The letters were sent, replies returned, and plans were arranged. Tomorrow, mid morning, they would travel to the Crystal Kingdom to – more soundly – explore Equestria, to allow them both to grow. Arin still had one more friend to make; and as Luna described it, he would know when he made it.

“So there’s an actual reason why I need five friends – this isn’t just to show I’m growing to be a better part of the world?” He asked as they traveled down the tower. Protecting the dream realm was a task only Luna could accomplish – so after finishing, they were left to their own devices, once Celestia rose the sun of course.

“Yes. Though I do not want to confirm it – but I have a sneaking suspicion of what it may be. You mustn’t rush this – it must come as naturally as all the others.” Luna said. They were already heading down the three flights of stairs, almost along the main corridor towards the dining hall.

“Alright. Onto another topic… what could I even do with magic? I don’t know any spells, and I doubt I could learn runes as quickly as I picked up Equine.”

“Well, a few simple spells come from instinct. For unicorns, it would be levitation, light, and in extreme cases – teleportation, along with a simple offensive blast if needed. Dragons, too, have magic – and use it for breathing elements, scavenging treasures, and illusions if it’s part of their history. When a dragon becomes of age, their magic begins to seep into their scales – granting them enhanced magical resistance and durability with each shedding, and their own magic embers become so bright that their vitality increases to match.”

Turning to the east, Luna continued. “We have found that your magic is unique. It isn’t something one could easily put into words. A seraph’s ember seems to be shrouded in stone; I would imagine that for some, the stone cracks easily or breaks with time, while others, it’s tough as steel. Yours is especially strong, a shell that wont crack with age. But your stay here in Equestria has changed that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your ember is starting to show its light. We believe that your magic may come soon, but what may trigger it is a guess. It could be as something simple as making friends, as friendship generates a powerful magic. This is why our Sister gave you such a task; to reveal your magic, if that is the force which will drive it free. Though this is likely, it may not be the case.” Luna entered the grand hall with a sigh, happy to see just Shining, Cadence, and Celestia present.

“Between you and me, Arin – I am quite happy to see us free of the pink menace.” Luna whispered. Arin chuckled softly, nodding.

“Yeah, Pinkie is a bit… hyper, I say. And with me being knighted, Honey Rose was allowed to return home and take some much deserved time to herself. Something about her sponge needing cleaning, after being in ‘a really filthy piehole’. I really don’t want to know what she meant by that.” The duo quietly joined the others, sharing greetings and good mornings.

They had slept in a bit late last night – Luna only waking to move the moon and stars into place, before returning to bed to sleep in. They would need to be awake to board the train, after all – and the Crystal Empire was quite the ways away.

Vapor Cloud gave a yawn, waving to Arin across the table with a wing. “Morning. How’d the whole sleeping in Luna’s room go, Arin?” He asked, downing a cup of coffee.

“Amazingly. Luna is a sound sleeper in her bed, and the little nook she set up for me was comfy. Definitely cozy and relaxing.”

“Great. Aren’t you the lucky one.” He said, leaning over the table. Celestia gave a soft chuckle as he continued. “Celestia has me right by the window. Facing the sun. And she’s allergic to curtains, apparently.”

“Oh hush, Sir Vapor Cloud. Your snoring deserved such a bright and joyous awakening, if I do say so myself.” Celestia sipped quietly at her tea, plucking a slice of pancake off her plate. Pancakes. Celestia really liked her pancakes. Her set she made today was covered in banana slices and strawberry jam. Arin’s breakfast arrived – a small set of pancakes, made by Celestia, and a few slices of ham with eggs. He’s guessing that the kitchen staff handled the rest, as she wasn’t known for her cooking ability – outside of pancakes.

“Well, at least I don’t roll around in my bed all night with a silly hat.” Vapor defended, pouring himself another cup of coffee. “This job isn’t turning out the way I envisioned.”

Arin couldn’t help but give a soft chuckle, feeling quite happy with his sleeping arrangement. Luna did care deeply about quality sleep.

“Well, I’m sure if Arin stayed in my chambers, he would be quite content. He had little complaints of the room I assigned to him.” She raised her nose to the air, giving a quiet laugh.

“Actually Princess…” Arin began, scratching the back of his head.

“Yes, my friend?” She responded, giving a glare.

“Oh no, yeah, you’re right. Definitely. I love being uh… woken up at dawn, every day, by piercing sunlight. Heh.” He quickly turned to his pancakes as Celestia stared him down for several seconds, before a mirthful giggle followed.

“Alright, you have a point. I’ll take note of how Luna furnished your sleeping arrangement, and I will follow suit. She is wonderful when it comes to proper rest.”

Luna beamed at the compliment, puffing her chest as her wings gave a soft fluff. She tucked in to her breakfast – pancakes with eggs with vigor. Something about Arin’s company drew out the carnivore in her. He swore, some days she had fangs.

“Well, I find it admirable that Luna put so much effort into taking care of her knight. It reminds me of when Shining first pledged himself to protect me, he was so sweet and handsome.” Cadence said, resting her face on her upturned hoof. Her foal bobbed up and down on her leg, her knee keeping Flurry Heart entertained as she fought with her pancake.

“And I’m still handsome, right?” Shining teased, nuzzling into Cadence’s neck. She giggled, nosing into his mane.

“Like the day we met, all those years ago.” She enjoyed the moment with her husband, before turning her attention back to Luna. “So, are you ready to visit the Crystal Empire? I believe the last time you visited was during the Equestrian Games, correct?”

“Indeed – We spent most of our time at the castle. We are hoping to change that, and see a bit more of the public domain. It would be good for Arin and I to explore the world a bit, within the safety of the Crystal Heart’s reach. Canterlot doesn’t seem as peaceful after Our Sister’s last outing.” Luna said, biting into a strawberry.

“Indeed, Luna – I don’t believe it would be best to explore Canterlot. We are still unaware of the intent behind the plot, but the Crystal Empire is distant enough to afford you some repose. I take it you will still handle your nightly duties, correct?” The Sun princess said, drizzling more syrup onto her pancakes. By now, even her Knight was staring. It wasn’t just a cautious drizzle – a literal pool had formed in the bottom of the plate, her lowest most pancake drowning.

Cautiously, Vapor Cloud reached forward – tipping the jar of syrup back up to prevent Celestia from forming a river down the table. The Princess looked down, tilted her head left and right to examine her work – before pouring another generous spoonful on top.

Vapor’s eyelid twitched, as Celestia placed her fork down and picked up – dare he say it – a spoon.

Luna stared as Celestia scooped up the syrup – having completely missed the pancake – and gulped it down without blinking. “Well yes, of course Sister. Uh… does thou need more pancake, to accompany thy syrup?”

Celestia blinked, picking up her plate to look over the mess, and the now mostly empty jar of maple syrup. “…No?”

“Celestia, uh… didn’t you just finish your… y’know what, never mind. I think I’m ready to head out – bow, arrows, vest, pants, sword, shoes, bag of clothes, and shirt – I’m ready to go. How about you, Luna? Are you forgetting anything?” Arin said, downing the last few bites of his food in a hurry. Luna quickly shook her head, hopping up from her pillow.

Cadence and Shining quickly followed, giving polite coughs as they looked over Celestia’s plate.

“What?” She asked, her mouth full of syrup with hints of pancake.

“Oh, nothing, we just uh… Flurry is looking tired, isn’t that right honey? Let’s get you all tucked in for the trip home.” Cadence gently curled her foal up into her blanket, holding her close in a hoof. Shining followed, not wanting to see Celestia take another gulp of her syrup.

Celestia eyed them as they all left the room, frowning. Idly, she picked up the jar of syrup, slowly pouring it on top. Vapor Cloud’s head banged on the table, but Celestia payed him no mind. She had pancakes to eat.

~

“Luna, serious question…” Shining began as they walked down the streets of Canterlot. They had eight guards surrounding them in a diamond formation, breaking the crowd and covering all angles of attack. And unlike before, this event wasn’t very well publicized – nor was their route direct, so chances of being caught in an ambush were slim.

“If it’s about Our sister’s sugar consumption, we hold no answers.”

“How can you not know, though? Is that normal for her? To basically drink a whole bottle of syrup like that?” Shining said, keeping his voice low to prevent ease dropping. “I’m pretty sure that’s not healthy, what if it were poisoned?”

Luna chimed in. “It is exceptionally hard to kill an Alicorn by poisoning of any sort; what’s toxic to a normal pony is an upset stomach for someone like I, or my Sister. Physical injury, magical, or concussive force is the real threat – We are still mortal in bones, after all, though not in age. And again, while it’s hard to poison us – it’s not impossible. Just note that attempts have failed in the past.”

Arin hardly had any time to take in the beautiful city as they approached the train station. He had a job to do; keep his eyes peeled for any threats, after all. So far, besides a few shady ponies among the crowds – things were silent.

The station was relatively clear of hoof traffic, a few scattered silver armor guards standing by, examining ponies in their natural habitat. These were the standard police ponies in Canterlot – and they had become more frequent in points of entry, as noted by Shining Armor.

“With elevated security across Canterlot, more names are being tracked than ever before. Police Chief Iron Hoof is working double hard to identify suspicious characters, as noted in his recent report – though so far all he has is names, and a few scant leads.”

The train bumbled loudly into the station, the gaudy colors across the front painting it as a more peace fairing wagon than he’d like to admit. He cringed at the sight, Cadence catching sight of it with a giggle.

“The colors were chosen by the foals at Canterlot Orphanage, Arin. A lot of trains are given their designs by young, excluding the metro wagons in Manehatten, I believe. Isn’t that right, dear?”

Shining nodded, before shaking his head in a soft laugh. “If I had a bit for every time I’ve ridden on a frilly train, I’d have seven bits. Which isn’t much, but it’s weird that it happened seven times.”

Boarding the carriage, tickets in hoof and hand, they were seated in a nice, private coach. Not many took the route North, few took it past Galloping Gorge; so the seating was relatively open for the time.

“I’m a bit shocked you don’t bring guards with you on the train, too. Or that you don’t have an entirely private royal section dedicated to guests of your statue.” Arin confided, looking out the window. His eyes traveled along the busy streets of Canterlot for the last few moments of their boarding; a set of eyes catching his own. He didn’t recognize the pony too well, but he could make out that it was an older stallion, with a silver coat and top hat.

That didn’t sit right with him.

“We don’t travel often enough for it to be an issue, really. If we were desperate for private travel, we would have commissioned an Air Ship forever ago. Besides, taking the train brings you back down to Equis, and helps relieve the stress of leading the Crystal Empire. For now, we’re all just simple passengers.” Cadence said, taking her crown off to confirm this. Luna saw the motion, bringing a hoof to her chin.

“Perhaps We shall partake in this motion, as well. There is hardly a need to bare this weight, at the moment.” Luna withdrew her crown, holding it in her hooves. She turned it over in her regalia – stripping the hoof shoes off to accompany it.

“Curses; we lack a bag.”

Arin blinked. “You didn’t bring a bag? Anything at all?” He said, his eyes drawn from the window as the train began to move.

“We found no need for such trivialities. Though uh… perhaps We were… shortsighted. Arin, would you?…” She asked kindly, offering her jewelry to her knight. With a roll of his eyes and a smile, he quickly withdrew his small bag to his side – and slid the crown and hoof shoes within, nestled in against his green vest, backup clothes, and sack of bits that Celestia forced him to take.

The tiara poked out the side a bit, but with some adjusting – he slid it down to the bottom of the bag, hiding it quite well among his belongings.

“Aha, we feel young again! As if We were a foal, scampering around the halls of Our old Castle.” She placed her hooves on the carpet of the train, closing her eyes to feet the sensation of it against her bare appendages.

Arin imagined it to be much like taking off your shoes, after a hard day’s work – and walking on a soft rug of an Inn. The train began to pick up speed as it headed west – towards Cloudsdale, as he recalls.

Luckily, Honey Rose had taught him enough about Equestria’s Geography to feel confident in his ability to label places. If given a map missing names, he was sure he could place the majority of them correctly. Albeit completely misspelled.

“How long did you say this train would take?” Arin asked, stretching against the soft seat of the carriage.

“Well, we travel at about ten leagues an hour, and it’s a three hundred league journey to the Crystal Empire – so with stops, about two full days. It’s a shame you can’t take a portal gate more than once a month; it’s how we arrived to Canterlot so quickly in the first place.” Cadence said, rocking her foal quietly in her hooves. Thankfully, that little bundle of trouble has been exceptionally quiet through her stay in Canterlot.

From the stories Twilight told of Flurry Heart, Arin shudders imagining raising that child.

The Seraph yawned, stretching out against the seat. There was room enough so that he wasn’t cramped against his charge, but if he wanted to sleep, he’d have to find the space to do it.

“That’s right, Arin, you’re on Luna’s sleep schedule now. You’re both probably exhausted. Come on Cadence, let’s move to another carriage – Arin, you can fold these booths out into beds. You’ll find blankets up here – aha! On the luggage racks.” Shining did just that, withdrawing two blankets and a couple pillows from above.

Taking ahold of them, Luna smiled and gave a thankful nod. “Thank you, Shining Armor. We shall rest for the day; our bones are weary already.”

The trio left the carriage after snatching their bags, leaving Arin and Luna in quiet thrumming of train tracks. Arin stood up, unfolding the spare booth into a bunk, tossing his pillow and blanket on top. With a few quick movements, he stripped his gear – save his armored vest – and prepared to sleep.

“Need some help, Luna?” He asked the Alicorn, who shook her head.

“No thank you Arin – we wish to stir a moment longer, if that is alright.”

Arin nodded, his head falling to the pillow quite soundly. “Nowhere near as comfy as my little nook in your room, but it’ll do.” He said. The night princess smiled at the compliment, staring out the window as the hills rolled by.

She tugged the curtain mostly shut, opting to watch the world move by in that tiny corner. Her mind wandered to the grassy fields, watching it move by her with each click of the tracks. She saw the simple homes of ponies in valleys, fillies frolicking in flowers and colts flourishing fickle twigs in mock sword fights against one another.

The bubbling of warm brooks as they drove down into the far valleys north of Canterlot, across the wide open plains and fields of hard working farmer ponies. Tending to their crops in the mid day sun, readying for the harvest season. A few would stop and wave to the train, and she would quietly wave back – unseen in the dark of the carriage, but still felt in some way.

It truly was a rarity to see the world beyond the Castle for her. And even as her eyes grew heavy and her sight grew blurry, she would yawn and blink awake for a moment more.

The quiet thunder of the train down the tracks became mesmerizing, a distant echo that tickled the mind in all the right ways to hum one to sleep. Her head rested against the carriage wall, content to let the train sing to her in this moment.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and she fell into a quiet doze.