I found myself waiting at the entrance to the for the others to meet up with me. I couldn’t believe that Princess Celestia set me up on a date with Polearm. I mean we’ve been pretty close since Ed’s training camp but I don’t think I have romantic feelings for him, at least I think I don’t. Nat and Dusk hadn’t even been on their first together and now I had to go on my first date to and with a fellow student. I know it was normal for ponies to date each other in school but I thought it was frowned upon to harbor feeling for other personal students, let alone date one another. Guess that that’s out the window, but I would be lying to myself if I said I didn’t find Polearm an interesting pony to be around at least.

I waited for around fifteen minutes when Dusk came around the corner. She was wearing a dark pink long sleeve blouse with silver sequins fanning out from the neck down with a medium length dark navy blue skirt with a pair of slightly elevated black heels.

“Wow Dusk, you look amazing. I know you’re going to knock Nat’s socks off,” I say in awe of her outfit. “I didn’t have anything else besides what a Nat and I brought with us and none of it was nice enough for a double date. I had Ed help me out a little. He offered to make me some clothes using his alchemagic and naturally being the egghead I am. I couldn’t pass up the chance to see it close-up.” she said doing a slight turn.

“Did it live up to your expectations?” I asked with a smirk. “It was amazing to see these being formed with magic and matter. Ed is definitely on to something with this technique.” Dusk said with fascination. “Yea, it’s incredible but I wish it wasn’t so dangerous for normal ponies to learn.”

“You’re certainly going to get Polearm with your ensemble,” commented Dusk with her own evil smirk.

I looked down at myself as I felt a slight heat in my cheeks. I had never really had an eye for fashion. So I went to Cadance for a little bit of help while nopony else was around. I was wearing a blue short sleeve blouse with a medium length silver skirt and black heels. I didn’t think I looked that great but I would take the compliments where I could get them.

“Thanks, Dusk, that means a lot coming from you,” I said as my face heated up a bit more. “I don’t know how I feel about Polearm right now, but I hope this date will help me figure it out. If only a bit more.” I looked up to the sky and started to wonder how I felt about the guard in question. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out tonight Twi. I’m sure Polearm will figure something out too. Even if he doesn’t have romantic feelings for you, I’m sure he’ll still be there for you when you need somepony to lean on.” she said looking upward too.

“Why are we always the first one to arrive anywhere?” I asked as we stare at the sky as its colors showed a mix of reds, blues, and purples. “Don’t know. Why do we always make schedules only to break them?” Dusk said as we both giggled as we continued to wait on our dates to show up. Neither of us noticed the group of figures off in the distance behind us.

We didn’t wait long before Polearm showed up after Dusk. He’d already finished his guard work earlier and had spent most of his time after Princess Celestia dismissed him in the lab. He was working on some form of earth pony magic to deal with stones and plants. At least he didn’t stink this time. As he made his way toward the two of us we could start to make out his outfit. He was wearing a dark red long sleeve button down shirt with black slacks and brown boots. I noticed that he was wearing a gold chain with some type of shield charm on it around his neck was showing from underneath his shirt. ‘I wonder what could be on it’ I thought to myself as he joined Dusk and me.

“Good evening ladies. I see I’m the third to arrive. Sorry for my tardiness,” he said talking a familiar bow. He really did respect Ed a lot. “You’re not late at all Polearm. We just got here early is all. Old habits are hard to break,” said Dusk with a slight laugh placing her hand in front of her mouth.

“I wholeheartedly agree with you, Ms. Dusk,” said Polearm with a smile. “Just Dusk please, I know it’s the guard mentality talking, but it still makes me feel off,” Dusk said. I know what she means, I hate the whole formal thing. Luckily Polearm stopped it for me too. “As you wish Dusk. Now, Twilight I must say you look absolutely beautiful this evening.”

My face felt as if somepony had cast a heating spell on it. I shifted my gaze to try and hide my eyes only to see Dusk laughing fairly hard at my reaction. I keep my eyes on the ground until I can think straight again. I look up to see Nat coming up to us with Chance and Artemis on either side of her. Nat was wearing a gold and midnight purple sundress with black heels and she had a purple ribbon around her head to hide her horns. Both Dusk and I were speechless while Polearm wasn’t.

“Nat you look amazing, I’m guessing it’s one of Rarity’s designs with your influences. Why do Displaced have such an eye for fashion?” pondered the Guard. “We just come from a world where fashion played an important role in our day to day lives Polearm,” said Nat with a smirk. “Why are those two with you Nat? Don’t tell me you were going to bring them along on the date.”

“Not originally but they insisted that they come along,” said Nat as she grabbed the bridge of her nose. “We’re here to protect Nat, Dusk, and Twilight from you, buddy,” said Artemis puffing out his chest. “Yea we’re here to make sure you don’t try anything with these ladies,” added Chance showing his fangs as he started to growl.

“Excuse me little Pokemon but I can protect these ladies even better than the two of you combined. You may be Displaced yourselves but so is mine and Twilight’s teacher,” snorted Polearm. “Ha, that means nothing to us. Nat is our trainer and she fought on par with your master,” growled Chance as sparks started to sizzle from his body.

“I’ll have you know, you electric cat, that Sir Edward is much stronger than he let on in his fight with Nat. He was scared of what would happen if he used his full power so he held back in their fight,” Polearm says sneering at Chance. “That’s enough you two,” I said pulling on Polearm shirt with my magic.

“Yes, Twilight is right. You two can come but don’t mess with our date,” Nat said to the two Pokemon. “Don’t worry Nat. I’ll take these two with me. I don’t want any unnecessary tagalongs. I spent a lot of time putting this together for the four of you and only the four of you,” said a voice from behind us as the pokemon were suddenly floating in a familiar golden aura.

I turned around to see the face of my magic teacher. “Princess, why are you here?” I asked in shock. “I’m here to see you four off for the evening and to do a little bit of pick up to, apparently,” Celestia said looking to the Pokemon. Chance was struggling to get free while Artemis stayed completely still. “Let us go! We have to protect Nat and Sora!” roared the Luxio.

“Please try not to struggle too much little one. This is an important night for your trainers and I’d rather not see it interrupted in any way. Now you four, run along to the garden maze. We have a spot set up were no pony will disturb you, except for the cooks of course. You two are coming with me,” said the Princess as she walked off with the Pokemon in tow.

“Let’s get going before the others show up,” said Polearm. “Agreed,” we said in unison.

I couldn’t believe Tia dumped us with watch duty. This was her idea in the first place. Sometimes she could be very evil when it came to certain things. I see she came to see them off. Does she have Artemis and Chance with her? I look to my right as my gaze comes to rest on Luan.

“You think we can keep things on track tonight?” I ask in the quietest tone I can muster. “Keep a double date between an interdimensional couple and your students. Yes, I believe we can keep it going but to do so and remain completely hidden while preventing total disasters.” Luna snarked. I looked to her and then pointed past her head to the bush across from us.

“We can with their help,” I said with an evil smirk while pointing. Luna turned her head to see what I was pointing at. Her eyes come to rest on three distinct creatures a mere twenty feet away hiding behind a bush just out of sight. Not for us though. “Oh yes this could work out quite well indeed Ed,” Luna said in an ominous tone. Gods she is awesome when she thinks this way.

Those idiots. I told them that trying to guard Nat and Sora wouldn’t work well. What is it with males and their pride? I look to my right as Topaz and our new addition Pandora are watching our trainer and her marefriend walk towards the maze nearby. When Dusk told us she had a date with Nat tonight the boys decided to take it upon themselves to act as their personal guards.

While those two were worried about Polearm and maybe the other males nearby, me and the girls were just worried about keeping things running smoothly for our trainers' date. Nat, Sora, and Dusk have been through way too much this past week, so we will do everything in our power to keep this date perfect for those three.

As they begin to head to the hedge maze, the three of us silently begin to follow them. I really had the advantage here since now that I evolved I can use illusions on myself. Plus with Pandora with us, she can use her natural disaster ability to detect if something will go wrong. Topaz was mostly here since she wanted to watch how humans and ponies date one another since she spent most of her life in the Crystal Cave back in Kalos.

As we are silently following the group, I happen to look over to the other side of the area and saw some golden hair moving past a tree, so I figure Ed and likely his wife are watching as well. These are the moments I really wished I had Telepathy like psychic types or Nat. Hopefully we don’t need to do anything.

We got to the center of the maze in no time flat. Not surprised as everypony had been through the events of Discords trickery. I was still in awe of Twilight. She was absolutely smashing, I noticed she’d seen my family’s shield that I wore around my neck. I was still wondering why neither of the two Twilights had asked about is. If they ask I’ll tell if not I’ll keep it to myself. Right now somepony needed to break the ice and I was going to be that pony.

“So Nat, what’s your Equestria like?” I asked both curiously and nervously. “Well, aside from the obvious difference in how the ponies look, the only real things that are different are your guys automail and medicine, and my world recently began to grow the berries from my Pokémon’s world. Also, we are farther behind you guys in time, since we just finished our Winter Wrap up a week before we came here.”

“Interesting, it seems like the time flow here is our one day to your two days. Odd, I hope your friends back home won’t worry with you two being away for a whole month,” said Twi as she started to sip on some wine. “I’m more interested in these berries you mentioned Nat. They’re the same ones you brought with you, yes?” I ask scratching my chin.

“Yes. The two berries I brought are called Oran berries and Lum berries. There are actually 67 different berries in mine and the pokemon world, some taking far longer to grow than others, and each of them have different effects. For example, the Oran berries have a natural healing ability, while, say, a Pecha berry is a natural anti-toxin.”

“Fascinating, I wish I could get a few of them for my experiments down in the lab. Perhaps Sir Edward could replicate a few for me using his Arc of Embodiment. What are your thoughts on this Twilight?” I ask my fellow scientist. “Oh what, sorry I was lost in thought there. The time gap thing still blows my mind. How will you two adjust once you head back?” Twi asks tilting her head.

“Honestly, I am not sure. It really depends on what’s happened since we left. For all we know, when we get back, it could be my brother's wedding.” Dusk says, sipping her drink. “Yeah, plus there is how the others will react to….well, your arm,” Nat says. I notice she seemed to want to say something else, but stayed silent after that.

“Dusk I would like to ask if you think it’s possible for earth ponies to develop specialized magic other than their natural connection to their strength?” I ask trying to shift the direction of the conversation. “I think it’s possible but it would probably be incredibly difficult though. You’d be better off asking Ed and not me. He was the one who taught you to how to strengthen your bodies magic,” Dusk explained.

“Maybe something similar to some ponies Cutie Mark ability….” we all turn to Nat as she has a contemplative look on her face. “Nat? What are you thinking?” Dusk asks. “Well, I was wondering if maybe someone’s Cutie Mark could give them a new magic style. Take yourself and Twilight. Your marks are of magic itself, so you can use most magic far better than most unicorns. Then there is Shining Armor, who is best at defensive magic.”

“You're saying our Marks could theoretically allow us to access a unique style of magic similar to how it defines our talents,” I add thinking on this more. “Exactly. Take Sonbā. He was a unicorn whose mark is of understanding crystals and gemstones in Lex’s world. Lex gave him the ability to use Maker Magic, but since she didn’t give a specific element to it, the magic linked with what he is most familiar with, crystals. Maybe an Earth Pony can find a way to focus their internal magic into their mark, letting them make a magic that is related to their marks.”

“It’s possible Polearm. Take Ed for example. Before he had his Arc of Embodiment he was still able to use alchemagic and naturally channel the magic in his body. Even if he can use spells he was still able to access magic through his talent of alchemy. Eventually, it led him to create his own type of magic,” Twi said as she put her glass down looking over to Nat and Dusk. “Is this what you were referencing.”

“Pretty much. I just wonder if Earth Ponies can do it since they have the most evenly spread out magic through their bodies, while Pegasi have the most of their magic focused through their wings, and obviously unicorns through their horns.” Nat states, taking a sip of her drink and realizing she actually drank all of her glass. “That’s odd. I know I have a terrible alcohol tolerance, yet I feel fine right now.”

“Alcohol is only for the royal family here Nat. Or if you have your own brewery, like the Apple family. What your drinking is a substitute I derived from zap apples and poison joke leaves.” I said proudly. “Sorry I didn’t tell you three earlier and don’t worry about any side effects I’ve been testing it on myself for weeks now. It’s kind of the reason I stunk up the lab the other day”

“I don’t know whether I should be impressed or worried about the fact you test stuff on yourself,” Dusk says with a blank expression. “Well, it isn’t like we have much to say about that, considering all the tests we’ve done with my Virus,” Nat says, giggling a little as she seems to remember something. “Do you remember RedHeart’s face when we went to the hospital to ask for ‘samples’?” Dusk has to actually cover her mouth as she struggles not to laugh at something they went through.

“You two wouldn’t believe the trouble Ed gave us during training. He would literally stand over us during the meditation sessions and anytime he caught us breaking concentration he’d chop us in the head,” I said, impersonating my teach with Twilight as my example. The motion caused my family’s shield to pop out of my shirt.

“Hey, I have been meaning to ask, but what is that shield thing?” Nat asks while pointing to my shield. “This is my family shield. It’s passed down to every generation as a right of duty to the order of the Crimson King. It ensures that our families of the order continue to serve faithfully. I am the current head of the Aries family and the last of the Knights of the Crimson Order.” I say show off the crest to the girls. It was a crimson sun with a black sword in front of it.

The girls all just look at the crest with seemingly blank expressions before Nat and Dusk say in unison, “That is bucking awesome.” Twi looks to the couple in shock at their casual swearing.

“I don’t understand. What is the Crimson Order? Who are the House of Aries? And how are you the last of a lost Knight order?” asked Twi in total confusion. “ Also who the buck is the Crimson King?”

“You already know who the king is Twilight. You meet with him constantly.” I say with a laugh, sitting back down as the cooks bring out our salads. “I think I would remember if I met with a king every day thank you,” Twi said in annoyance. “Should I tell her or do you want to Nat.”

“Hehe, Twilight. Tell me, what makes someone a king?” Nat asks with a smirk. “Will the have to either marry into royalty or inherit it from being born into royalty,” said Twi as she pointed in the air. “Correct. And who do you know in royalty is married?”

“Will there are only two who are married in the royal family in this Equestria. My brother and Edward. But neither of them have the title of king,” Twi said. At this point, Dusk sighs loudly and facepalms, luckily with her none crystal hand. “Damn it Twilight, what color is Ed’s electricity and fire?”

“Crimson of course,” Twi said waving her hand in front of her face. “But if her insinuating that Ed is the Crimson King then you couldn’t be more wrong, he only has the title of Prince from his marriage to Princess Luna. And I have to add that Ed hates titles in the first place.”

Dusk looks to me, then to Nat. “I don’t miss these many details do I?” She asks with slight worry. Nat looks to her and shakes her head no.

“For Celestia’s sake Twilight. Ed told us part of his past before we left for training. It involved the Fort of Saunder, where we stayed during training. He was given the title the Crimson King by the Minotaurs when he officially took up the mantle of their king,” I said plopping back down in my chair. “The House of Aries, were his personal guard ponies when he would stay in the Castle of the Two Sisters. My ancestors were trained by Ed and the Minos elite to battle even hydra. We pledged loyalty to Ed even after he stepped down as king.” I just don’t get how the mare I fell for doesn’t even know who in Tartarus our teacher is.

“Oh, that’s right. Sorry about that Polearm. My head has just been a miss for the past few days. I’ve been helping Ed with Dusk’s rehab while trying to study up on advanced alchemy for Ed and high-level spells for Princess Celestia. I guess it slipped my mind. Still, I find it hard to believe you’re part of an order that has served Ed since over two thousand years ago.” said Twi as she sipped some more of her drink while her face was red with embarrassment.

“Are you really the only Knight of the Crimson Order Polearm, or could there be more of them out in Equestria?” asked Nat with sparkles in her eyes. “To be honest Nat, I have no idea. There could be others out there, but the only way to find out is for Sir Edward to send out a summons, or for somepony to go out and look for those who are still adhering to the pledge their ancestors took. I know there are a few descendants here in Canterlot but they more than likely forgot the pledges and locked the crested shields up in a family vault, crypt, or just lost it over the years,” I say as I dig into the salad the chefs brought us.

“What about the Minotaurs? Are they still loyal to Ed as a past king?” asked Dusk as she swallowed a bite of food. “The Minotaurs are loyal to those who have strength. Which is how Sir Edward became king in the first place, but yes they’re still more than loyal to him. Partly because of his legacy as ‘The Crimson Butcher’, but mostly because of the legacy he left behind as a benevolent king. What most ponies don’t know is that he and Princess Luna adopted several of the original Knights of the Crimson Order when they were very young war orphans. So you could say Sir Edward is sort of our grandfather,” I said with a smile looking to the sky as it was now lit with the Princess’s stars.

“Ed’s a grandpa,” laughed Nat. “It makes sense to me now,” added Twi with a realization. “What makes sense to you Twi?” ask Dusk tilting her head a bit. “Why Polearm is so devoted to Ed. He sees him as his grandfather of sorts,” continued Twi.

“While you’re not entirely wrong Twilight, you’re still not right all the way either,” I said getting up to look at the nighttime flowers. “I do see Sir Edward as extended family, but I still see him as my king who I would die to protect. Second, I see him as my best friend and mentor. You might see it oppositely but that’s how I see and feel it.”

I rejoined the others and we continued to have a wonderful dinner until we were informed by the staff it was time to move on to the next scheduled event. A stroll through Canterlot.

Well, so far so good. My new partners and I have been watching our trainer and her date and friends for a half hour as they eat, and so far nothing has happened. We were hiding too far away to hear what they were talking about, but they seem to be having a good time. I haven’t sensed anything amiss, so we have mostly been hiding in the bushes.

I turn to Topaz as she writes in a little notepad she brought, wanting to take notes on how these ponies and humans ‘date’ one another. I don’t really understand how such a strong steel type can be such a dork. I then check on Selene who is watching the group carefully, while glancing every now and then at the bushes across from us. I could sense some very powerful beings over there, so I guess the three of us aren’t the only ones watching the date.

Before long the group rises from their seats and head towards the exit to the maze and then towards the city itself. This will be a little harder for me because of my coat. Guess we really are going to have to rely on Selene and Topaz for keeping them safe.

Ed and I watched as the four lovebirds exited the maze. Every now and then Ed would glance over to the other bushes. He knew the pokemon would follow their trainer. I still don’t understand how a group of colorful exotic creatures such as them had remained hidden for his long. It was going to be difficult for Ed and myself to move around in Canterlot.

“Do you think you can maintain an illusion spell for the two of us?” Ed asked as we made our way out of the maze. “I can for a while but no more than two hours for the two of us. You have to remember Light bending spells were never my forte, Ed.” I said as we come to the entrance to the maze.

“Maybe it’s time for a little team up in the costume department,” said Ed with a smirk. “I’m afraid a don’t follow what you're saying,” I said raising a brow. “One of Nat’s pokemon, Zoroark, is known for its incredibly accurate illusion. Pair that with her Absol’s danger sensing and we’ll have one hell of a combo for preventing even the slightest incident tonight.”

“Do you think they’ll be willing to team up with us?” I say with a little worry. “If they don’t then that’s on them. It would be a lot easier on all of us if we just did it but I'm not going to force them,” Ed said raising his shoulders. “Then let’s catch them before they come out, and quickly.”

I double check the area ahead of Nat and the others and see they are heading into the city. This could be a good chance to try out my illusion. I had an idea earlier about how I would look, but this will be my first try with it. “Ok girls, since we are heading into the city, I think I should start hiding in plain sight to keep an eye on them,” I tell my teammates.

“And how exactly are you going to do that? None of us are very inconspicuous.” Topaz says. I gain a smirk on my muzzle before making sure no one is nearby. I quickly focus on the image in my head and jump up allowing my energy to cover me. I land and look myself over, finding it worked. I was able to cast an illusion to make myself look like a dark-skinned ponies with my purple and black hair and my hair band. I check behind me and see my tail out of a pair of jeans I made myself, and I made sure I wasn't very busty in the t-shirt and jacket I created.

“Yeah, I should have seen that coming.” Topaz states with a deadpan. “But how are we going to follow you? Sure you can follow on the ground, but what can we do?” Pandora asks.

“Neat trick Selene, guess the Zoroarks really can cast solid illusions, and I have a plan to keep track of our prey if you three are willing to team up with Luna and me,” said a voice from behind us. I hear Pandora yelp and turn. “Night Slash!”

“Hold up there Pandora. It’s only me,” Ed said as he comes forward while blocking the Night Slash with his right arm as it turned into a sort of black material. If I remember he used this ability earlier to block the Hyper Beam. “Sweet Arceus, don’t scare me like that Edward!”

“So you have a plan for following them?” Topaz asks after recovering from her scare. “Yes, little one. That is where I come in,” said the Lunar Princess stepping out of the shadows. “I can cast an illusion spell on Ed and myself to allows us to follow along with Selene.”

“While you can ride on Pandora’s back along the rooftops. Luna will also cast a basic Telepathy spell to let us all stay in touch,” continued the alchemist. “I mean, I guess that works. Good thing Mawile are the lightest of any steel type.” Pandora says. She carefully lowers herself and lets Topaz climb up on her back. Luna lights up her horn and I see some blue lines coming out of it and connects to each our head for a second.

“There you go, can you hear me?” asked Luna while her mouth never moved. “Yup! All good here.” Topaz says without talking. “Looks like it worked. Now, we should catch up with those four. Pandora, try to stay on the rooftops and warn us if you sense anything.” I tell the Absol who nods and begins to run, jumping along the sides of some buildings to the rooftops.

“You two keep an eye on them for now. We’ll join you on the ground after Luna’s cast her spell. We’ll have at most two hours. It should be more than enough time for them to walk through Canterlot before heading to Ponyville for the night's last event,” explained Ed.

Luna’s horn began to glow again and then she and Ed started to shrink. Luna’s formed changed to that of a young teenage unicorn with an indigo mane and blue eyes. Her outfit consisted of a midnight blue top with a full moon on it dark blue jeans and black sneakers. Ed turned into a teenaged minotaur with a brown head of hair and bright green eyes, almost glowing. He was wearing a white button down short sleeve shirt with the top two buttons undone with a pair of khaki cargo shorts and brown sandals.

“Nice Luna, or Moonlit Path, I should say,” said the Minotaur Ed. “Why, thank you, Crystal Forge,” said Moonlit with a giggle. “Enough compliments. Let’s catch up, quietly and quickly,” said Forge moving out of the shadows swiftly.

Well, as far as dates go, I think this was going well. The food Princess Celestia had made for us was great, and we were able to have some great conversations while we ate. I was wondering what Celestia had planned for us aside from just a stroll for town. I glance at Nat as we make our way through the city and can’t help but look her over more closely. I know Rarity made the outfit, but I couldn’t help but figure she had a bit of influence in it. I smile to myself as I remind myself she is in a relationship with me of all ponies.

“Dusk? Why are you staring at me like that?” I break out of my trance as Nat asks that with a smirk. I am sure my fur turned as red as Big Mac’s so I make sure to look down to not get too much attentions drawn to myself. “I-It’s nothing Nat. Just….happy that you are with me of all ponies.” I am actually shocked that I was able to say that. I look up and see Nat blushing as well, but she manages to smile. “Course Dusk. You know that I just don’t fit with anyone else.”

I smile back and look around where we are and see a new clothing store down the street, I think it is the one Rarity opened earlier in the week. “Hey, how about we check out Rarity’s new store?” I suggest, the others seeing the store ahead of us.

“I don’t see why not. I have been meaning to check it out.” Twilight says, pulling on Polearm arm. It certainly doesn’t look like he minds. I smile and grab Nat’s hand, pulling her along too. Entering in, we see the store is fully stocked, even this late at night, with dresses, suits, regular clothes, and I think I even saw an area for armor.

“Wow! This place is definitely bigger than the one back in Ponyville. Guess Rarity knows how to use space,” Nat says, looking at some accessories. “Indeed Nat. Ms.Rarity even has an armory for various styles of armor. Some of these a very exotic. I’ve never seen this type before,” said Polearm in excitement. “Twilight you wouldn’t happen to know what this style is called would you?”

“I believe is some sort of eastern variant. Beyond that, I have no clue what it’s called Polearm. Edward said the ponies that used this style often were skilled in martial arts and single-edged sword skills.” explained Twi taking a closer look at the armor.

“That actually sounds like the samurais from back on earth. They wore armor near identical to this, but with more metal on it. Though I would have to ask Lex for more details, she studied a lot of things about the country of Japan before she tried to learn to become an English teacher.” Nat says, looking around more. I decide to follow her and check around the accessory area. Unfortunately for us this place still has some business of the less than polite type.

“What is this pathetic piece of plastic?! Such cheap work, just as to be expected by a small town bimbo.” I turn with anger and see a mare with an extremely expensive looking dress, holding up a gem-encrusted comb. It was beautiful blue with a rainbow of colored gems along each part of the comb. I am about to go give that mare a piece of my mind when I feel a hand on my shoulder. Turning, I see nothing, but then I look to Nat who has a smirk on her face, so I figure it's one of her Vectors.

“AHHH! WHO TOUCHED ME?!” I look back to the mare who is now rubbing her flank. I raise a brow when a loud smack goes out and she jumps, holding her other flank. I go wide-eyed and realize Nat just slapped her flank with her Vectors. I cover my mouth as I struggle with all my might not to laugh out loud.

“Excuse me Miss but your daughter is running around the store wreaking havoc and wrecking the displays. She has one of our most expensive combs and simply won’t part with no matter what we try. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you both to leave, NOW,” said the store manager.

Nat and I look and see a filly with the comb in question, and I can just see the spoiled attitude in that filly, it almost hurts. I look to Nat and motion to the comb, but before she can try anything, the filly throws it at Twilight. I am about to call her when a small ball goes by so fast I can barely see it and knock the comb out of the air. I look around but only see a couple unicorns, and all of them are looking elsewhere.

The filly looks like she is about to go on a rampage when she suddenly calms down. I raise a brow and look to Nat, who has a Sensory Link on her wrist. Guess she is forcefully calming her down.

“Thanks for the save there Nat. That comb would’ve hit me straight in the eye if you hadn’t stopped it” said Twi with a sigh of relief. “Uh, that wasn’t me.” Nat states. “Really? Then, who was that?” I look around again but don’t see anyone who could have done that. Though, I did notice a darker skinned earth pony with purple hair glancing at our group every now and then.

“Well, this place is cool and all, but maybe we should head out. Though I will definitely be coming back for actual shopping later. A few of those eastern style pole weapons caught my eye. I’ll definitely have to get one for myself.” Polearm says. We all nod and head out the door and down the street again. “I think we should continue to head towards the entrance of Canterlot. Don’t you agree, Twilight.”

“Yea, let’s get going before something else happens. I’d rather not have some other pony try and turn me into a cyclops. Let’s keep an eye out for anything suspicious. If it wasn’t Nat that stopped that comb then we might be being followed.” said Twi looking over her should at the earth pony that was in the shop with us. She had now joined up with a unicorn mare and a young minotaur and they started to have some sort of discussion. I really didn’t pay it much mind as they didn’t concern us.

That was close. Good thing the princess was able to set up that telepathic connection for us. I could sense a small amount of danger coming from the shop and warned the others. According to Selene, some brat was having a tantrum and threw a comb at Twilight. Good thing Selene can alter the size of her Shadow Balls.

Although, according to Ed, the group was now keeping an eye out now, so they had to try and be more inconspicuous. It was actually easier for me and Topaz to keep an eye on them since there have been no bat ponies or Pegasi in the air, so no one has noticed us yet. The Mawile on my back was also keeping an eye out, not for the group, but for anyone she thinks might cause trouble.

I see the date group leaving the store and heading down the street, so me and my partner follow them as silently as we could along the rooftops, the gaps between buildings being no problem for me to jump over.

‘You keep an eye on them, Pandora. I caught Twi and Dusk looking over at us. We’ll have to hang back for a bit, just keep us informed,’ says Forge pretending to converse with Selene and Moonlit.

‘Roger that. Topaz and I will keep an eye on them and their surroundings. Hopefully, nothing happens.’ I inform, seeing the group entering what looks like an outdoor bar. I lay just beyond the edge of the roof of the building across the street and watch. Topaz actually takes out a pair of binoculars from her second mouth to get a closer look. When did she get that?

We stop in this neet outdoor cafe or bar. I really couldn’t tell the difference in between the two right now. It was too crowded and too dark on the streets. This would let us rest for a bit. We took up an empty booth across the way so no pony would bother us, I hoped. Nat and Polearm went to get us some drinks so it was just me and Dusk at the table right now.

“So Dusk, how are you adjusting to the new arm?” I ask just to pass the time. “Honestly, at this point it feels completely normal. Almost like I didn’t lose it in the first place. Plus my magic is much stronger than it was before.” She says with a smile. I notice Nat barely flinch for some reason, but I guess she stubbed her toe or something on the way back.

“You know, now that you two are literally right next to each other, but you seem different Dusk. And I don’t mean just from the obvious.” Nat says, taking her seat. “What do you mean?” We ask in unison, I am curious as well. “Well, you seem more confident that Twilight, no offense Twi. You have been fine with just telling ponies we are together, when before the only one we could tell was Spike back home. Plus, like you just said, your magic is a lot stronger.”

“You two have been through a lot together over the past few days. It makes sense to me that you’d be more confident in your relationship. I could take a page from your book Dusk. As for as your magic being stronger I think it has to do with Sir Edward magic weaving ability. It truly is an amazing skill,” Polearm said with a smile as he looked at me. I could only feel my face heat up again. “So when are those drinks going to get here? Maybe you two should go check.”

“Sure thing, come on Twilight,” Dusk says, getting out of her seat. I nod and follow her to the bar area where a blue-haired unicorn was making some drinks. “Excuse me? I wanted to ask what the hold up with our drinks are?” Dusk asks.

“Right, sorry miss. We are running low on some of the lemons and oranges so I sent one of the employees over to the local mart to grab some more. It’ll take another ten minutes for them to get back.” The bartender says with an apologetic frown.

“Okay, come on Dusk we don’t want Nat and Polearm to start trading our secrets now do we,” I say with a sigh. I still wasn’t sure if a had romantic feelings for the guy but I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel anything towards him. My train of thought was broken when I bump into a unicorn stallion when I wasn’t paying attention knocking me to the ground.

“Twi, are you okay? You shouldn’t get lost in your own head in a place like this when it’s overcrowded,” commented Dusk as she helps me up off the ground. “Sorry about running into you sir, but you’ll have to excuse us. We’ve got to get back to our table and friends.”

The stallion turned around as Dusk said this and immediately turn his gaze to both of us. He wasn’t as tall as Ed or Shining. He was closer in height to Polearm, so about average. He was wearing a light blue and white striped polo shirt with black pants and black running shoes. After recovering from the sight of Dusk and I he began to speak.

“My bad ladies for being in your way in the first place. Can’t say I recognize either of you though. Did you both recently move to Canterlot?” asked the stallion. “No, we’ve both lived in here up until a few months ago. We just came back on what you’d call a business trip. Now if you’ll be so kind as to move.” said Dusk as she started to push past him.

“Now, now. No need to rush, at least let me make up for knocking your sister down by buying the two of you a round of drinks. The name’s Hot Stuff by the way. And if you wait, my buddy, One Liner, will be here and then we can all have drinks.” said Hot with an evil grin that I didn’t like in the slightest. “Come on Dusk let’s go. Nat and Polearm need to know that the drinks are going to be a little longer.” I say pulling Dusk away from the creep going back to our dates.

“Right behind you Twi.” She says, pushing the stallion out of the way. “Now hold on there,” said a pegasus stallion extending his right wing to block our path. He was wearing a black sleeves shirt with white jogging shorts and neon running shoes. A typical jock. I hated these type of guys. “I believe my friend just said to wait for me to arrive so we could all have drinks.”

“Look you two, I don’t mean to be rude, but we have to get back over to our dates. So if you will excuse us.” Dusk tries to go by again, only for One Liner to step forward again. “What could your dates be doing that’s more important than having a few drinks on us ladies”

“Hey!” We look past them and see Nat and Polearm with angry frowns at the duo in front of us. “What do you think you are doing to my marefriend?” Nat asks with a glare. “Yea, what are you two up to. The ladies said they weren’t interested. Now back off before we have to get serious.” snorted Polearm as he glare at the duo between us.

“Serious you say earth pony. Ha, don’t make me laugh. I could down you with one spell,” said Hot with a scoff. “And what do you have to say on this little mare, with your pretty little ribbon,” added One.

Nat didn’t take to kindly to that remark. She was starting to turn red in the face a bit. Polearm was clearly shaken too. I could sense him starting to give off some form of magic. Dusk and I stepped in front of Nat and Polearm.

“Come on you two this isn’t worth the trouble. Let’s just go back to the table and wait for our drinks to come,” I say pulling on Polearm while Dusk is trying to get Nat to come to. Suddenly I feel someone wrap an arm around my waist and move me to the side. Looking down, I see nothing, so I guess it is one of Nat’s Vectors.

“Listen here you pieces of shit. If you try anything with Dusk or Twilight, I swear I will tear you two to bloody shreds.” Nat warns with a terrifying glare. “Hold on there Nat I want a piece of them to. No killing though. I have a reputation as a royal guard to uphold. Mutilation is okay though,” commented Polearm as he moved to the pair with a glare.

“Ooo, a royal guard Hot. I’m so scared. What are you going to do? Stare at me till I submit,” laughed One. “What’s the little girl going to do? Cute us out the door down to the dungeons” chuckled Hot pointing at the door.

I look and see Dusk is also fuming angry now, I won’t say I was very happy either. Dusk looks to her date. “Nat. Mess them up.” I am actually shocked that any version of me would encourage fighting.

“With pleasure.” She quickly digs into her purse and takes out a large bit bag and tosses it to the bartender. “This should cover the damages.” The others look confused for a second, only for Nat to vanish and appear in front of the duo in an instant, both hands pointed at their chests. “Wind Palm.” She released a huge burst of wind, point blank, sending the duo through the wall and onto the street.

“What the buck hit us?” asked One. “That pink haired one used some sort of wind spell, but I don’t see how. She’s not a unicorn,” added Hot as he got up from the ground. “Just cause she’s not a unicorn doesn’t mean she can’t use magic, idiots,” said Polearm as he lands a fist in both of the jerks faces. It was so cool.

“You're just a lowly earth pony guard how are you faster than a pegasus,” asked Hot. “You really need to get out more. Earth ponies can be just as fast as a pegasus. I’m personal friends with none other than Rainbow Dash and she can move faster than you can blink. But here’s the kicker,” said Polearm with an evil smirk. “You’re going to help me with a little theory we came up with earlier.”

“What are you droning on about you bucking asshole?” asked Hot helping One off the ground. “Is this really a time to be testing some sort of theory or is this a time for us to kick a guard’s flank back to the castle,” said One.

“Good luck with that.” The duo turns to Nat, only to freeze as they see her covered by pink wind and half a dozen swords floating above her. “Nat is it okay if you make sure they stay put while I crack their skulls?” asked the enraged guard pony.

“No problem.” She smiles a mad smile, but the duo just laughs a little. “So what? You can control the wind and make a bunch of fake swords? How terrifying.” Hot says with a mocking chuckle before lighting his horn and firing a beam at her. I begin to get worried, but Dusk looks perfectly calm.

“Storm Mail.” The wind picks up faster until she is covered by it, the beam of magic bouncing off her armor. As soon as the beam stops, Nat dismisses her wind and looks to them with a glare. I get a weird feeling those two are not going to be leaving here in one piece. I look in shock as five of Nat’s Vectors become visible, each being a different elements of fire, wind, ice, stone, and lightning.

“You don’t know who it is your dealing with,” Nat says with an evil grin of her own. I can see the duo are looking a little worried now. “Ditto,” said Polearm as he reached out his hand. I could sense him gathering the magic from earlier in hand. There was a flash black magic and bits of rock and dust start to fly from every direction to form some sort of weapon in Polearm’s hand.

“Dusk are you seeing what I’m seeing?” I see the pony standing next to me in awe. “Yeah, but I don’t really understand what it is. I have a feeling it has to do with his mark, but other than that….” she trails off, watching the magic flow around Polearm hand. “He’s not just making a weapon. He’s making armor too!”

The rock and dust started to form a shiny black armor around Polearm’s body. It was similar in design to his guard armor. The weapon looked like a cross between a spear and a big sweeping dagger. I recognized it as one of the weapons from Rarity’s shop.

“A Naginata? Nice Polearm.” Nat says with a grin, her own weapons appearing in her hands. She lets the wind pick up again and cover her arms and legs, acting as her own armor. “Thanks Nat. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pull it off, but it looks like I was even able to make armor. Shocking to say the least. I think I’ll call this new magic Talent Magic,” said Polearm with the largest grin I’ve ever seen.

“What in the name of Celestia are you freaks!” yelled One. That did it. “Polearm, crack their skulls. I’ll castrate them.” Nat says with no emotion. The duo suddenly looks worried after she says that. Even as a mare, I can tell that would be the worst pain ever.

Polearm rushes forward faster than they can react and lands two hard hits on their heads with the flat end of his weapon, sending them to the ground again. They barely picked themselves up when Nat sends her swords towards them, the duo barely managing to get out of the way. One tries to fly away, only for Nat to wrap her flaming Vector around his ankle and slam him back into the ground. At this point, a crowd had gathered and it seemed most were cheering for Nat and Polearm.

“You bitch you burned my ankle!” yelp One. Hot was facing Polearm with his horn lit and firing beams at him only for Polearm to dodge every single one. Before he knew it Hot Stuff was face to face with the naginata. “You mother bucker! All this over a mare! Who the Tartarus do you think you are! You’re nothing more than a simple guard with a strange talent! You really stepped in it buddy! I’ll have your head on a spike in my house!” yelled the unicorn.

“The name’s Polearm Aries buddy. And that mare is somepony very dear to me. And as for being a guard, that means nothing to me. So what if I lose that rank I hold in the guard. If it means standing up for what’s right in my eyes or for a pony that I like. I’ll gladly give that all up to punish a cocky bastard such as yourself,” said Polearm as he laid the handle of his weapon into Hot sending him flying into the wall of the bar.

After I saw this I could only feel proud and concerned for Polearm as he continued his assault on Hot. I looked over to Dusk who was watching Nat and One Liner. Not much difference in what was going on there. Nat had him on the ground, barely standing with a burnt ankle and a busted right hand. Nat just giggled at his situation.

“Wow, and here I was thinking this would be at least a little workout. Oh well.” She sighs mockingly. One looks to her with rage and roars, flying up to her. Nat remains in her spot until the very last second before vanishing again and appearing behind him. She goes for a hard kick in every man's weak spot. Every stallion in the crowd winces and covers themselves as Nat’s attack lands, One Liner falling to the ground in agony.

“You done too, Nat?” asked Polearm walking over to Nat pulling Hot Stuff behind by the mane as he proceeded to toss him next to One Liner. “That was so awesome Polearm!” I shouted as I jumped to his side grabbing his arm. I hear a Dusk squee as she jumps into Nat’s arms with a hug. I laugh a little and smile as those two are becoming so open about their relationship.

“It’s official. You are the best girlfriend a mare can get.” Dusk says, kissing Nat on the cheek. Nat smile and nuzzles her.

“Guess I should call a guard contingent from the castle to pick up these two and bring them to the hospital. I really don’t want to though. I think they should rot like the pieces of crap they are. Guess I’ll have to call it a night, girls. Sorry, I really wanted to see this date through to,” says Polearm looking to the ground.

“That won’t be necessary captain Polearm,” said a voice from the crowd. I turn to see the two ponies and minotaur from earlier. “What do you mean and who exactly are you three?” I ask moving closer to Polearm as he brought up his weapon. “We’ll take those two to the hospital to treat them, and as for who we are Ms. Sparkle. We are part of the royal black ops forces. The Princess tasked us to follow you and make sure nothing went wrong on your outing. Sorry if we caused you any discomfort. We’ll be on our way now and you best head to Ponyville for the next leg of your night. Goodbye for now,” waved the minotaur as he picked up the injured assholes and brought them to the nearest infirmary. The two mares bow and followed suit.

We look to one another and just shrug, heading out again. So far, best. Date. Ever.