The next morning after that, Skyward woke up, bathed, and came out to see Spike in the kitchen cooking breakfast. She glanced around--then again, she was an early riser; in Hayrule she was always getting up before the sun rose--mostly to train before breakfast. She grumbled--she'd really have to look into finding some place to train with her sword skills other than going for a run.

At least Zecora let her practice from time to time...

"Could thou use a hoof, Sir Spike? Ye seem to be needing a bit of aid."

The purple dragon turned around to see Skyward standing there and smiled. "Sure! Could you go set the table for me?"

She nodded as she levitated the plates and cutlery out of the drawer and cupboards and began setting them in their places.

"Hey, blueberry pancakes okay with you?"

"Assuredly. One assumes thou shalt have crushed gems with thine?"

"Oh yeah. Matter of fact, I'm thinking about goin' down to Sugarcube Corner to grab some gem cupcakes. Ya wanna come along?"

"Ah--of course, if thou dost not mind mine company, Spike."

" 'Course not! Speaking of Sugarcube Corner--how'd you like the party Pinkie threw for ya?"

Skyward blinked, a smile touching her mouth as she grabbed a pitcher of orange juice and poured some in cups. The party Pinkie had thrown for her was...

It reminded her of one of the taverns she frequented with her squadron. The tables were solid wood, as were the chairs. The decor was medieval wood and stone; with swords and shields and paintings of ancient lore on the normally bright walls. One of the wood fired ovens was open to look like a great fireplace, and there was plenty of delicious fare--baked apples covered in honey, numerous pies, alcohol for the adults and juice and milk for the younglings; cheese and fresh bread and butter, baskets of fresh fruit and vegetables and a great hay roast...
Music had been near the same--harp, lyre, flute and drum melding into pleasing melodies, some to dance to, others to simply listen...

And a huge three tiered toffee flavored cake covered in toffee bits, walnuts, caramel drizzle and deliciously rich chocolate frosting. Skyward had given in to Pinkie's insisting she have at least 'one more piece' and she had ended up eating three pieces of cake as a result, much to her own chagrin at having given in, but it was incredibly delicious--she knew Golden Marble would've been scarfing the lot if he'd been there. There were even subtle hints of her Haylian heritage...small candy swords, red, green and blue candy gems, and even tiny candy shields as decorations on the cake as well. Time Turner even got so drunk he got up on one of the tables and started singing off key and dancing about, much to everyone's hilarity, even his wife, Roseluck.

"T'was one of the best times one has ever had. How didst she know mine favorite flavor was toffee?"

Spike shrugged. "Dunno. Pinkie's always like that when it comes to ponies. Hay, she knows the gems I like best are sapphires. Especially that one you gave me--mmmm that was a good one! Could you pass me the spoon, please?"

Skyward chuckled as she levitated a wooden spoon into his grip and he began busily stirring the batter. "One is glad thou liked it so much."

When Twilight came down to breakfast, she smiled happily at seeing the pancakes--the three of them chowed down once they were good and ready--Twilight preferred lots of butter and syrup while Skyward had honey and fruit on hers. And of course--Spike had crushed sapphire on his pancakes.

"Well, Spike--what's on the agenda today?"

Spike grabbed a small clipboard he had set on the table earlier and looked it over. "Re-shelving the Biography and History section, need to go grocery shopping, need to pick up new quills and more ink, helping Pinkie Pie get ready for Nightmare Night...and...uh oh..."

Both mares looked at him--Skyward raised an eyebrow, and Twilight blinked at her 'Number 1 assistant'. "Spike?"

"It looks like you've got to help Rarity again too but...if you help her, you won't have time to help Pinkie Pie."

Twilight bit her lower lip in worry. "Oh, hayseed--I did promise Rarity I'd help her with the costumes but...umm..."

"Mayhap I could take thine place, Twilight? To aid Pinkie Pie, one means. Spike didst ask me earlier if I wished to accompany him to Sugarcube Corner, and one agreed, so...?" Skyward had finished her food and was cleaning up the mess--she earned her place by helping about the library and with chores as well, though Celestia and Luna, had asked her for some of her own defense and offensive spells in return for a very generous monetary sum.

"That would work out great! Though Rarity does want you to come over later for your own costume fitting and she has some clothes for you she wants you to try."

Skyward resisted the urge to let her ears pull back against her head--she genuinely liked Rarity, but it was the possible thought of trying on a dress that made her more than a little tense about that. "O-of course. Spike, when didst thee wish to depart?"

"Uh--why don't we head there now? I can get my cupcakes, and you can see what Pinkie needs done for Nightmare Night."

After cleaning up breakfast, and Skyward donning her armor, sword and shield, she followed Spike out of the door and into Ponyville. Halfway to Sugarcube Corner, however, they ran into somepony--who happened to be a brown stallion with a rather spiky matching short mane and tail, with an hourglass cutie mark on his flank. He caught sight of her, did a double take and rubbed his eyes with his hooves, blinking rapidly as if he could not believe what he was seeing. Then he circled her and eyed her close, all but sticking his muzzle into her face. He donned a pair of spectacles and continued examining her closely: Skyward's magic surrounded her sword hilt, but she waited to see what the stallion would do.

"...Long way from home, ain't ya. Hoo-boy--you really are an interesting one aren't ya? Huh..."

He was suddenly peering very hard at her flank and she bit back an urge to kick him but let out an irritated huff of breath that warned him to move away, which, he did. He took off his glasses and tucked them back in his mane somewhere and looked at her---his blue eyes had a sad, compassionate look in them.

"Wonder how that's gonna be explained...you've got your work cut out for you for sure..."

Skyward honestly didn't know what to think. "...Thou could say that, sir. Please, excuse me--one does not wish to keep mine friend waiting."
She moved around him and quickly caught up with Spike, glancing over her shoulder at the stallion, who grinned and waved at her, giving her oddly enough a Haylian salute before he trotted off.

Skyward snorted and shook her head. "Goddesses..."

Spike waved a claw. "Don't worry about Time Turner. He's always been like that--little on the odd side but he's a good pony. He fixes watches, clocks--any sort of time piece really."

They reached Sugarcube Corner...Skyward walked inside and the smell of sweetness invaded her nostrils---cookies baking, fresh bread, cakes and pies on display, bundles of baguettes and bagels...

Skyward had to smile--this place never failed to cheer her up. She didn't know exactly why, but--there were pleasant memories of her own home associated with the smells of bread baking and the like...

"Skyward! It's great to see you!" Skyward also had to chuckle at the overflowing exuberance of Pinkie Pie. "Greetings, Pinkie. You seem quite in a good mood today."
Pinkie nodded, glancing at Spike, who was waiting for a set of gem cupcakes to be boxed by Mrs. Cake behind the counter. "Hey Spike! Where's Twilight at?"

"As a matter of fact...that is why one is here. Twilight feared she would not be able to make it, so I offered to come help thee instead, if that is all right..."

Pinkie clapped her hooves in glee. "Of COURSE its all right! Eeee! C'mon, we got SO much to do! Oh, here...umm...you might wanna remove your armor and stuff first. And we gotta hide it from the twins."

Skyward blinked in confusion. "The twins? Art thou a mother?"

Pinkie Pie shook her head so fast it looked like she had multiple heads instead of just one. "Nopey dopey! Mr. and Mrs. Cake are the parents! I just help take care of them!"

Skyward left her armor and sword and shield in Pinkie's room, and sealed it in a magic bubble so the babies couldn't get into it. She followed Pinkie to the kitchen--And gawked at the huge amount of pastries and pies and cakes that were being made. There had to be literal hills of the stuff in here! She ducked under a tall stack of cupcakes and followed Pinkie, feeling as if her eyes were going to fall out of her head.

"....Is...is this all for Nightmare Night alone?"

"Yepperooni! But! We still gotta make more! All of this is going to Canterlot, for Princess Celestia! Princess Luna comes down here for Nightmare Night--its gonna be so great! Oooh! What are YOU gonna be for Nightmare Night?"

Skyward shook her head, shrugging at the pink pony. "....I doth not know what Lady Rarity hath in mind for me, Pinkie. Twilight did say I had a costume fitting later..."

Pinkie Pie giggled and hugged her, making Skyward smile despite her unease. "Bet whatever it is it'll be super-duper special! Okay, so, the representative from Canterlot'll be coming by to pick all these up soon so...let's box these up, and then we gotta make more cake!"

Skyward set to her assigned task---she put what seemed like endless types of pastries, cookies, pies, cakes and cupcakes into varied boxes--Pinkie tied them up, stuck a bow on them, or draped them with fake spiderwebs. They set them on a cart just outside the door--or in Skyward's case, floated them out to carefully stack them. Hearing flapping wings outside, Pinkie squealed and clapped her hooves in delight.
"Ooo they're here, they're here!"

She zipped outside with a flash of pink, and Skyward continued putting boxes near the half opened door, which Pinkie stuck some part of herself in and grabbed them, whisking them outside like crazy. The Haylian mare was reaching for the last few boxes when...

Rrrrrrriiiiipppp---PHLUFFF!

Skyward looked up only to be covered by something powdery, white and...PTOOO! She coughed and spat a little, realizing it was flour! She knew Pinkie did like to play pranks...Skyward sneezed, shoving the flour out of her face and looked up with an partially annoyed expression--

Only to see a baby unicorn filly hovering effortlessly above her head, the color of raw pumpkin flesh with a mane and tail the color of freshly baked pumpkin pie. Her horn glowed a soft blue, and she giggled at Skyward, putting a tiny hooftip to her mouth. Skyward shook her head, ridding herself of the white substance, chuckling as she stood up and gently reached out for the filly. "Well now. One believes thou must be one of the twins then, hmm?"

A stream of inane foal babble was her answer, and she chuckled, smiling at the filly. "I see--so thou art here...so where is thine sibling--Oof!"

She twisted her head around when something landed on her back--or more likely, somepony. A french vanilla colored pegasi foal with a chocolate colored mane and tail burbled at her, blowing a spit bubble, and Skyward laughed.

"Ah! There thou art, little one!"

"Skyward? Hey, where's the rest of...oh! I see you've met Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake; they're the twins! Pound's the one on your back and Pumpkin's the one on...your head. And why are you covered in flour?"

Skyward laughed as she levitated the final boxes towards Pinkie's waiting hooves. "Little Pumpkin thought t'would be amusing to drop a flour bag on one's head. One dost not mind--she is a foal still."

Pumpkin giggled and tugged at Skyward's horn, and Skyward levitated her off of her head and onto her back with her brother. They tumbled over Skyward's back, tugging at her mane and tail to play with, sometimes her ears...she winced at this, but she endured it as she carried the rest of the boxes to Pinkie Pie who beamed from ear to ear. "Wow! The twins really like you!"

Skyward shrugged her shoulders as best she could as she had two squealing foals on her back and trying to balance a few last boxes of cupcakes. "One is not sure why--aside from rescuing younglings from dangerous situations in villages who are under attack, one hath not had much experience with them...ow ow ow..."

"Pumpkin, that's not very nice! Stop pulling Skyward's ear, she needs that--oh, come here..."

Pinkie Pie gently pulled Pumpkin off of Skyward's back and away from her abused ear, and grabbed Pound by the back of the neck, intent on putting them upstairs...Or so they thought, because the second the twins were away from the interesting new pony--they started to whimper and mewl, well on their way to a crying fit...Pinkie froze, sensing what was coming for sure--a full on screaming tantrum from both of the twins...

Seeing this Skyward bit her lip, thinking quickly before she puckered her lips and began whistling. The tune she whistled was jaunty and semi-fast paced--it was an old song her mother had sang for her before she had died. Both of the twins stopped whimpering, listening to the tune Skyward was whistling...the song seemed to speak of forests dappled in sunlight, of a brisk breeze through soft emerald leaves, carefree and happy. They clapped their little hooves and squealed in delight when Skyward stopped whistling, out of breath from doing so, but the Haylian unicorn smiled. Pinkie Pie's eyes were as wide as dinner plates and her mouth was hanging open like a trap door.

"Woooooowwwww--how did you do that? I've never whistled like that before!"

"...I do not hath mine flute otherwise I would have played that for them. My...my sire always did that to send me to sleep when I was a filly."

Skyward sighed, feeling the familiar weight of homesickness settle into her stomach, and closed her eyes. Hearing a quiet burbling babble she opened them to see Pumpkin and Pound in front of her--Pumpkin had levitated another sack of flour over their heads. With a rip and a pflufhh the powdery white substance doused the twins and they grinned at Skyward, who despite her own sadness, let out a chuckle, which made them squeal in delight.

Pinkie Pie laughed, "They did that for me too, once, when I babysat for them for the first time. It hasn't lost its kick! Okay so now we need to start making more stuff for Nightmare Night! Have any ideas?"

Skyward frowned, shaking off the rest of the flour on her while Pinkie Pie cleaned the twins off of flour residue--from what she knew and what Twilight had told her, Nightmare Night was before the Running of the Leaves, signifying the beginning of autumn to winter--in Hayrule, it would be the Harvest Solstice. It was also a night to dress up, be somepony you weren't--a festival revolving about one of the historical figures of Equestria--Nightmare Moon...a wicked alicorn who wished for eternal night to cover Equestria. It was a little unnerving to think of that Princess Luna had once been Nightmare Moon herself--saved by Twilight and her friends to be reverted to her true self. But then again, Luna knew her faults and had been forgiven for them.

"Hmm...mayhap something like...ah...might one use your oven?"

Pinkie nodded as she rubbed the warm cloth over Pumpkin's back. "Go for it! Ooo are ya gonna make something from home? Are ya?"

"As best I can, aye--some things are not what they are here, but one shalt make do...eh?"

Skyward turned at the sudden jerk of her tail from behind, and saw that Pumpkin had her tail in her mouth. The twins were giving her sad looks, as if begging her not to go, and Skyward turned and nosed them both, making them giggle. She scooped up the foals and gave them to Pinkie, then washed her hooves at the sink, glancing about her before she took a big mixing bowl, a wooden spoon--

Flour. Sugar, both white and brown. She dug around in the pantry with a frown, where was that blasted baking soda; and she sniffed at the spice rack until she found what she was looking for. Nutmeg and cinnamon, cloves--some orange juice...

"Pinkie Pie?"

The pink pony looked up from where she was putting Pumpkin and Pound in their high chairs--it was almost their meal time anyway. "Yeah?"

"Where dost thou keep thine pumpkins? In a cellar mayhap?"

Pinkie looked confused for about five seconds. "Pumpkin? Cellar? Ohhh--hold on a second!"

Flash. Gone out the door one second and ZZZIIIIIP--DING! Back the next with a big whopper of a pumpkin rolling through the door. "This...ugh...big enough?"

"More than enough, thank thee. Please, stand back?"

Skyward lowered her horn...normally she'd do this by hoof but there wasn't time. Silver light surrounded the pumpkin as she stripped it of its skin, top and seeds---then she began invoking her Blood Boil spell. Normally this would have been used on an enemy but in this case, she'd found it could also be used to cook certain foods quicker, as long as you lessened the strength behind the spell. The pumpkin began to soften, steam and cook from the inside out...once it was soft enough Skyward forced it to separate into pieces and magically macerated them with a Dancing Blades spell.

Once it was all sliced and diced up, she dumped some of it in with the other stuff in the main bowl--Pinkie popped up from behind with several containers to hold the rest of it in...and feeding the twins with. Ready made foal food, yay!

Once the pumpkin was in, she added vegetable oil, salt, a tiny hint of red pepper powder, 3 big eggs (without the shells, duh) and found some chocolate chips to add into the mix, asking Pinkie Pie for permission first. She stirred it all together with a big spoon, checking the oven's heat, then setting out the baking pans Pinkie Pie had pointed out to her. She greased them well with butter, then poured the well mixed batter into every pan, about halfway point. Into the oven they went--Skyward turned to clean up her mess while Pinkie finished feeding the twins, then put them upstairs for a nap.

The delicious smell of cinnamon, pumpkin and chocolate filled the air, and that lured in Cup Cake from the outside counter. "Mmmm! What smells so good in here? Pinkie, are you baking something new?"

"Nopey dopey! That's Skyward's baking ya smell! Doesn't it smell good! What is it anyway?"

"My home village's pumpkin bread. Every harvest season, we wouldst make much of it, and sell it to neighboring towns besides."

Cup Cake looked intrigued, and would have asked more, but a noise from upstairs got their attention and the blue and pink Earth Pony mare trotted upstairs to see to her children. Skyward and Pinkie Pie exchanged relieved looks as Pinkie began setting up more pans and measuring out more flour and sugar...

Trays of cupcakes, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, pumpkin, berry--all covered in spooky purple, eerie green, or bright orange or white frosting adorned with spiders, bats or little ghosts. Pies that looked normal enough but the fillings were different colors and even tasted the opposite of what they looked to be--cakes, some big and some small...

When Skyward took her chocolate pumpkin bread out of the oven, they let it cool before Cup Cake cut up a loaf and all three ponies tried a piece...

"Mmmm-mm!"

"Sweet Celestia--this has to be the best pumpkin bread I've ever tasted! Hoo...bit of a kick in it too, but it really adds to the flavor!"

Pinkie gobbled half the loaf and held up a hoof, mouth smeared with chocolate-- "We should...totally give some to Twilight and the others! I could eat this all day!"

At Skyward's assent, Cup Cake cut up some of them and put them out on a tray on the counter--Pinkie poked Skyward's shoulder and pointed at two boxes on a shelf--one was wrapped in paper that looked like a starry night and the other looked like a pastel ever shifting rainbow.

"Before ya go to Canterlot come and pick those up! You can make something for the Princesses to say thank you!"

"Good idea, Pinkie Pie. But I doth not know what sort of things they like..."

"Just pick something and go with it, silly filly! Besides...Celestia REALLY loves cake. And I mean REALLY really really loves it."

Skyward barely stifled a laugh at this--Princess Zelda was the same, save her vice was pie, and lots of it. The Haylian mare retrieved her armaments and was about to leave for Rarity's for her fitting when Cup Cake caught up to her outside, gasping for breath.

"Skyward, Skyward, wait a second!"

Puzzled, Skyward turned around to regard the blue and pink mare, who had clearly run after her in a hurry. "Could--could I ask a favor?"

"Of course, Master Baker, name thy wish," Skyward replied, pricking her ears forward in curiosity.

"No sooner did we put that bread out than it was gone in a flash, and everypony wants more of it!"

Skyward glanced over and did a double take--there was a long line of customers leading out of the door and into the street. She flicked her tail, looking utterly bemused at the sight. "...Well...I didst know that mine village's simple recipe would garner such praise..."

"Can you make more of it? Or give us the recipe? We can pay you for it..."

Skyward raised an armored hoof to stop the other mare's stream of speech. "I'll not hear of thee paying for it...ye and thine mate hath two foals to feed. Dost thou have parchment handy, milady?"

Cup Cake led her back to the bakery and Skyward painstakingly wrote down the recipe for her village's pumpkin bread, and Carrot Cake, Cup Cake's husband got busy baking more batches of it. Cup Cake went into the back and handed Skyward a large sack that jingled and rang--Skyward shook her head, trying to return it, but the mare firmly pressed it into her hooves.

"I mean it, sweetie. You deserve this. Now hurry along before you're late for your fitting! Pinkie, would you take her over to Carousel Boutique?"

"Okie dokie loki!"

Skyward had to shake her head as she was all but dragged down the street towards Rarity's domain, but she had to smile as she glanced over her shoulder. It did feel good to see other ponies happy--so it was with that, she entered Carousel Boutique with a smile of her own on her muzzle.

(Later that afternoon)
"So have you ever ridden on a train before?"

Skyward shook her head in wonder, gazing at the view outside of the train's windows, and marveled at how fast they were going. "Never. We do not have this at home--if we did, trade and travel wouldst be so much easier."

Twilight Sparkle laughed. "I'll bet it would."

They were minutes away from Canterlot, as Princess Celestia had requested of them to do four days after Skyward's initial discovery. Skyward's Equestrian was still shaky, but Twilight was ready to help her if she had trouble. Skyward had offered to teach Twilight Haylian and a few of the less dangerous spells she knew in return--the purple unicorn had jumped at the chance to do so. The train whistled loudly as it pulled into Canterlot station--the morning sun gilding the spires and peaks of the royal palace with a near majestic halo all its own.

Disembarking from the train--Skyward drew a lot of stares from the upper crust ponies with her appearance, but she coldly paid them no mind as she walked next to Twilight. Despite the nobleponies she could see, Canterlot was indeed a beautiful city--what startled her is that it was mostly unicorns, she noticed, and said as much to Twilight, who chuckled.

"This is the capital of Equestria, as you know. And Princess Platinum the Fourteenth ruled here until Princess Celestia took the throne when she raised the sun all on her own. As such, the only ponies that lived here were unicorns. Nowadays, of course, there's pegasi and Earth Ponies too, but the majority is still the same."

Canterlot Castle loomed ahead of them, resplendent in gold, purple and white, and shimmering in the light of the sun, almost seeming like an ancient temple permanently gilded by day and luminescent by night. The guards at the gate wore golden armor barding, helm and hoofcups, with a teal blue star in the middle, their manes and tails a matching dark blue color poking through the slits in the armor meant for that purpose. The two guards were unicorns and they held long spears in the crooks of their forelegs.

When they reached the castle gates, Twilight passed through unhindered, but the second the guards' eyes clapped on the strange armored mare, they blocked her way with their spears, both of them glaring at her. Skyward resisted the urge to 'reach' for her own sword--mentally, she sneered at the guards; they had muscle and clearly dedicated, true, but still. They could use a little more training, in her eyes...particularly the one on the right. He had muscle--but she could tell his armor was a little too tight in a certain area. She lifted her chin and glared back at them, her royal blue eyes turning ice cold as she stared unerringly back at them in return...

"Let her pass, sirs. She is with me, and Princess Celestia requested to see her right away."

The guards nodded at Twilight, and uncrossed their spears--Skyward walked by them, head held high. She didn't even glance backwards at them as the doors behind her swung shut. Once she was gone, the two guards blew out a breath.

"Okay. That, was scary."

"Did you see the way she was staring at you?"

"Yeah, and not in the good way either. I could've sworn she was about to kick my flank if I even sneezed..."

Meanwhile, in the castle halls, Twilight Sparkle led Skyward among the vast, ornate high ceilinged pathway to the Princesses' throne room.

"Whew--for a second I thought you were going to fight them."

"Not worth mine time to challenge. No offense to thine brother, but those two need training. One detected one of them was a bit too fat for his armor."

Twilight Sparkle raised an eyebrow at her friend. "You could tell that just by looking at them?"

"Aye. One was part of a squadron of guards back home--inspection was rigorous indeed. We can indulge in sweets and the like if we wilt, however, if found lacking, we paid for it by going through one of the obstacle courses in the training grounds..."

"Twily!"

Skyward looked forward to see a large white unicorn stallion trotting towards them. He had blue eyes and a blue mane and tail with darker blue streaks running through it. He had muscle on him--not too much but enough to tell her he did indeed work hard. His cutie mark was that of a blue kite shield with a dark pink star in the center with three smaller blue stars at the top of it.

They hugged one another, Twilight all but tackling her brother to the ground with how much force she threw herself at him, and he hugged her back just as hard. He gave her a noogie as well, making her squeak and bat at him, but in play. Skyward smiled warmly, reminded of her own brother and his greetings, even if he did tend to divebomb her a lot.

"It's great to see you, little sis. What brings you to Canterlot?"

Twilight paused, panic slowly seeping in--how was she going to explain this to her brother? Skyward caught her attention by waving her armored hoof and she nodded reassuringly at Twilight--Shining Armor had to be a trustworthy pony, after all, and she trusted Twilight's judgment.

"Shining, listen...I'll explain everything after Skyward and I finish our business with the princesses. This isn't something we can discuss out in the open."

Shining Armor blinked, then nodded at his sister. "I'll come with you guys--Cadence is in there too, talking to Princess Celestia and Luna."

Twilight Sparkle pricked her ears and Skyward raised an eyebrow. "Is there trouble?"

Shining shook his head, his blue streaked mane waving back and forth as the doors glowed gold and began to open for them, the three ponies moving towards the opening gateway. "Not too much--but she's requesting more of the Royal Guard. Apparently there's been some Diamond Dog resurgence in the western part of the Crystal Empire and well, it's becoming a nuisance."

There was a pink and purple alicorn speaking with the Royal Sisters, and at Twilight Sparkle's calling of her name, she trotted off of the dais and faced her sister in law with a big smile of her own.

"Sunshine, sunshine!
Ladybug's awake!
Clap your hooves;
And do a little shake!"

Skyward bit back a laugh, but was unable to keep from smiling warmly--but it was so nice to see such a display of gaiety from old friends meeting. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza--or Cadence, as she preferred to be called, was primarily pink and purple--her mane and tail did not blow in an unseen draft like the other two did, and was in only three shades--purple, dark rose and gold. Her eyes were almost the same as Celestia's, a regal shade of violet, and her cutie mark was a blue crystal heart with gold banners on either side.

Skyward knelt, bowing her head--it was Luna this time that bade her to rise. She surprised the three princesses by presenting them with three boxes of cupcakes, stating 'T'would be rude if I showed myself without a gift to thank thee for your kindnesses'. She had duplicated the cupcakes twice, plus the box and ribbons, and hastily made a combination to give to Cadence after hearing there was a third princess in the room.

Celestia smiled as she accepted the rainbow colored box tied with a silver ribbon, her mouth watering at the sweet chocolate cupcake treats she could smell inside. "Your gift is greatly appreciated, Skyward. We have the paperwork drawn up--all you need do is sign them to become a citizen of Equestria."

"We art still looking into thy situation, fear not," Luna told the royal blue/indigo unicorn as she happily took her own box--it looked like a starry night with a gold ribbon; with the scent of strawberries, and she nodded in reply.

"One is patient, Princesses--thou hast a vast kingdom to care for, and thine subjects come first."

Shining Armor looked confused until Twilight began explaining to her brother and Cadence who she was and what was going on. Needless to say, Shining Armor looked utterly shocked, like as if somepony had kicked him in the gut--Cadence had heard the story from her aunts already, but she looked no less impressed herself.

Shining Armor could scarcely believe what his sister was telling him, but he kept his voice down when she shushed him fiercely, gesturing at the guards at the dais with her eyes. "So you're saying Hayrule is actually real? Is she Time Link's daughter or...or his descendant?"

Twilight Sparkle shook her head adamantly. "No, she's not, Shining. Trust me on this...Celestia herself confirmed her story."

Shining Armor rubbed his chin. "Man, I kinda know how she feels--helpless and unable to do anything. Chrysalis had me chained down with her spell--but her situation sounds like its a lot worse."

Cadence nodded her head, watching as Skyward signed the papers that registered her as a citizen of Equestria, listing her as born in Ponyville and living there. "It sounds sort of what King Sombra did to the Crystal Empire. But, speaking of which--Twilight, do you and your friends have any plans after Nightmare Night?"

"Umm...we promised we'd help Applejack with applebuck season, there's the Running of the Leaves, but nothing too major..."

Cadence smiled warmly at her. "We'd like to have you and your friends come to the Crystal Empire for a bit. It's been too long since we spent any time together."

Shining Armor interjected here, a serious look on his face. "But Twilight, we do need help. The Diamond Dogs are seriously getting out of hoof--there have been attempted kidnappings and we've warned them if they continue to do it lethal force will be used to remove their presence."

Twilight Sparkle nodded, and gestured at Skyward, who was asking Celestia a question about a particular part of the official registration she was on and the sun princess explaining matters.

"Could Skyward come too? That and believe me--she's a regular powerhouse when it comes to fighting. What's more, Shining--she knows how to take orders, she's a good soldier. She serves Princess Zelda--like me, she's Zelda's personal student, and one of the strongest unicorns in Nayru's Vanguard."

"Of course she can come too, Twilight. She certainly seems like a nice pony. I wonder what kind of cupcakes---ooo, looks like chocolate strawberry swirl! Delicious!" Cadence's eyes lit up as she levitated two cupcakes out of the rainbowed starry night box and shared one with Shining.

Twilight Sparkle had to blink--chocolate strawberry swirl? She knew Skyward had, with the help of Pinkie Pie, had baked a 'thank you gift' for the princesses...

Unless that duplication spell had accidentally merged the two different kinds of cupcakes in the third box into one set...?

There was a commotion by the door, followed by a haughty male voice, then one of the doors opened a bit to allow somepony through. Everypony looked over to see the impromptu visitor; Skyward had her helm off, so her face was quite visible. Her mane was half-braided away from her line of sight, and she turned back to her paperwork with barely a second glance, uninterested in the pearl white unicorn stallion that had come so boldly into the royal throne room.

"Auntie--what is this I hear that you cannot come to my party this afternoon?"

Princess Celestia held back a sigh and tilted her head at him in return. "Prince Blueblood, I sent a message to you yesterday telling you why--important matters have come up and I simply cannot attend today. Perhaps another time, nephew."

Blueblood shook back his impeccably groomed blond mane--he was about to speak when his eye lighted on Skyward, who was signing yet another piece of paper and asking Luna a question, to which the Moon Princess answered.

"Is she the reason you cannot attend? This...this common born pony clad in such tacky armor?"

Princess Celestia's tone did not change, yet her gaze turned slightly hard as she regarded her nephew. "As I have said, nephew--I have other matters to attend to this day. I will not turn away one of my subjects when they have a dire problem only we can solve. Especially if they made an appointment with us beforehoof--long before your party invitation one might add."

She gestured at Luna as she spoke--Luna could tell Skyward was insulted but she was keeping her cool, choosing to ignore the prince's biting words. Shining Armor nudged his sister. "Blueblood better realize he's being given a graceful way out."

Twilight Sparkle shook her head at her brother. "Knowing him, he's going to end up with his hoof in his mouth."

Cadence sighed heavily. "Bluey never did know when to shut his muzzle...now I think it's going to come back to bite him in the plot and rather hard at that."

Meanwhile, the 'prince' continued to talk, Skyward ignoring his haranguing monologue for the most part of it. Luna leaned over as if to check something and nodded, keeping her voice low so she wouldn't attract Blueblood's attention. "Thou hast incredible patience, Skyward..."

Skyward took in a slow breath and let it out, shrugging her shoulders. "One hath had much practice with the nobleponies of Zelda's court...that 'princeling' behind me is no exception."

"...and what ghastly style she has...did her mother never teach her to dress correctly? Honestly, I would think..."

Silence suddenly reigned in the vast throne hall of Canterlot the second those words left his mouth. Everypony was still, save for Blueblood, who continued to rant as he thought was his 'princely' wont to do. The princesses three stared at him in varying degrees of disbelief and anger, Shining Armor shook his head slowly from side to side, an almost pitying gaze on his face and Twilight's mouth hung open like a trap door. The quill dropped to the stack of papers, the silver aura fading away from it as Skyward suddenly went still as a statue, hearing those words aimed at her mother, who had been a powerful mage herself in Princess Zelda's service. She rose to all four hooves and turned, as if to stretch...

There was a blinding FLASH and suddenly, she was a blur across the throne hall, crashing into Blueblood, drawing her sword in one smooth movement and slamming him up against the nearest pillar, baring her teeth at him, royal blue eyes burning in sheer rage. Her sword sliced through the air with a hiss as she brought it to bear...

Right up against the prince's neck.

The guards moved to intercept but Celestia waved them back with one hoof--she wanted to see how this would play out.

"Insult me all thou wish, ye spoiled prat--but thou shalt NEVER badmouth mine mother. Do so again and I shalt geld thee where thou stand," Skyward hissed at him, eyes blazing in fury as she held him against the wall, her sword edge biting lightly into his throat. Blueblood was still as a statue; he was too frightened by how fast the armored mare had moved and how very real the edge of that gleaming sword she had was against his throat. Without looking away from her target, the angry Haylian mare spoke again, this time shouting to make herself heard.

"Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! One demands satisfaction for thine kin's insults towards the honored deceased!"

Cadence and Luna glanced at the eldest alicorn in the room; now normally Celestia would calm things down and hopefully let things slide--but the Sun Princess was not very pleased at her nephew's blatant display of disrespect...that and with the reports Twilight had made to her on Haylian culture--

Insulting the dead was just plain stupid but insulting the honored dead; in this case, brave mares and stallions who had served in the Haylian Army, Royal Guard or a Nayru's Hoofmaiden, which her mother had been--was a grave offense in Hayrule--Celestia knew Skyward could demand Blueblood's death if she willed it--but this was not Hayrule, and she knew Skyward respected her and Luna to be sure, just as much as the Mane Six did. Not a deathmatch--but a duel most certainly was in order to put her uppity nephew into place. That and she'd had enough complaints from her own staff about Blueblood's abhorrent actions--this was a choice situation to put him in his place.

And you just did NOT insult somepony's mother--THAT was common sense, which was something Blueblood sufficiently lacked.

"Would a duel suffice, Skyward? You cannot slay him; but you can fight him. First blood wins the match."

Skyward thought about this for a moment before she nodded. "One accepts thy terms, Princess, with one slight exception. I shalt fight him here and now, in front of all of thee. Here is where the pretentious cretin wilt learn his place."

Blueblood looked astounded as he was released none too gently from the powerful mare's hold as she teleported back towards the dais and stood there, regarding him with a gaze full of fury and glacial disgust.

"Auntie, you cannot be serious! Why should I, the descendant of Princess Platinum XIV and scion of the House Blueblood have to fight her? She..."

"Is to be treated with respect, and Blueblood, I have allowed your insults to pass but there are indeed lines that you do not cross, and today, you have crossed one of them. Now you must take your medicine like the noblestallion you claim to be so often."

Blueblood huffed, tossing his head in a regal manner. "Then I demand this be done with some of the nobles in attendance at the very least!"

Celestia glanced at Skyward, who nodded her head. "Then have thine guards bring the chosen three here. I do not trust this coward to not run with his tail betwixt his legs," Skyward scornfully stated, and Blueblood puffed up in outrage.

"Why of all the...I can make your life extremely difficult for you and all it would take would be a single word from me!"

Skyward gave him a smile that belonged on a hungry manticore. "And one knows seven different ways to turn thee inside out within five seconds to a moment, so kindly close thy muzzle before one finds a needle and thread and sews it shut."

The guards exchanged looks--torn between showing their extreme amusement at the abrupt comeuppance the prince was getting and keeping their stoic masks in place--one of them coughed into his hoof but it sounded suspiciously enough like a badly stifled guffaw.

Shining Armor exchanged a stunned look with Cadence and his sister. "What the buck did Blueblood get himself into just now?"

Twilight Sparkle smirked as she sat back to watch. "The biggest plot-kicking of his life. Just watch. You wanted to know how good Skyward was in a fight, BBBFF? Well here's your chance."

Skyward could have been a glittering statue, for all she resembled as she coldly regarded Blueblood from across the throne room. Three nobleponies--two stallions and one mare trotted in, all of them gossiping about something or other. Two more guards brought in a rack of rapiers and the prince made a show of choosing the correct one, doffing his silk jacket and collar and handing them off to another guard.

Skyward rolled her eyes under her helm--every inch the foppish noble she had thought him to be. If her assessment was correct...

Twilight Sparkle watched her Haylian friend sharpen her sword and leaned over towards her mentor "Princess, are you certain this is okay? Skyward might kill him..."

Celestia shook her head minutely at her student. "You need to have more faith in her, Twilight. She won't kill him. You need to realize that while Skyward is indeed a pony who knows the ways of war; she also knows when not to kill somepony. You may want to disguise Skyward's shield, however..."

Twilight realized with a shock of fright that her mentor was right--Cadence however nudged her sister-in-law gently with one hoof, nodding at the shield in question. "I've got it covered, sweetie."

Faking a mighty sneeze, the tiniest bit of sky blue magic fell from Cadence's horn, turning red when it hit the carpet, and snaked over to Skyward, who was inspecting her sword, and testing its edge. Her shield was lying on the floor, thankfully facing away from the nobleponies and Blueblood, who had chosen a rapier and was now boasting to his fellow hangers-on about his assured victory. The tiny spark of magic connected with it..and since Skyward was sitting mostly in front of it nopony saw the glamour that shone over its surface.

Now it looked just like a regular oak and steel bound shield, no heraldry to speak of...not at least what the other ponies could see. To those that knew the truth, however...

They could still see it.

Satisfied with her sword's edge, Skyward picked up her shield and stretched her muscles, before she turned to address the group behind her. "Princess Celestia--art thou going to officiate the duel, or should thine celestial sibling do the honors?"

Celestia smiled, gesturing at her sister with one gilded hoof. "Luna, would you like to oversee this battle?"

The Moon Princess smiled broadly, bowing her head to her sister. "One wouldst be honored to do so. Skyward--from reading those reports on thine home from Twilight, one knows that death wouldst normally be the penalty for Blueblood's thoughtless words, considering that insulting the memory of an honorable warrior-mage is indeed a grave offense in thine own lands. Ye are in full right to claim a duel at the very least for thine mother's honor tarnished, however, Equestrian law prevents thee from claiming his head. Dost thou understand this?"

Skyward nodded her head, saluting Luna. "One understands, Moon Princess. This is not mine own land--as such, one must adapt, but that arrogant little foal must be taught a lesson."

"On this I have to agree," Celestia sighed as she looked at her nephew across the throne hall. "I fear it is my fault his abominable behavior and cruel nature has come to light and for that, Skyward--I offer my deepest apologies."

Skyward slipped her helm on, peering out at them through the eyeholes. "The fault not be thine own, Princess. Ye hath no say in how he decided on his own to what he hath become."

"THIS DUEL SHALT NOW OFFICIALLY COMMENCE! THE FIRST TO DRAW BLOOD SHALT BE DECLARED THE WINNER!"

The two combatants took their places--Skyward breathed in, out, and brought her sword and shield to the fore, pawing the ground with one armored hoof as she eyed the prince like predator would prey. Blueblood tossed his head disdainfully--but there was a trace of fear in his eyes; this armored mare looked like she meant business to be sure...

Luna raised one hoof, opening her wings as she looked between the two of them. "DUELISTS! BEGIN!"

Blueblood smirked to himself as he approached his opponent--he thought this was going to be a regular duel. A fancy bit of fencing and a bit of magic, little else, and since he was so good at it he knew he would win the duel for certain.

He couldn't have been more wrong.

The armored mare merely flicked her sword at him in a dismissive gesture--he glared and rushed her, which was his first mistake. She parried, threw him off balance, then gave him a nasty kick in the shin, definitely causing a bruise to form there. He shouted in pain, and hopped back a few paces, only to have her rush him to keep him off balance. She forced him to dance as she fired off bolts of flame and light from her horn, making him run back and forth to avoid them. He teleported...hearing the 'pop' off to her left she quickly stepped to one side and his own spell lanced past her, crashing into the wall of the throne room and shattering the stone. He all but squealed as she teleported and attempted to deliver a kick to his right flank--he shied away sharply, and barely managed to take a swipe at her with his own blade, which she dodged.

Skyward snorted inwardly and decided to end the duel quickly...she caught his rapier with her own sword and viciously twirled her own blade, forcing him to lose his 'grip' and drop the thin blade to the floor. He backed up, but she gave him absolutely no quarter as she followed up with shield bashing him harshly--he went down like a stunned ox, knocked him to the ground, pinning him beneath her hooves. She slapped his horn with one armored hoof--doing this to a unicorn prevented them from spellcasting for a few precious seconds--and she knew from experience it also did hurt quite a bit. Using the time she had bought herself, she raised her sword overhead, then sent it screaming downwards in a grand arc...

The tip of her sword slashed his cheek, just enough to loose blood from the fissure, which stained his cheek fur pink as it flowed--and it visibly stained the tip of Skyward's blade. Seeing this, Luna raised a hoof to the ceiling, shouting the end of the duel in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"FIRST BLOOD HATH BEEN DRAWN, BY SKYWARD! THIS DUEL IS OFFICIALLY OVER; SKYWARD IS DECLARED THE WINNER!"

Twilight Sparkle, Cadence and Shining Armor were stamping their hooves and cheering for the victor as Skyward moved off of him; she disdainfully cleaned her sword on his white coat, before returning her sword and her disguised shield to her back, brandishing the sword with a flourish before sheathing it with a 'click'. The guards--some of them were stifling laughter, others were nodding at their fellows with badly disguised glee and approval--one even brohoofed his partner, who gave an emphatic nod of his own. She did not turn her back however, merely watching the beaten prince rise to his knees as a few doctors converged on him to look at the shallow cut Skyward had made with her sword. Blueblood glared at her--the molten fury in his azure gaze at being publically humiliated and shown up in front of his sycophants was clear. If looks could kill--but, ah well. Semantics.

"I swear when this heals you will pay for this, you insolent little..."

"You shalt do no such thing, Blueblood. That goes for the lot of thou, as well," Luna snapped, turning to look at the other astounded nobleponies with a glacial stare. "I know for one thing I wouldst have had taken more than that if he insulted mine mother, who also is mine sister's mother, who is indeed, deceased..."

"I would have never insulted your mother, Auntie Luna!"

A hoofstomp that rattled the stained glass windows in their frames resounded through the hall. "Dost that give thee the right to insult the mother of this warrioress here? The mare who trained and raised her to follow in her hoofsteps, before fighting in a glorious battle to save her filly and the price exacted was her own life?" Luna snapped in response.

This wasn't exactly the truth, but Luna decided to run with it--after all, she knew Skyward's mother had been a talented battlemage indeed.

Celestia descended from her throne, giving her nephew a very disappointed look. "Nephew, you have much to think about. That cut will indeed heal--most likely with a scar, but you will always remember how swiftly you were beaten whenever you look in the mirror. Perhaps this is a lesson you need to mind your tongue, hmm? Oh, and by the way..."

Blueblood turned to look at his aunt, who suddenly fixed him and his entourage with the most frigid stare imaginable. When she spoke, it was as if the sun itself had decided to hide behind a cloud. Permanently.

"What has happened in this room goes no further than the doors of this chamber. If we hear even one little word, one little spate of gossip--you can be certain we will be making 'corrections' of our own--and also to your titles and wealth, should any of this reach outside ears. This duel was demanded in private, and as such, it shall remain private; in every sense of the word."

Murmurs of assent filled the hall, and the nobleponies left, Blueblood trailing behind them. He glanced back over his shoulder as the strange armored mare turned her head to address one of his aunts, then glancing up at one of the many stained glass windows that decorated his aunts' vast throne hall; yet her position put her right in front of one of the higher smaller windows that allowed for ventilation and light, not that the lamps and such like didn't do the job just fine.

The sunlight gently filtered through the window, washing the mare in golden radiance. Her armor shone fiercely, like hundreds of finely cut diamonds, and her mane and tail shimmered--royal blue silk interwoven with the deepest of indigo satin. Her bluesteel coat--what he could see of it from her face fur anyway, glowed, even though at this point she did have sweat matting her fur. She turned her head, sensing his gaze on her, and those royal blue eyes narrowed fiercely at him, an indomitable fire burning within their depths. It all but screamed defiance and an untamable spirit. He turned and walked away, the doctors still fussing over the cut on his handsome muzzle, but those incredible eyes, that piercing gaze was lodged permanently in his brain.

And he couldn't for the life of him figure out why.

The doors of the throne hall closed behind him with a dull boom, and the guards were actually looking at Skyward with more than a little respect. She didn't notice--she was busy cleaning her sword and checking her armor, only looking up when Shining Armor approached her and thumped her on the back--soldier to soldier. "That was amazing! Twily was right when she told me you're a great fighter."

Skyward saluted him in the Canterlot fashion, which he returned. "Please, Your Highness--that spoiled princeling was not a challenge. Waste of mine time in all honesty, but he did insult the honored memory of mine mother and I wilt not stand for such foalishness."

"Still--" Cadence chose to interject here, giving the Haylian mare an approving nod-- "You put Blueblood in his place and without killing him. He'll remember this defeat for a good while."

Skyward glanced around, knowing the guards were still in here, and she spoke in low tones, the Princess leaning forward to hear. "I wouldst hath taken no pleasure in killing him, Princess. He could spit upon one's name all day; I've known, seen worse than he, believe me---High Chancellor Gilded Lock couldst give him stiff competition to be sure. But he dared to insult mine mother--a renowned mage in her own right--and she being one of the honored dead...well..."

She let the sentence trail off, and Cadence nodded her head. "Yet he did get what was coming to him. I suspect Auntie was about to let him have it sooner or later, what with that fiasco at breakfast this morning. Poor Miss Lily Bud..."

Shining Armor snorted, shaking his blue-streaked forelock from his face. "I'd say he'd got off lightly--I would've made him go through a full dressing down followed by scrubbing the toilets in the barracks for the next two weeks without magic for that show of disrespect."
Skyward, Cadence and Twilight exchanged looks and snickered behind their hooves--the very thought of the stuck up unicorn prince forced to clean toilets without magic was priceless.

Skyward removed her armor and weapons at Celestia's gentle insistence...Luna warded the chest for her, and Celestia sent it to her chambers with her magic for safekeeping. Knowing she wouldn't wear a dress, Applejack had gotten Rarity to make Skyward a Haylian tunic and a cloak for her to hide the fact she had no cutie mark as of yet, and explained away the dress situation by saying: 'She'd feel more comfortable in those, ya know? Besides, Haylian fashion might be fun to try--so why not make a tunic or two first before ya start on a dress? Ya know--foal steps."

The cloak was a soft cream white on the inside, cornflower blue on the outside--a reversible cloak depending on the outfit the pony was wearing. The tunic was clearly crafted for a female--elegant, but at the same time it lent an air of authority. It was cornflower blue trimmed in gold--colors that set off Skyward's own color scheme and brought out her fur hue. The cloak was almost floor length, but it lent her an aura of mystery as well as power.

They sat in one of the private palace gardens for luncheon; Luna looked very sleepy eyed, and Skyward professed her apologies for keeping her awake at this hour, to which Luna waved it off airily with a smile (and another bite of strawberry cupcake). Luncheon consisted of a creamy onion and leek soup, served chilled, fresh bread and butter and preserves, freshly diced fruit salad, a delicate olive and celery mélange, mushroom steak sandwiches done to everypony's tastes, and all kinds of sweet little desserts from tarts, mini cakes and pies, honeyed fruit with whipped cream--

And of course, everypony chose their own beverage.

After lunch, Luna needed to bow out to sleep since she did have duties when the sun went down; Twilight Sparkle went to go spend time with her brother and her sister in law; and visit her kin. So from that, Celestia decided to show Skyward about the castle--the gardens, the royal library, the views from the spires and the towers; even showing her the School for Gifted Unicorns where Twilight had gone.

Skyward gazed upon the near angelic capital of Equestria and sighed heavily. "If only mine home were as peaceful as thine own, Princess. Hayrule has always been at war, and for what? Never mind the most current---Hayrulean history hath always been stained with blood."

Celestia gently draped a snowy wing over Skyward, giving her a solemn nod. "Yet it is ponies like yourself who seek to bring your home out of the shadows and into the light, Skyward. Without that, your homeland would truly be lost. Take heart in the fact that someday soon Hayrule may too know the peace Equestria does have."

It was getting late by this point--dinner was served in Celestia's private chambers, and Skyward was given a suite in the castle, since Twilight was staying with her kinfolk. Skyward relaxed into the soft bed, staring up at the ceiling before she sighed and rolled over, closing her eyes...
From the waking world did she slip into the world of dreams. Like any night before, she figured she would dream of home as she had done ever since she had gotten here.

But that was not to be. Not this night...