Twilight walked down the hallways of Canterlot Castle to get breakfast. Behind and above her, GREMLINiscious hovered, and Spike trotted at her side, an eager look in his eyes as his tummy grumbled with hunger.

As she passed by, the guards saluted her, and she nodded back, remembering to stop and salute a general herself. This had been going on since Ponyville, and even Spike was used to it by now.

The return salute (and smile) was that of respect, just long enough for that and then both were again on their way.

It was said nowadays, that the Royal Guard walked more proud, acted more resolute, and emanated a sense of greater purpose whenever the Princess of Friendship (and Battle, as some whispered) walked past them.

To be honest, she had seen mostly the same reactions from them when her brother or the few other nobles that had joined the Royal Guard were around. Still, it was a bit of a morale boost, she assumed. Ever since she had come back she had joined the guard on their practices, and ponies gathered outside to watch.

Celestia had simply smiled quietly when Twilight had initially been surprised by the attention.

As much training as she had gotten training as a human, as a human was the issue. Not only was she concerned she'd lose her edge if she didn't do anything similar, being an Alicorn was a very different type of combat approach.

Thus, she staggered her training with all three branches of the army. She trained with Earth Pony guards to build her endurance; she trained with unicorns to apply her magic in combat scenarios (they were admittedly impressed with her viciousness); and finally, she trained with pegasi and Alejandra on flight tactics, while the latter would then continue to train on her own with Galahad, who looked like one proud, grizzled granddad.

Rainbow Dash would join them sometimes, when Galahad said it was okay, or on the odd occasions Spitfire or Soarin' would give them additional training, given that the violence of Earth's battles, and the ground-to-air capabilities of alien weaponry, necessitated far more acrobatic maneuvers and awareness than the established (if already demanding) traditional air battles.

Alejandra would then be forced to go to dancing and etiquette lessons, until finally she could join Twilight as her bodyguard for the rest of the day. Fortunately for her, Galahad was around to explain why each was needed, although more than once the shout, "I'm not an assassin!" had shook the premises.

Through all the training, ponies and griffons and minotaurs had gathered to watch. Princesses training with the army just didn't happen in Equestria any more, and the fact that the youngest of them all was not only doing that, but seemed proficient at it was a crowd-pleaser, as well as the occasional addition of Princess Luna, who would fight both Twilight and Alejandra—or Silent G as she was called by ponies and griffons alike.

The human-turned-griffon's presence was always good for Twilight, as much as it made Fluttershy uncomfortable. Alejandra had a certain endearing zealousness about protecting Twilight which had evolved into some rumors about her intentions beyond guarding her.

Twilight felt her face heat up a little and shook her head. Alejandra was still a topic of some concern with her friends, especially Fluttershy. The two had a shaky peace that carried on as long as one would have the presence of mind to step out if things got heated.

And things got heated between those two. Coming from both places, Twilight could really understand where the arguments came from, the problem was that objectively, neither side was 100% correct. After all, what was happening on Earth wasn't happening in Equestria, but Alejandra downright refused to forgive Fluttershy for jumping in front of her gun like she had.

Fluttershy for her part had never apologized for the words she had said later either.

Surprisingly enough, Fluttershy and Tala seemed to have found some common ground. How exactly that had happened, was still a mystery. Tala was no less violent when provoked than before, but it seemed that Mox's philosophy was getting through to the pegasus. She would never condone the necessity for killing your enemies… but Tala didn't expect her to do so either, simply replying in the ways she had been taught.

Mox had been a great influence on Sunset, and it seemed the debt they owed him went beyond what they had originally thought, if even Fluttershy could find some peace out of his words. Perhaps, with a bit more time, she and Alejandra would bury the hatchet.

Finally reaching her destination, Twilight stepped into the private dining room where Celestia and Luna partook their meals, stretching as she walked and taking a deep breath.

She had been surprised the first time she'd walked in and found her friends being very comfortable in there, and it had taken some explaining from them on how they had grown closer to the Princesses with the time she'd been on Earth.

Despite how pleased she had felt when she'd found out, the thought of Earth still weighed heavily on her. She felt a need to go back and help, to take up arms and bring down the Elders.

She took a seat and waited silently while Spike ate some snacks from a nearby cupboard. Celestia would be done soon with raising the sun, and Luna would follow down soon after to join them for breakfast.

Twilight sighed. How could she tell them? Her eyes roamed the room to Spike. How could she tell him?

She shook her head. Whatever happened, she needed to decide soon. She didn't know when the portal would open again, and if she wasn't ready, she might miss her chance. Twilight scrunched her muzzle. Maybe she could figure out a way to force the portal open? But that would require a lot of planning… the last thing she needed was to randomly open the portal while inside the Avenger.

Anyone with psychic powers or connection would probably die in an instant. Twilight chased away the grim vision and took a deep breath. Her ears twitched as the sounds of hoofsteps approached the room.

She had a lot to plan, and a lot of things she needed to say directly to everypony else.