---

---

We returned to Elysium after four days of travel as the wind was against us this time and Luna and I kept away from the Warchief for the rest of the trip. When we arrived, Grom went off to discuss things with Vortigan, but this time wearing a robe made from fur and leather. Luna and I just head back to the portal and return to Equestria after bidding goodbye to the others.

Once home, we head to the Throne Room where we find Celestia, Cadence, and Shella with Mavis on the thrones.

"Adrian!" Cadence says and quickly makes her way over to us. "We missed you so much!" she says and grips me in a hug with a kiss.

I pull back and smile at her. "I missed you all as well. So how have things been while we were away?" I ask her.

Celestia gets up and walks over to us. "Nothing much, the only major point of concern is a small group of undead spotted near the Badlands borders," she tells me.

"I see. Well, the orcs are now part of the alliance... but at a cost," I say with a frown.

"Cost?" Shella asks.

Luna speaks up for me. "Adrian was forced to fight due to one of the orc's traditions... he had to kill their strongest warrior but he refused. He had no choice though when the orc threw an axe at us," she tells them.

"They what?" Cadence asks stunned.

I wave a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. It's over now and I'd rather forget about it," I reply.

"Yes. It... it was not a battle of Honour as the orcs saw it," Luna says.

"Can you show us?" Celestia asks Luna.

I wait for a few minutes while Luna shares the memory of the fight with the others.

Cadence gasps and covers her mouth. "How can they be so barbaric?" she says.

"I agree, how is there Honour in attacking somepony not even part of such a fight?" Celestia says with a frown.

Shella looks at me with wide eyes. "What was that form you took? I've never seen you like that before!" she asks me.

"It was Gaia's physical combat form... makes me wonder if the other aspects have other forms as well," I reply.

Luna then claps her hands together and gets our attention. "Enough about that for now. We are to start packing this instant!" she says a with a smile.

"Pack? For what?" Cadence asks her.

"Why, for our Honeymoon of course. Now that things have calmed down, we are to head out to Adrian's Condo near Haywaii," Luna replies.

'My what and where now?' I think to myself confused with a raised brow. "What's a Condo and when did I get one?" I ask her.

She has a look of surprise as she blushes. "Erm... we may have used some of thy hoard to purchase thee a small Condo near Haywaii for our Honeymoon two weeks ago..." she replies while looking down.

"And how much did it cost?" I ask.

She's silent for a few seconds before answering. "Ten-thousand bits..." she tells me.

"And how much do I have left?" I ask her.

She looks at me with a sheepish smile. "Fifty three-thousand and six-hundred bits..." she replies.

I smile and shake my head. "And why didn't you ask me first? I don't pinch your coppers and spend them without permission," I playfully tell her. I was expecting to have much less than that to be honest.

"We art sorry, we would have bought it ourselves... but our bits go towards the kingdom’s funding," she tells me.

I walk over to her and hug her. "It's alright, just let me know first next time," I tell her. "Okay then. While you do the packing, I have something to ask Shining. I'll see you in about an hour," I tell them.

"Alright. We shall wait for thee in our room," Luna replies.

I give each of them a kiss goodbye and head towards the Barracks.

I walk in and stand in front of Shining's office. I was about to knock but I can hear Silk giggling and Shining chuckle inside.

"You naughty stallion, what if somepony finds us?" Silk says to him.

"I've given the guard an hour break so we have a while before they return," he replies and I hear Silk yelp and giggle.

I raise an eyebrow and smirk. I've been meaning to try out the shadow element aura for awhile now. I cast the aura on myself and grip the door handle. I twist it and open the door where it doesn't make a single sound. I open the door and lean against the door frame with a raised brow at the scene before me.

Shining is sitting in his chair with Silk sitting on his lap... I can only see the bottom of her back and up, and she's only wearing a bra.

I drop the aura and cough loudly. Silk screams in fright, causing Shining's chair to fall backwards. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Sorry, was I interrupting anything?" I ask teasingly.

I see Silk's head pop up over the desk. "Adrian! I-I-I can e-explain!" she says with a stutter.

"No need. I can see clearly what was going on, and I would have left and come back later if it wasn't life changingly important," I reply.

She now looks confused as she puts her maid uniform back on as shining stands up and puts his chair back under the desk. "Adrian? When did you get back? And what's so important?" he asks me.

I walk in and close the door, I then take a seat on the chair in front of his desk. "Me and my... herd mates... feels strange saying that. Anyway, we're about to go on our Honeymoon, and I just remembered something I was supposed to ask you," I tell him with a serious expression.

"And what is that?" he asks with a worried look.

"I'm looking for others to make contracts with some of the other Aspects. I wanted you to make one with the Shield Aspect... but you need your own pool of mana to do so... so here's my life changing question... Will you lose your unicorn way of magic and become human to be the avatar of the shield element," I ask him.

He goes wide eyed and slack jawed. It takes him nearly a minute to recover. "You want me to turn into a human? And make a contract with one of these aspects?" he asks me.

"It's your choice, I won't force you to. I just thought you would be a perfect match for the Shield Aspect because of your affinity for shield spells. Starswirl turned himself into a human as well, mostly to fit in my world, but he was able to make contracts with the aspects because of it," I tell him.

He looks down in thought and then to Silk, he then looks back at me. "So I would have the same kind of magic you use?" he asks me.

I nodded at him. "Correct, you'll lose the spells you know as a unicorn, but gain the magic of the elements as well as your own inner source of mana," I reply.

Silk looks at me and shining with wide eyes. "He'll be like you?" she asks.

"Yes, he may even grow a foot or two taller as well," I reply.

Shining sits on his chair and runs a hand through his hair. "Wow... that's a lot to take in..." he says.

"You can decide now or wait for us to return from our Honeymoon," I tell him.

"And this would make my shield spells stronger?" he asks.

"It may take you a few months to get used to using the mana within you and the elements instead of gathering it with your horn... but yes. It will make you much stronger and possibly resistant to unicorn magic as well," I tell him and then smirk. "I could even teach you how to use the air element to fly."

His eyebrows raise at that. "I'll be able to fly like you do?" he asks with a hint of excitement.

"Yup, it may take you a year or two before then, but one day, sure,"

He frowns in thought and smiles. "Alright, I'll do it," he then looks at Silk. "You don't mind if I become a human do you?" he asks her.

I see her cheeks flush red and she shakes her head. "No no no. I don't mind... I even like the idea," she replies with a sly smile. I think I know why.

"So, when do we do it?" he asks me.

"Now if you want. While we're gone, you can have one of the human mages begin training you until I get back," I tell him.

"Alright. I take it the Queens will be the ones casting the spell then?" he asks and stands up.

"Yeah. Well then, if you're sure you're ready for this, let's get going. The sooner it's done, the sooner you can start practising," I reply.

They wait in the Throne Room while I go find my lovers. I told them what was happening and Shining's decision to become a human.

They were shocked, Cadence more so, but nodded and agreed.

So here we are, the Throne Room has been emptied except for a few guards with Celestia and Luna on either side of Shining Armour. Shella with Mavis, Cadence, Silk, and I stand off to the side and out of the way. After doing a thorough scan on me for biology data and my magic signature for their spell, their horns start to glow and they begin.

"Are you sure you wish to do this, Captain Shining Armour," Celestia asks him.

"Yes, your Majesty. If it will help me protect Equestria better, then I am willing to do this," he replies.

A small smile adorns Celestia's face. "Very well. Please remain as still as possible. You may feel a bit of discomfort, but there should be no pain," she tells him.

Shining is encased in a cocoon of golden and dark blue magic. I can see his outline within and his horn starts receding. His legs change from a pony shape to a human’s and his hooves start stretching out into feet with toes. An extra finger grows out of his hands and the hard tips fold back into fingernails, his ears shrink as they go down the side of his head and his muzzle shrinks to a nose. The hairs on his tail drop off as the small bump left recedes into him. He even grows a foot and a half taller.

The process took about thirty minutes to complete. Once done, the magic fades away, leaving a dizzy looking human with two-toned blue hair and pale skin.

"Whoa... anypony get the number of that carriage?" he asks and wobbles slightly where Celestia and Luna help keep him upright. No doubt his sense of balance is now off.

Silk rushes over to him and stares at him wide eyed. Shining is now only a couple inches shorter than I am. Silk only stands up to the middle of his chest. Fortunately, his uniform seems to have changed to fit his new shape and height... though he has no shoes. Guess I'll lend him a pair of mine with some socks for now.

I look at the back of his hands and notice his marks are gone.

"How do thou feel?" Luna asks him.

He looks around and is stunned that he can look at Luna without having to look up. "Taller," he replies.

"I'd say," Silk says with her hands on his abdomen and a large blush on her face.

"So now what?" Shining asks as he gets used to standing on his new legs.

I look at Luna. "Are there any human mages at the barracks?" I ask her.

"Yes, three I believe," she replies.

I then look back at Shining. "Then go ask them to help you get used to your new magic. Start with the basics in what the elements are and how to access your mana. Then when you're ready, begin with practising with the life element," I tell him.

"Alright, sounds like a plan," he replies and looks at his hands and gasps. "Where are my cutie-marks?" he asks with a worried expression.

"You're a human now and humans don't have cutie-marks," I reply.

He's silent for a few seconds. "Feels like I just lost a part of me," he says sadly.

I pat his shoulder with a smile. "Don't worry. You can always have it emblazoned into your armour or shield. I take it you're going to be a battle-mage like me?" I ask him.

He sighs and nodded. "Yeah. I was already skilled with magic and a sword, makes sense to me," he replies.

"Then have a design for a sword and a shield drawn up and I'll have the best smiths in Elysium make them for you," I tell him.

He smiles and shakes my hand. "Alright, I'm actually looking forward to this!" he says and takes a step towards the doors... but ends up tripping and almost face plants the marble floor, if it wasn't for the three alicorns all catching him with their magic at the same time.

Cadence looks like she's struggling to hold him. "What? I can barely keep a grip on him!" she says.

"Not surprising, humans are resistant to pony magic. Alicorns are the only ones who can just affect us, but your magic will be stronger in Terra," I tell her.

"I see," she replies as Shining uses Silk to keep his balance.

"But before he starts training, he needs to get used to his new legs it seems," I say.

"I'll help him!" Silk says happily and helps him walk towards the exit.

I chuckle and turn to the others. "Now that that's out of the way, I'll start teaching him what I know when we get back... So, how are we getting there?" I ask them.

"We shall take our personal airship, tis small, light, and fast. It can carry at most eight ponies, but we know how to operate it by ourself," Luna tells me.

"Alright, so how long will it take to get there?" I ask.

"About a couple of days, maybe less if the winds are with us," Celestia replies.

I smile and turn to grab some of the bags they packed. "Let's get going then! I'm looking forward to some relaxation after all that's happened!" I say, only to be lifted into the air slightly.

"Hold on there, Mister. You aren't going anywhere until you've had a bath," Cadence says with a bit of strain.

I take a whiff of myself and grimace. I guess that's true, the airship to Orgrim didn't have any bathtubs. "Okay then if you'll put me down, I'll go wash myself quickly," I tell them.

They all look at each other and then grin at me. Uh-oh.

---

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Over the last hour, the others put me in our bathtub and joined me. They surrounded me and washed every inch of me clean.

Mavis was seated in a special chair in the corner of the tub where she happily splashed in the water with giggles and baby babbles while watching us.

Once we were all clean, dried and dressed, we told my parents and Blueblood of where we were going and that he had to attend to the court while we were gone. We then head out to the Docks and I see a hanger I didn't notice previously. Its large metal door opens up and a small airship, half the size of a sloop, is wheeled out and put in the middle of a clearing. The hull is a mix of deep blue and silver with Luna's mark on the sides. The balloon is white with Celestia's golden sun on it and the figurehead is made to look like their mother, Galaxia.

Despite it's size, it looks rather cosy.

"So that's your personal airship?" I ask them while watching the balloon inflate and rise.

"Yes, so let us board and be on our way!" Luna says excitedly.

We wait for a few minutes until the balloon is ready, we then place our bags in the main cabin. Inside is a large bed at the back, a desk and chair with parchment, ink, and quills and a door to a small one person bathtub and toilet to the left. A big wardrobe and vanity mirror to the right, and lastly, a sink like bowl with a shimmering pool of crystal clear water in it at the centre of the room.

Below deck is a kitchen and storeroom as well as six hammocks for any crew on board. On the deck are two small swivel cannons near the front.

"Wow, this looks nice," I say and lay on the bed.

"We are glad thou likes it. We haven't used this vessel in... I think just a month before thine arrival," she tells me.

"I see," I say and get back up.

I follow them out and Luna's horn begins to glow as ropes are pulled loose and some are tightened. She stands behind the wheel and pulls on a lever where I feel the ship's engine come alive as we start to ascend and begin moving forward.

Ten minutes later, we're gently flying to the south east. "Adrian!?" Luna calls out to me.

I look to her from the port side railing. "Yeah!?" I shout back.

"Would thou like to learn how to fly the airship!?" she asks me.

I grin and nodded as I make way over to her while Celestia, Shella, Mavis, and Cadence are lounging on some chairs while talking with each other.

I stand beside Luna as she tells me how to operate the vessel. "And then thou pulls this lever to lower the landing braces," she finishes.

"Alright, that doesn't sound too hard," I reply and take the wheel.

I push the throttle forward slightly and the ship picks up speed. I turn the ship a bit to the left and then back to the right. A compass to the left of the wheel telling me which way we're going and a few gauges showing speed, height and fuel.

"That's it, thou art doing fine," Luna tells me. "Next stop, Haywaii!" she then says bouncing on the spot.

Next Chapter: Chapter 63: The Honeymoon Part 2 Estimated time remaining: 7 Hours, 42 Minutes