The rest of the night was quite peaceful, both Flash and Fluttershy resting cuddled together.

Flash awoke to Celestia's sun blinding him in the face. He squinted against it as he saw Fluttershy bathed in the warming glow of the sun, her yellow coat shining. He gingerly ran his hoof through her mane as she sighed contently. Her eyes slowly opened, the light reflecting her beautiful aqua eyes. "Good morning." She whispered as she gently nuzzled his chest.

"Good morning too; I hope I didn’t wake you up." He said.

She got up and stretched. "Of course not." She said, with a faint smile as she got out of bed and headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

He sighed as he leaned against the pillow until he heard the door swing open, Fluttershy looking at him in panic. He launched himself off the bed and ran over to her. "What's wrong?"

She looked at him. "We didn’t tell your mother."

Flash's eyes grew. "Oh… pony feathers. I knew I was forgetting something." He started to walk back and forth. "She's gonna kill me…"

"Flash… relax. Take a deep breath." Fluttershy said, gently placing her hoof on his back. "I'm sure she'll understand."

"Yeah… I'm sure she will." He took a deep breath. "I'm gonna go up and tell her in pony."

"That's a good idea." Fluttershy agreed.

"Do you wanna come?"

"Sorry, but I promised Rarity I'd go with the spa with her. As she said; "it's been ages." She tried to copy the posh pony and they both giggled.

"Ok." He said. "Then I should head out and tell her as soon as possible." He bent down and kissed her. "But first, let's have some breakfast."

They made their way down the stairs and he whipped together a quick breakfast for both of them, half a dozen pancakes. Afterwards, he helped her feed her animals and pick up the mess from last night, which took several hours. When they finished, it was around noon and he grabbed his saddlebags, taking some bits and his Hearth Warming presents for his mother and aunt.

He made sure they were tight against his sides before they walked outside of her house. "Well, I'll see you later." He said, bending down and gently nuzzling her.

She kissed him on the cheek. "Be careful… I mean, if that's alright with you."

He laughed and smiled. "It's me, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Are we going off your track record, because I can think of quite a lot." She said with a giggle.

"Good point." He gave her one final hug. "Bye!" He said, unfurling his wings and launching off the ground. He paused once in the air and turned to see her watching him, giving him a wave goodbye. He waved back before using his wings to launch him towards Canterlot.

[…]

"I'm sorry sir, but Princess Luna is extremely busy and can't be disturbed." The unicorn said, his voice faltering.

"And like I said, I'm her son and I wanted to drop off a late Hearth Warming gift then I'll be on my merry way."

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't-"

"It's ok Script, he's telling the truth." Princess Celestia said as she made her way towards them.

Script seemed to sag with relief and nodded before opening the door to Luna's personal study. Flash apologetically smiled to him before entering her room, followed by Celestia.

The room reflected its owner, covered in midnight blue paint with sparkling dots that assumedly represented stars. The curtains were heavy and black, going all the way down to the hardwood floor. There was a fireplace tucked into one corner of the room. The walls were lined with bookcases, which were overflowing. There were a few pictures on the wall, but they were mostly bare. The mare in question was hunched over a desk full of parchments, a quill floating in the air incased in a blue aura.

"Mom?" He asked, slowly walking up to her.

She quickly turned around, panic on her face that quickly turned to joy. "Vash… it's so good to see you." She said with a smile. She pulled him into a hug as he rested his head on her shoulder. "Sorry I couldn’t make it to the Hearth Warming party; I've been a bit preoccupied." She said, motioning towards her desk.

"It's ok, I just wanted to come up and visit." He smirked. "And give two very important ponies their Hearth Warming gifts." He said, reaching into his saddle bags and pulling out two wrapped gifts. Both princesses looked at the boxes curiously before they were engulfed by their respective auras.

"You know you didn’t have to get me anything, you being back is enough for me." Luna said, looking at her present.

"But you deserve one." He paused to look at Celestia. "Both of you do; no pony could do what you two do." He insisted.

Luna and Celestia smiled at each other before Luna kissed him on the forehead. "Thank you son." She said before they both opened their gifts.

Celestia opened her gift and gasped; inside were two things. One of them was a silky white scarf that had her cutie mark on it. The other… was a cake. There were a few scrolls crammed in on the sides. She stared at the cake hungrily.

"I'm not sure what the deal with the cake was, but the scarf was a personal thank you from Rarity; something about letting her stay here." Flash said, looking at Celestia with a smile. Luna was trying not to laugh, holding a hoof over her mouth.

Celestia seemed to come back from a daze. "Um… yes well, I should go write my student and her friends to say my thanks." She said quickly, walking out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Luna couldn’t contain her laughter and giggled. "'Tia has always had a soft spot for sweets; we both agreed it was her weakness. It's actually become something of a running joke between us." She paused. "I'm not sure how anypony else found out though."

Flash shrugged. "Pinkie does that sometimes. Any hoof, open your gift."

She rolled her eyes and opened her gift. "Now what can get you so…" She trailed off as she pulled out a handmade scarf. It was just like Celestia's just with a different color scheme, a midnight blue and black. The colors were uneven and it looked like somepony took a pair of scissors to cut the ends. It had her cutie mark on the end near the short tassels. She gasped as she reached inside and pulled out a few scrolls and a couple of pictures. One was of a small white colt dressed in a pirate costume, being hugged by her.

"The scrolls are from the girls and the picture is from Pip." He said with a huge smile. He rubbed the back of his head. "The scarf is  Rarity's failed attempt at trying to show me how to sew; I wanted to make you something personally." He said, his cheeks slightly red from embarrassment.

She pulled him into a hug, tears lining the outside of her eyes. "Thank you… and having you back makes everything so much better."

He was caught off guard by her hug, but gladly returned it, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "I know… I'm sorry I was gone for so long."

She pulled away with a tiny smile. "It doesn’t matter, you're back now and that’s all that matters."

He gave her a smile. "And I won't be going anywhere anytime soon." He looked around. "Oh pony feathers… I was going to tell you two together."

"Tell us what?" Luna asked, curious.

Flash's face turned bright red. "Well… um… you see…" He muttered the rest, taking a page out of his fiancé's book.

"What?"

He muttered to low to be understood.

Luna put her hooves on his shoulders. "What were you going to tell us?" She said, her voice echoing her previous Canterlot voice.

Flash gulped and took a steadying breath. "Mom… Fluttershy is pregnant."

Luna's eyes grew almost double their normal size, her pupils shrinking to slits. Her mouth opened a few times as if she was going to say something. Finally in a very quiet voice, she asked; "I'm going to be a grandmother?" Flash slowly nodded his head.

It was silent for a few minutes before Luna started to giggle that turned into full blown laughter. Flash stared at his mother as tears ran down her face. "Mom, are you ok?"

"Of course we are ok; we're going to be a grandmother!" She shouted, grabbing him into an even tighter hug.

"Mom… need air…" Flash gasped.

"Oh… sorry, we are sorry." She said, letting go of him with a faint blush. "You should go tell 'Tia, she'd want to know."

"I think I'll go tell her right now; I'll be right back." Flash said, walking towards the door, shaking his head. As he shut the door behind him, he heard Luna jumping around and giggling like a filly.

As Flash walked around the castle, he heard accidently overheard two colts, one dressed in a suit, the other in a blue vest, talking. The suited one had a monocle over his right eye, the golden chain disappearing into a pocket. He had a dark blue coat with a mostly gray mane with streaks of gold. The other was a bright fiery red coat with a short and spiky orange mane with gray starting to creep through.

"Well they are late for their payment, again." The one with a blue vest said.

"What can you expect from a bunch of farmers?" The other said with a chuckle.

"I know… but they said they’d have enough."

"But they always say that. So what are you going to do?"

"Gotta recoup my losses and sell the farm." He chuckled. "By this time next year that stupid apple farm will be long gone."

"I heard you got a buyer already."

"Yeah… someponies called the Flim Flam brothers; said they could pay me the bits right now."

"How much do those apple farmers owe you anyway?"

"Last I checked, it something like two thousand bits."

The other whistled. "Wow... and I thought they had a decent business."

"They do, but with their grandmother getting up there, they have to pay for her hip surgery and it always sounds like something's breaking down." The vested pony shook his head. "It was a lost cause to begin with."

The other laughed. "Come on, admit it; the only reason you even thought about it was to get closer to that orange mare."

"Yeah.... she's a feisty one." He said with a faraway look in his eye.

Flash's eyes grew as he walked towards them. "Excuse me and I hate to be rude, but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation and I was wondering if you were talking about Sweet Apple Acres?"

They looked at him and scoffed. "And who do you think you are?"

Flash sighed. "Prince Vash and you didn't answer my question." He demanded.

They looked at each other, something clicking in their eyes before looking back at him with disdain. "I was; what does it matter to you?"

"I'd like to throw my offer on the table if you would." Flash said.

The vested one raised his eyebrows. "Why does a petty apple farm matter to a prince?"

"I have my reasons. Now how much would it take to buy the deed from you?"

"I'm not sure.... they owe me a lot of bits."

"Would five thousand be sufficient?"

The suited pony's monocle fell off as his mouth opened. The vested pony shared the same look. "You'd spend that much on a farm?"

"I would."

"Then you have a deal."

"Hold on one second." Flash said as he powered up his horn and teleported back to Fluttershy's to grab five thousand bits and put them in a bag. After that, he teleported back, holding the bag in his mouth. "Now when will I get the deed?"

"All we have to do is stop by my office and you'll have it." The vested one said as he turned around. "Follow me." He said as he led them down the street and into rather large bank. The receptionist's eyes grew as she saw the three of them and quickly got to her hooves. "I won't be taking any calls or visits right now Scribe, if you would." The vested one said, ignoring her as he led them towards the back.

"Alright… sir." She said, sitting back down.

Flash was led into a large office furbished like the Canterlot library, scrolls and books were everywhere. The pony walked up to his desk and rummaged around. "Ah, there it is." He muttered to himself, pulling out a scroll wrapped in a red ribbon. He pulled a blank scroll out and copied it down word for word. Before he signed it, he scrutinized it, going over every detail. He nodded and quickly signed it before passing it to his friend. "Moneybags, I need you to sign it please, as a witness to the deal."

Moneybags nodded and jotted down his signature before passing it to Flash, who quickly read it and made sure everything was in order. Alright, they'd pay me rent, ask me to pay for any broken equipment, I'd get ten percent of all their products sold…wow, this guy really robbed them blind. Flash looked up at the vested pony. "And they wouldn’t owe you another bit right? No more rent or backwards or sneaky tricks?"

He shook his head. "On my honor as a banker, they would never have to deal with me again."

Flash nodded. "Just making sure." Flash's face grew serious. "Cause if I find out… well, I'm sure you can figure it out yourself." Flash promised before signing his name on the line. "Alright Mr. Vaults, I believe everything is in order." Flash said, handing the scroll and quill back.

Vaults nodded as he stored them in his desk. He hoofed the deed over as Flash handed over the money. Vaults smiled. "Nice doing business with you, Prince Vash."

"Indeed." Flash said before leaving the bank and heading back to the castle.

[…]

As he flew back, he reread the deed for the fifth time; he couldn’t believe AJ was being robbed this bad but wasn’t saying anything. He sighed and rolled the deed up before putting it in his saddlebag. He shook his head as he flew through a few clouds. He couldn’t wait to give his little surprise. He chuckled as he remembered that Celestia had the same reaction that Luna had, minus the Older Canterlot. Life just got more interesting.

[….]

He got back and saw Fluttershy waiting for him. He smiled as she saw him and they met up with a hug.

"So how was your trip?" She asked, smiling.

"I'll tell you on the way." He said, heading off towards Sweet Apple Acres. She looked at him oddly but followed. She gasped when he told her what happened but smiled when he revealed he bought the deed and what he planned to do with it.

"That’s so nice of you." She whispered.

"It's the least I could do for her; she was the only pony not wanting to kill me when we first met." He said, a faint smile on his lips.

They walked the rest of the way in silence until a few minutes later; they stood outside of Sweet Apple Acres. He sighed and continued on, looking for any of the Apple family. He saw a large red stallion, almost as tall as he was, dragging a hoe across a tilled land. They walked up to him as he stopped and turned to look at them, a small smile appearing when he noticed Fluttershy.

Her face went bright red. "Hey Big Mac… is… um… Applejack here?" She asked, her voice very quiet.

"Eeyup." Big Mac said, nodding towards the barn behind him. He paused and stared at Flash, before giving him a small nod and went back to work.

Flash confusedly looked at the stallion as Fluttershy pulled him along. "So that's Big Mac?" She nodded. "Huh…" He said, turning back to Fluttershy, who was staring at the ground. "Everything ok?"

"I'll tell you later." She promised as they finally made it the barn.

Before either of them could open the door, it flew open and smacked Flash in the face as Applejack came walking out, carrying empty baskets. She looked around and saw Flash holding his noise and gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry 'bout that Flash, didn’t know you were there."

"It's no problem AJ." He said, making sure his noise wasn’t broken.

There was a slight pause as no pony knew what to say."So… what brings ya out here?" AJ asked.

Flash coughed and reached into his saddlebag to produce the deed. "This." He said, holding it out so she could read it.

AJ's eyes grew as she scanned it, fear evident in her eyes. "What the hay are you doing with that?"

"Why didn’t you tell anypony that you were in this much debt, you know they would've helped you."

"Ah don’t need no pony's help in running the dang farm!" She said, uncharacteristically angry.

"AJ, it's ok to ask for help when you need it."

"Oh… um… remember the time we helped you with the apples?" Fluttershy said, making AJ blush.

"Yes, but this is a bit different-"

"How so?"

AJ sighed. "When Ah asked for you mares help, Ah knew you'd help me with the orchards… but ta ask for money? That's when Ah draw the line, Ah ain't no moocher."

"AJ… we're your friends and friends help out their friends no matter the case, even if it's money related." Flash said.

AJ sighed. "Yer right, but what was Ah suppose ta do? Just walk up to everypony and say, 'hey you know Ah don’t like ta ask fer help, but the farm is in serious debt and Ah could use some help?' They each have their own expenses and shouldn’t have ta worry 'bout mine." She paused. So what are ya going to do with the deed? Are you gonna ask us ta pay it all back right now?"

Flash looked at her sadly. "Of course not; I'm going to do what he should've done a long time ago." He hoofed the deed to her. "I believe this is yours AJ."

She gasped as she held the deed. "But why?"

"Because with all the hard work you put into trying to save Equestria and the farm, I believe you deserve to be in charge of your own fate and not some snob pony in Canterlot trying to make some bits." He gave her a small smile. "That and I feel like I owe you."

She looked at him, bewildered. "How do ya figure?"

"Well… you were the only pony to not try and kill me when we first met." He said, still with the small smile as AJ chuckled. "You seemed to be the only pony that tolerated me enough to be able to make good on my words."

AJ smiled. "Everypony deserves a chance to prove themselves, alicorn or otherwise." She pulled Flash into a hug, surprising him with her strength. "Ah can't thank ya enough Flash." She let go and smiled as Fluttershy kept him up. "And if there's anythin' ya need, don’t hesitate to ask."

Flash chuckled. "Will do." He looked at Fluttershy. "Well, I think we should be off and let you get back to work." He said, turning around.

AJ nodded and pulled her hat down. "Thanks again Flash and remember what Ah said."

He nodded as they walked away from the farm, heading back home. Before they got very far, a small yellow blur ran towards them. "WAIT!!" It yelled as they turned around. Flash was tackled to the ground as he laid there dazed with Applebloom on top. "You weren't even gonna say hi." She said with a little pout.

"Sorry Applebloom, I figured you were crusading with the others." Flash said.

"Ah was, but Applejack wanted me ta come home." She said. "Ah'm suppose ta help her and Big Mac around the farm."

"Well that’s good, have some bonding time with family."

Applebloom paused. "Can't ya stay fer dinner. Ah know everypony would love ta have ya over." She asked, giving him her puppy dog eyes.

"I'm sorry Applebloom but I was planning to relax with Fluttershy." He said. "Maybe tomorrow."

She gave him a sad smile. "Ok…" She got off of him and started walking away with her head down.

Fluttershy looked at him. "Maybe you should eat with them."

"But-"

She stopped him. "It's ok, besides I've been meaning to ask Rarity a question anyway." She said with a smile.

He sighed and kissed her cheek. "Ok; I'll see you later on tonight?"

She nuzzled him. "Of course, I'll see you at home."

He nodded before walking towards Applebloom and nosed his way underneath her to put her on his back. She squealed in surprise. "Is the offer still open?" He asked, looking at her.

"But what about-"

"We decided that it can wait till tomorrow."

Applebloom gave a huge grin and nodded. "'Course the offer's open; you can help us 'round the farm too!"

He chuckled. "Of course. Let's go make sure it’s ok with your sister first." He waved goodbye to Fluttershy one more time before they headed towards Applejack.

The talk went rather fast, AJ was happy that Flash had decided to help. The day quickly flew by as the four of them finished up the day rather early. Dinner was made by the legendary Granny Smith, who embarrassed both Applejack and Applebloom, showing Flash their filly pictures.

Dinner was wonderful, Flash stuffed to the brim with applelicious treats. He was amazed at how many things could be made better with the inclusion of apples. Apple fritters, apple cake, apple bacon…there was too many to name.

The conversations were rather interesting; it reinforced his belief that because one was a farmer made them inferior to others. All of the Apple family was quite witty, both with nudges and jokes. Big Mac in particular surprised Flash; having always heard of his silence, he was surprised when Big Mac was the first to start the joke contests. After dinner, Flash helped AJ with cleaning the dishes, which at the end, resulted in a splashing contest with Applebloom; he had to help dry everything in the end.

The sun was just beginning its descent when he staggered out of the Apple house. He gave both Applebloom and AJ a goodnight hug, a hoof shake for Big Mac. Granny Smith was long asleep, having fallen under the sandmare's embrace after dinner.

[….]

He staggered home, slowly opening the door and saw Fluttershy taking care of her pets. She glanced at him and hovered over to him and gave him a nuzzle on the cheek. "So how was dinner?"

"It was amazing… they're one of a kind."

She giggled and nodded. "The Apples are a group of wonderful ponies." She smiled at him as he yawned. "Is somepony sleepy?"

He chuckled. "Maybe a little." He said, swaying a bit.

"Then I think it's your bed time mister."

"But I have to help you with your pets." He insisted as he yawned.

"No buts mister, besides I already fed them dinner." She said. "Why don’t we watch a movie before bed?" She asked.

"Ok… sounds like a plan." He said as they made their way up the stairs. He laid on the bed as she rustled around her box and found a movie that she liked to watch every now and again; The Fillydelphia Story. She hooked the movie up to the projector and powered it on as she made her way on to the bed. They snuggled up as Flash rested his head on her stomach and she slowly stroked his mane as the movie started.

[….]

Twilight and Alli snuggled together in her bed, waiting for sleep to overtake them. It's been an exciting day, both telling everypony that they knew of the wedding and Twilight writing numerous letters to the Princesses. Twilight felt bad for Spike, who snored loudly in his bed, a claw on his stomach. The constant letters were probably bad for his digestion, but with the big news, she couldn’t help it.

"Everything ok Twi?" Alli whispered, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I feel bad for Spike… I put him through too much today." She said, sadly looking at Spike.

"He'll be ok; he's a tough dragon now." Alli said quietly, gently massaging her back.

"I know, I'm just-" She was interrupted as Spike suddenly shot up, coughing. "Spike are you ok?" She asked as they quickly got out of bed running over to him.

"I'm fine… I think it's a le-" He stopped, coughing again. "A letter." He said, taking a deep breath before a rolled up parchment appeared.

Alli gently patted his back as Twilight grasped the letter in her magic, unfurling it. She gasped as she read a few more times to make sure she read it correctly.

"What's wrong?" Alli asked, laying Spike down as he trotted over to her.

"It's from Princess Celestia… she says my brother wants to stop by."

"That’s good… it's been a long time since I've seen Shining-"

"Not him… My other brother."

He tilted his head. "But I thought you only had one brother?"

"So did I."

"So… when will this mysterious 'brother' of yours get here?"

"In a few hours… Says he can't wait to see his little sister." She stared at the parchment.

"Ok…" Alli nuzzled against her cheek. "Then we should get the library ready for our guest."

"Yeah…" She said, lost in thought.

They quickly picked up the library, getting it ready for their late night guest. As Alli made them some tea, Twilight sat thinking at the table. He magicked her some tea. "Here, drink this." He said.

She smiled gratefully as she sipped the still hot tea. "What does Celestia mean, 'other brother'? My brother is Shining Armor…"

"Um… Twi, I think you need to see this." Alli said, stalling her thought. She got up and looked out the window, only stare in awe.

A large flying ship hovered above their house. It looked like the balloon ship they’ve use before, but the balloon was easily quadruple the normal size. The basket itself was as large as a train, made of metal and had several viewports on the side. It had metal struts attached to a metal ring that seemed to be built into the balloon. Two large propellers were built into the back, along with a rudder that was directly in between the two. The blades of the propellers caused a rather strong and constant gust of wind that Twilight and Alli had to use their magic to not get swept away.

They saw numerous lights flicker on throughout the town as ponies became aware of the strange craft in the air.

"What the hay is that thing?" Alli whispered.

"I have no idea." Twilight said, staring at it as it hovered over the tree house. "It sorta looks like a zeppelin, but there's only a few in existence."

A rope ladder fell from the opening hatch on the side and a pony quickly climbed down. He turned around and stared at Twilight and Alli for a moment before breaking into a grin. He was almost as tall as Princess Celestia, easily taller than Big Mac. He had coffee colored coat with short, spiky brown mane. He had a brown beard that covered his chin and most of his cheeks, almost hiding a small scar on his bottom lip. His cutie mark was a wrench and hammer crossed in an X pattern. He wore a slightly dirty white scarf that fit him perfectly around the neck. He quickly hugged Twilight as she seemed to freeze up.

He let her go and continued to smile at her. "Hey Twilight, it's been a long time."

"I hate to be rude… but do I know you?" She asked cautiously.

He sighed. "I guess you were too young to remember me when I visited." He smiled sadly at them. "I'm your older brother Copper." Next Chapter: The Trip Estimated time remaining: 24 Minutes