A lone light blue pegasus quietly lies next to the large statue of the royals of Trihearth. Her friends and kin have not yet returned to meet her for at least an hour now. Her gentle eyelids are shut over her soft hazel eyes as the young mare dreams of finding a special somepony of her own. However, her dreaming is cut short all of a sudden by the deep tones of her brother’s voice piercing her visions,

“Sister, wake up.” A moan exits the small body as Ceann wakes up from her slumber. She opens her eyes to see her brother looking over her frail body, then at Crystal and Seirbigh, noticing their unusual public behaviour.

“Wha-what did I miss?” The filly mumbles as she stumbles to her hooves.

“Nothing to concern yourself with Ceann, did you acquire the flowers for our parents?”

“Yes,” Ceann sleepily points to the bundle of flowers off in the distance from where she slept. Dorch grabs the flowers with his magic and examines them.

“These are good. Our parents shall enjoy them. Thank you.”

“Are Seirbigh and Crystal alright? They seem to not be behaving as themselves.”

“They are quite fine. Nothing to worry thy small head with dear sister, you should head off towards home with your flowers before they wilt.”

“But it’s barely before noon. Can’t I stay at the festival a little while longer? I’ve barely have had any time with our friends.”

“I advise you that that is not a productive idea.”

“Why?” However, before Dorch can invent a lie to shoo his sister away, Ceann attention immediately snaps to Crystal tightly wraps her front hooves around Seirbigh’s chest and immediately beginning to rub her face into his fiery mane, yet not letting her line of sight avoid his.

“Seirbigh Cystic,” she loudly moans as she comforts herself in his fur, “you have the strongest of bodies, the most fine of fur, and the most luxurious of manes...”

“You, Crystal Charm,” her lover announces as he embraces the princess with the muscles clenching in his chest, “you have the most mystical of eyes, the most wondrous structure, and the most graceful of hooves…”

Ceann edges her head to see the display of public affection going on behind Dorch before exclaiming, “Oh my! Are you sure they are alright in the head? I have never seen the two quite as, affectionate before.” Dorch’s cheeks grow a bright red and his head turns stiff, now trying harder than ever not to show his fear. Sweat begins to run down his head as his sisters grows more and more suspicious of his activities.

“They are most certainly perfectly fine in the head.” He replies while sidestepping between the two lovers and Ceann to obscure his sister’s view, “Seirbigh and Crystal are merely… unwinding… with their marriage now imminent… yes…” From behind the midnight stallion, the sounds of cooing, moaning, and quite audible sounds of ponies rubbing against each other affectionately catch the ears of both of the royal siblings. “Completely fine I decree.” Ceann stares directly into Dorch’s eyes, catching ever single micromovement they make with hers. It was now obvious he was hiding something, but considering what is going on between her other friends, Ceann figures that her brother may have seen something occur that she dare not know about, but still remains suspicious.

“I see,”

“You should. Now, hurry along home, go study or something of the like. I have a feeling you may require it soon.” The brother then shoves the bouquet of flowers into the younger mare’s mouth and motions his hoof to shoo her. Ceann, although heated after just having thorny plants abruptly planted in her mouth, nods her head in compliance and flies off with the blossoms. Dorch then turns around and sees what his friends are now doing, only to wince in confusion at what he is looking at. Right in front of him, Dorch takes witness to Crystal and Seirbigh, kissing each other flamboyantly. Their mouths being locked together by whatever Dorch could imagine was going on in there. Yet the most disturbing part to Dorch was their eyes, opened wide towards each other, still pulsating the pinks and purples from the love poison. The dark unicorn becomes uncomfortable looking at just their enormous eyes, as if looking at some sort of outlandish pair of creatures mating.

Finally, a minute after becoming mesmerize at the weirdness of the gaping, pulsating eyes. Dorch realigns his attention to the problem at hoof. “How am I going to keep this a secret? It is very uncommon for Crystal and Seirbigh to be this public with their affections towards each other. Surely, somepony will question this and it shall soon lead to me, with the result becoming that I shall be removed from the throne and fail my family and Trihearth. How do I keep this to a limited number of civilians and staff from noticing this abnormal behaviour? How do I keep their parents from knowing? How will they resume eye contact when they require rest? Surely, they’ll have to sleep with their eyes open. Yet, how shall I make so they sleep together with no pony seeing this abnormal sleeping behaviour? Some many questions, if only that old winged zebra was here, it was her plan to begin with.” Dorch sits upon the soft grass below him and silently thinks to himself. His gaze focuses on the two ponies still displaying their now synthetic love, making sure that nothing extreme occurs while he ponders.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea jolts through his consciousness. “I’ve got it! I shall organize a private, romantic cruise around Trihearth for two days. This shall isolate themselves from most of the peasants, nobles, and even royalty from intervening their eye contact and my involvement until the scheduled. Ceann will not intrude, for she has a delicate stomach upon the seas. And with the vessel having only a handful of luxurious resting areas, Seirbigh and Crystal will be able to share a room in privacy and rest with no pony interfering. Yes Sir Dorch Folam, this is a brilliant plan. My father will most certainly be proud of me as I dawn the crown and have control over all of Trihearth, resolving its problems and restore it to its days of glory, harmony, and prosperity.”

The dark blue pony leaps from his seated position and slowly walks directly adjacent to the pink mare and green stallion, still locked in their presentation of eyeing and smooching. “My friends, I have an idea of what you two can do before the wedding. I propose a dreamy oceanic voyage around Trihearth.” The two lovers break from their kissing, but still maintain eye contact, as they acknowledge their friend’s suggestion.

“That would be fantastic,” Seirbigh decrees, “For when the sun sets on the horizon, I shall turn to you Crystal, and I shalt tell you how the beauty of the sunset will not even compare to your amethyst eyes…”

“Is this stallion even hearing himself?”

Crystal responds to Seirbigh’s comment as if neither of them heard Dorch’s offhooved remark, “That would be most lovely. And when the moon glows upon the ocean, I shall turn to you Seirbigh, and I shalt tell you how the splendor of the sea will not even hold challenge to your sapphire eyes…”

“Quite. The voyage will be ready by tonight. Pack your finest clothing, wish thy families farewell, and we shall be off.”

Meanwhile, as Dorch is setting out to execute his plan, Ceann, now in her private room at the Pearl Kingdom castle, is now lying upon her silk bedsheets. It had only been a few minutes since she arrived home and given the flowers to her parents, yet the young lady feels as if she has rested upon her large bed for at least a day. The soft cuddle of her sheets begin to remind her of what Seirbigh’s fur felt like when they played at the beach. She raises her head from the bed glances outside her single window from her room high up within the upper floors of her palace and sees the treetops of the Forest Kingdom off in the distance. Recent memories of Crystal and Seirbigh showing their passion before her soon slip into her mind. An underlying temptation soon entraps her mind in a viscous cycle Ceann initially didn’t want to be a part of, but now finds herself impossible to escape from.”

“Why…” she speaks to herself. “Why do you have these feelings, these emotions, these temptations? You know that Prince Seirbigh is engaged to Crystal, and even before, it would’ve been impossible for you to even see yourself with Seirbigh and betray Crystal. Yet, after seeing what passion, what devotion, what hypnotic sights yielded before you at the festival, you can’t help yourself. The feeling of Seirbigh’s fur, against your own, the intimacy of his deep blue eyes staring into your own, his bodily and spiritual warmth radiating into your very insides, it drives you crazy. You now sometimes see yourself in Crystal’s position, snuggling and kissing that stallion. No, I must remain conscious. I must remain aware of what’s what. I cannot allow myself to endure these temptations. I must not allow it.” The young pegasus remains in her room for the rest of the day, sealing herself from the outside world and Seirbigh, not knowing that he, Dorch, and Crystal, are currently boarding a galleon to sail around the island for two days.