“Why don’t you just have some cake?” a bright orange maned pegasus mare asked her companion.

“I guess, but it’s just not the same. The crisp, flaky crust. The gooey, sweet, delicious apple with just the right amount of cinnamon,” the stallion replied, himself a pegasus with a deep blue mane. “I just really feel like an apple pie tonight for some reason.”

Both wore azure uniforms highlighted with yellow lightning bolt motifs, studded with topaz that gave a reflective sheen to the bolts. Recognizing Twilight and Rarity’s handiwork, I knew they would double as protective wards, any attempt to pierce or cut the cloth facing the hardness of the gems instead. Such enchantments had saved me from countless injuries in the Everfree already.

“Oh, hey,” the mare said, turning her attention to me as I came near. “You’re the umm, whatever you are. Cloud Strife, right? Did your pony friends make it here tonight? I was hoping to meet that talented young flyer again.”

“No. Rainbow Dash and the others didn’t get tickets… we didn’t realize we just had to ask the Princess and that oversight would have been solved,” I confessed. “You’re the Wonderbolts, right? I know Dash would love to spend some time with you, anytime you can make it out to Ponyville.”

“Ponyville?” the mare said. “That’s a hard sell with my schedule, but I’ll keep an eye out. Name’s Spitfire, by the way. And my wingpony here is Soarin.” She hovered to trade hoof bumps with Nanaki and I, before Soarin did the same.

“My date here is Nanaki,” I introduced. “I’ll let Rainbow know you were interested in seeing her. She might be able to take a trip to meet you sometime… you live in Cloudsdale?” After she nodded I continued. “I know Rarity and Twilight would want to hear how your uniforms are working out. Aesthetically, in Rarity’s case.”

“They look pretty sweet, especially when we’re pulling our stunts,” Soarin spoke up. “And they’re quite comfortable in general, but especially in a crash.”

Spitfire’s hoof reminded Soarin that the suit’s protective spells didn’t block feeling on the head entirely. “What he means is, the enchantments are serving us quite well, when we need ‘em. That unicorn knows her stuff, well both of them really. They must have saved us at least a dozen pony-days of downtime already from injuries during training. We really need to get them made for our cadets as well, but there’s no way we could fit that in our budget.”

“How many do you need?” I asked. “I might be able to talk the Princesses into funding it, or my friends into giving a bulk discount, or both. No promises, and you might be waiting a while for the finished product, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

“You’d do that?” Spitfire asked. “We’d need a few dozen, at least… I can mail you the details when I’m back at my office. But I know they don’t come cheap.”

“There might be a few ways to make them a bit less costly,” I said. “Less expensive gem types, I’m not sure if there’s anything Twilight can do to streamline her part. They don’t need to stand up to combat against monsters, or look quite as good as your official flight uniforms, right?”

Nanaki hmm’d disapprovingly.

“You disagree?” I asked.

“I’m wary in general of cutting corners where safety equipment is concerned,” he said. “Though you do have some valid points. Let’s see about those other options first, and see if they can be made to afford the top quality gear. After all, even if they don’t fight any monsters, I imagine the trainees have more than their share of crashes.”

Spitfire laughed at that thought. “That they do, right Clipper?” she said, wrapping a leg around Soarin’s withers. The stallion blushed and looked annoyed. Clipper must have been an unwelcome nickname of his.

“We’ll see what we can do,” I promised, breaking away from the pair.

We approached Celestia, now that the herd had finally thinned out. I second guessed myself as we got closer; the mare looked exhausted, but she smiled warmly as we approached so we greeted her warmly. “Great party. Have you had a chance to do more than greet guests?”

“I’m afraid not. Speaking of which, I can’t stay for long. But I do wish to speak with you more… can you meet me after the party? I’ll see that you’re given the address,” she invited cryptically.

I traded glances with Nanaki. “We’d love to join you after,” he said. “Did you have a time in mind?”

“Eleven o’clock should do nicely,” she said as she stood up with regal decorum, paused to instruct one of the guards, and then made her way to a nearby private room. The brief glance as the door opened to admit her revealed it to be a lavishly appointed restroom.

“Miss Strife, Mister Nanaki,” the guard greeted formally, before his horn’s magic passed over a scroll containing an address and directions. There was no indication of what the place was supposed to be, but I recognized the street name as one of the main thoroughfares we had taken to reach the palace, so it was likely a public venue of some kind.

“I suppose we shouldn’t wait for her,” Nanaki said, looking around. “Is there anyone else we should greet before returning to dancing, or some other entertainment?”

I looked around, surveying the ponies throughout the room. Where they were dancing, some had reared up to nearly my height, but everywhere else I could see over nearly all of them easily. So I was easily able to make out a pair of taller ponies, midway between the typical size and the likes of Celestia, hang out near a corner and ponywatching. The stallion was white furred with a two-tone blue mane, powerfully built and clad in a red dress uniform. He was handsome in a pony way, but he seemed a little out of it from his facial expression. The mare by his side was a pink alicorn, with pink, purple and yellow mane, and striking green eyes on a face that would have been unbearably adorable if she were in a better mood.

“Who are those two in the corner?” I asked the guard while he was still in earshot.

“That’s Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and Captain Shining Armor,” the guard pointed out. “Best keep your distance… they’ve both grown much less personable in the last month or two, even while they’ve been dating more intensely.”

“Any ideas why?” I asked.

“Stress? Politics? Your guess is as good as mine. He’s had more work of late with the mysterious security concerns around the castle. You know about Prince Blueblood, of course. And she’s a Princess but hasn’t really been granted much political sway just yet. The diarchs insist it’s coming, but won’t elaborate publically on what the holdup is,” the guard explained. “Could be something more personal, I wouldn’t know.”

“Perhaps she’s pregnant,” Nanaki mused. “I’ve heard the hormones involved can be quite unsettling, well before it’s more outwardly obvious.”

“They aren’t even married yet,” the guard objected.

“Then perhaps it’s the lack that is stressing them,” Nanaki offered.

The guard covered his snout with a hoof and snirked. “Yeah, maybe,” he allowed under his breath.

“We should greet them, however briefly. I think it behooves us to know all of the royalty of the land if we can,” Nanaki suggested.

“My, aren’t you two quite the exotic guests?” Princess Cadance greeted as we approached with a somewhat less pronounced sneer than she had had. “Can you even gallop?” she asked, laughing at her own attempt at humor.

“We were invited out of sheer irony,” Nanaki shot back, smirking. “I’m sure you can appreciate that as a royal wallflower?”

“Oh! Nice one,” she said, more impressed than offended. She offered a hoof for a bump, but he caught it and gave her a light kiss on the hoof instead, charmingly. I stiffened a bit, willing to allow it as it was chaste and befitting royalty, but the jealous instinct took some effort on my part to fight down. Shining Armor didn’t seem to have quite the same problem; he stared at the exchange in a bit of a daze, blinking slowly. “I’m Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the Princess of Love. And this is delicious hunk of meat is my fiance, Captain Shining Armor. Shiny, say something charming.”

He seemed to regain some vitality for the moment, snapping a salute as he looked at me appraisingly. “A pleasure to meet you at last, Cloud Strife, Element of Magic. I’ve heard so much about you.”

I saluted back. “Captain. I’m sorry I can’t say the same. Word of your deeds doesn’t often make it to Ponyville, I’m afraid.”

“Ponyville?” he said, and seemed to be searching for a memory for a moment, eyes unfocused and moving in a way that didn’t match anything in front of him.

“Is of no import,” the Princess informed him, dismissively. To me she added, “Oh, I’m sure it’s quite a charmingly quaint place to live. But the captain is quite tied up with his duties here at the capital. I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course. We all have our stations,” I agreed. “You keep this place safe, and the other Element Bearers and I will keep our area safe. And of course, if you have any more troubles, you can always call on us. We’ve taken down a dragon, countless lesser monsters from the Everfree, we even broke up a siege here in Canterlot. If you need us, we’ll be here.”

The Princess seemed a bit put off by my bragging. Ponies didn’t generally appreciate violence, even when the cause was just, though something about her reaction seemed a bit different, even if I couldn’t place it. The Captain seemed appreciative enough though. “Thanks for that last one,” he said. “I don’t think I could have kept that shield up much longer.”

“That was you?” I asked, remembering the dome covering the entire city. “That was pretty impressive. And in the end, you bought enough time for us to do our part.” I offered a fist, and he met it with a hoof bump. “If you’re interested, we could spar sometime while I’m in town. See how well your shields stand up to my steel.”

“Are you swingers?” the Princess cut in suddenly. I sputtered and colored, caught entirely off guard by the tangent.

“It’s far too early in our relationship to consider such a thing,” Nanaki said, “but if we decide to go that route we’ll certainly keep you in mind, Princess Amore.”

“Then, perhaps you shouldn’t be getting quite so friendly with my stallion,” she said, with a bit of a hissing undertone to her voice.

“We’ll… just be going now,” I excused, leading Nanaki away from the odd couple.

“There’s something not right with those two,” he said as we got out of earshot.

“Like offering to jump into bed with a couple they just met?” I asked.

“Ignore that, it was clearly calculated to drive you off,” Nanaki dismissed. “She’s been keeping him on a short leash, and you were making her loosen her grip too much.”

I glanced back a moment, and saw the dazed look back on the stallion’s expression. “So… not just a jealous mare?”

“No. Something more, I don’t know what,” he said. “Perhaps worth mentioning to the other Princesses when we have a chance. I don’t know that we’ll be here long enough to give it the attention it needs. Besides… this is our night to enjoy ourselves and each other, let’s not let it get bogged down with all this ugly intrigue.”

“Another dance?”

“How long has it been down here?” Luna asked one of her guards.

“Hard to say,” the thestral stallion said. “The bones have been picked clean by rats long enough ago there isn’t even a smell anymore, but they haven’t dried out entirely. At a guess, I’d say he never actually escaped. That would mean he has been here since slightly after your own imprisonment.”

“You’re sure it’s Prince Rutherford?” she inquired.

He shook his head. “I don’t see what other yak it could possibly be. Maybe one of his rescuers that was left behind for some reason? The crown isn’t here, so if the one who escaped was an imposter they have the real crown on their head. This one has his build, as far as I can tell from the bones.”

“What did he die of?” Luna inquired.

“I can’t be sure, but he was chained here in this cavern, well outside the prisons. I think he may have just starved to death. The only breakage of his bones is where his limbs were chained; I think he may have broken his own limbs straining desperately for escape,” the guard offered grimly. “If he was poisoned or the like it would have been more merciful, but there isn’t anything to suggest it.”

“Thank you, Dire Omen,” the alicorn said softly.

“Ma’am?” he replied.

“Yes?” she questioned.

“I’d really like to stop living up to my name,” he said.

She sighed and nodded. “Why don’t you take a few weeks off?”

“That’s not a bad idea… should I report this to anypony?” Dire asked.

“No. I will tell my sister directly. The Elements… perhaps we will bring them in later, but for now this is a royal inquiry. Let Cloud and Nanaki have their night,” Luna concluded. “This matter has waited this long, it can wait another day.”

“As you wish, Princess,” the thestral said with a salute before eagerly heading for the exit, beginning the trek back to the open night sky above.

For the rest of the night, we steadfastly avoided any drama. When nine o’clock came around, we snuck off back to our suite, our hearts still full of the intimate joy of dancing and otherwise simply enjoying ourselves together.

And the results were, in their way, quite predictable. Except for one, minor, technical issue. I was a virgin, at least in that most intimate of physical details. It hadn’t been an issue with Rainbow Dash, and we certainly found ways to work around the matter and enjoy ourselves. But despite our willingness we couldn’t quite fully consummate our relationship.

You see, he couldn’t quite fit in past that little crescent of flesh guarding my entrance without tearing it. And he actually, physically, couldn’t tear it. The mako energy that infused my flesh and made me far stronger and tougher than a normal human steadfastly refused to allow that bit to break. Our attempts ranged from uncomfortable to painful, until we agreed to leave it be for the rest of the night, and pleasure each other in other ways.

That left not only the physical impediment intact, but also the looming specter of a rather awkward conversation with somepony about how to solve the problem. But that would wait, for now.

The unaccounted delay kept us busy longer than we had planned. We left the suite at 11, rather than arriving at our destination then. The address Princess Celestia had given us, surprisingly, led us to a small donut shop a good distance from the Palace. We could easily recognize the Princess through the window, sipping a cup of coffee. We traded amused looks before letting ourselves in and taking seats to either side of her.

She sniffed lightly as we entered, giving me a knowing smirk, before ordering coffee and donuts for both of us. “I trust you enjoyed the evening? I hope the gala wasn’t too bad.”

“There were a few awkward moments, but on the whole a fine ball. You didn’t care for it?” I asked.

“Frankly?” she asked. “I thought it was as boring as watching paint dry. I had hoped your penchant for being surrounded by chaos would liven the night up, but nothing happened! Now… I know, it’s not your fault. I’m not suggesting you should have intentionally sabotaged anything. But couldn’t something interesting have happened? I would have paid good bits for a manticore to crash the party and liven up the crowd with a good panic.”

Nanaki laughed. “Perhaps we could have made more of a scene with Prince Blueblood or Princess Cadance,” he offered. “Were you stuck the whole night greeting an endless parade of sycophants on their boringly best behavior?”

“Pretty much. By the time I was done in the ‘little princesses’ room’, more had lined up,” the Princess said. “At least I get to enjoy my favorite little after-Gala retreat here. I don’t suppose you have anything interesting to bring to me now?”

“Actually,” I said, scratching my head a bit embarrassed, before finally digging out the red sphere and offering it to her. “You left this behind when you visited Ponyville. I’m sorry I have to return her in a different condition than you brought her.”

“What’s this?” the alicorn inquired as she took the materia, before gasping in surprise when the phoenix vanished from my sight and appeared in hers, standing over her cup of coffee. “Philomena! There you are! Oh…” Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized the reality of the situation. “I… I see.”

“It was an accident. Fluttershy was trying to take care of her, but didn’t understand what was wrong with her. When she called me in to help…” I shook my head.

“It’s alright Cloud, I understand,” she said, passing the materia back to me and closing my hand around it with both forehooves. “Take good care of her. I’m sure she’ll be a great help to you and your friends. Though I will miss her.”

“You’re sure? We’ve got a good amount of materia already. She’s your pet, you’re welcome to keep her…” I began.

“I’m sure,” the princess cut me off. “It’s good of you to offer, and perhaps I’ll borrow her from time to time to reminisce. But she’s a part of your destiny now, and I’m sure she’ll prove herself important.”

I swallowed at the weight of those words, nodding solemnly.

“Now! Let’s lighten up the night,” she said, lifting her coffee telekinetically and taking a drink. “Surely you two have some amusing tales from Ponyville?”

“Of course,” Nanaki said, “though the ones jumping immediately to mind aren’t suitable for polite company.”

“Those are the best kind!” Celestia declared over my objecting blush. But by the time we were a few stories in and on our third round of coffee I was as deep into the exchange as either of them.

Author's Notes:

Season 1: Complete!