the final bout for Ccrondil for sure... and it will decide the fate of the whole Blacklands. If Ccrondil falls in his hands, there will be-."

"It will not fall, Field Marshal, I can promise you that..." Luna reinforced the field marshal's will. "With the help of my Cadre, we will win the day. Ccrondil shall remain united."

"I certainly hope so..." The field marshal shook his head with hopelessness in his voice.

"Everypony... this is the beginning," Luna stiffened her posture as she spoke to the others with a foreboding tone.

"The beginning? Of what?" Spike asked Princess Luna.

"The Blood Moon War..." Luna said with a still expression. "Starting today, the balance of power in the world will change forever..."

Author's Notes:

And so it begins! As always, I hope you enjoyed! See you in the next chapter!