After their lovely night in the park, they cleaned up their mess quietly. Luna stuffing her dress into the picnic basket, Arin folding up the blanket as the barrier began to wane. Without constant maintenance, it would grow weak and crumble, so their date had come to a close.

Luna led the way back to the castle, her knight sticking close to her side all the while. Arin remained vigilant, but nothing came for them that night. Even as they settled back down on their bed in the tall tower, much too high to be reasonable, he felt at ease.

He squeezed his lover close, as she entered the dream realm, a bit late to begin. He was left to guard her, and of course, nothing happened. He started to consider bringing a few books with him, but that would be going against his duty to pry his eyes off his charge while she worked.

The morning soon came, and they both made their way to breakfast without a hitch. After a quick shower together, and some heavy petting – the freshly made couple happily found a table in the dining room. Cadence watched them with a smile, resting her head on a hoof. Eyes half lidded to see love flourish before her.

Arin took note, raising an eyebrow in confusion as Cadence ignored Flurry Heart chewing on her mane. The little foal babbling adorably, eating the candy hair without issue.

Celestia, across the table, eyed Luna differently. It wasn’t anger, or anything, but perhaps a bit of jealousy. The Sun princess broke the glare to look down at her snoring knight with a sigh. Again, she felt she should have put forward Arin’s name to be her knight. He seemed to be vastly more interesting than Vapor Cloud, to say the least.

Shining Armor, on the other hand, had nothing to say. All he knew was that Cadence watched them for far too long from the window, and he felt a little attacked when his wife essentially jumped him and demanded love.

“So, Luna~” Cadence eventually broke the quiet, as the moon princess bit through an entire coconut with a yawn. The bubblegum princess didn’t even double take as she crunched the shell. “How was your outing?”

“It was beyond splendid. We are very thankful for the hay burger. Though We must say, this current hay burger tastes off.” She blinked, looking at the coconut in confusion. Arin didn’t question it; when Luna was tired from the dream realm, she could barely stay awake.

“This is a coconut.” Luna said, spitting out several splinters after chewing for far too long.

“Yes, I imported some from Silver Shoals, but back on topic…”

Luna took another bite of the coconut, embracing it.

“…Did you like the strawberries too? I had to import them from Ponyville, after all-”

“Yes Cadence, thank you.” Luna said. She was still chewing the shell. Tiredly, Arin smacked the coconut out of her hoof, replacing it with a much softer banana. Luna didn’t even notice, and took a bite straight through the peel.

“Well, I also had to have a few cages of crickets set out, to make sure there was plenty of ambiance.”

“Yes, ambiance…” Luna said, nodding dully. She yawned, as Arin took the banana from her hoof, stripped the peel, and placed it back in her grasp. He then took a moment to grab a kiwi from the bowl, for himself. Cadence really did have a variety here…

“What she means to say, Cadence, is that we had a wonderful night together, and we’re both very thankful you put forward the effort to uh… ensure it. Yeah.” Arin stretched, taking a bite of the kiwi. It tasted a bit like banana and strawberry, with maybe just a slice of pineapple on top. Delicious.

“Oh! Well thank you Arin, I knew you two would enjoy it.”

“Cadence?” Arin asked, and her ears perked up. “Your baby is eating your hair.”

Cadence looked down to find that, indeed, Flurry Heart had starting to climb up her mane like a hungry piranha. “Flurry, no! Don’t eat mommy’s mane!” She squeaked, Shining taking the moment to marble at the situation.

“So! Arin! I don’t suppose you have a brother or anything, would you?” Celestia asked with a giggle. He blinked at that. Why would she care if he had a brother? Wouldn’t he be dead, anyway?

Vapor snorted and lifted his head from the table, grunting. “Whosawhatnow?” He said, blinking away the bags from his eyes.

“Are you sleeping well enough, Vapor? You look like you’re about to collapse.” Arin asked between bites of the fruit.

“Oh yeah, no, I’m not. Celestia was staring out the window all night with the lights on, wouldn’t stop talking to herself and being loud…”

The sun princess blushed, as Arin turned his slightly less than amused gaze to her. Even Luna awoke a bit at that comment; sleep was important after all, and stared at her Sister.

“Well, it was Cadence’s idea…”

“You two were spying on us?” Arin demanded an answer, glaring.

“Well, you were kinda bucking like rabbits in a public park…” Vapor yawned. “From what Celestia was mumbling, at least.”

Celestia’s wing hit Vapor Cloud hard enough to knock him two pillows down. He took this as a sign to shut up and go back to sleep. Or he was unconscious. Either or, at this point.

“Well then.” Luna said quietly, flushed. “Then We suppose there is no point in hiding it, then. Arin and I are an item.”

Cadence shot up, clapping her hooves together in delight. “Oh, I knew you would find love, Auntie! I just knew it! And what’s more romantic than it being your very own knight? This is just like when Shining won the tournament for me!”

“Well, I can’t say that I wasn’t expecting it. When I heard that you made friends with Arin on his first night here, I had thought that to be extremely peculiar.” Celestia said, gladly changing the subject away from their spying habits. Celestia took a sip from her tea, happy to get the heat off of her for the moment.

“Oh! You know what you two should do? You should get married, here in the Crystal Empire!”

And that very same tea she sipped from, now covered the table. Luna dropped her banana. Arin choked on his kiwi. Flurry Heart went quiet, eyes wide as she saw her next chewing target; Cadence’s necklace. Shining Armor nearly slammed his head into the table.

“That’s much too quick, even for Us!”

“I think that’s a terrible idea, the crown budget…”

Arin coughed, obviously choking with no one to come to his aid.

“Cadence, after our wedding…”

Flurry nibbled on the shiny jewels. Delicious.

Luna’s hoof slammed into Arin’s back, wheezing as he caught a breath of fresh air. “C-Cadence, t-that! You’re crazy!”

The Princess in question rolled her eyes at the statement. “Well, it was worth a shot.”

For a few staggered minutes, they each quietly nibbled at breakfast. Luna had snapped awake, the latest statement getting the adrenaline pumping.

“The airship Starstruck should be arriving here by noon, Luna. It’s all our budget can afford, seeing as the rails are still in repair for the following weeks.” Celestia said between bites of cake. “I know you need to sleep, but if you could both be cleaned up and ready to go, it’ll ease the stress for our departure. With a team of pegasi on the weather, the skies will be clear and the journey short.”

“Is one ship enough?” Arin asked. The last thing he wanted was to be struck down from the sky, especially since he lacked wings.

“It should be. Equestrian Battle Ships are well tuned for flight, and have impeccable speed. While a quick pegasi like say, Rainbow Dash, could catch up or even pass us – they wont be able to maintain pace for long, especially with two Alicorns at the helm.”

He thought about it. Magic would have an advantage in air, which made sense. A barrier could deflect an attacker’s attempts at boarding with ease. But that didn’t worry him – Ascended could have magic and flight, and are often long lived. A simple approach may not work, but he didn’t know enough about Seraph strategy to say much else.

“Just be wary, Celestia. Seraphs are the most terrifying in air, and a Mage can strike with intensity beyond my imagination should they choose to act.”

The sunlight princess nodded. “I don’t underestimate your former Nation’s military might in any sense. But I am well lived, and I have been through more battles and wars than I can rightfully count. If they wished to take us, I wont give in without a fight.” Celestia withdrew a book from her side, pushing her bowl out of the way. Wasn’t that the same book Twilight had with her during her stay?

Arin nodded, squeezing the hilt of Nocturne in his grasp. “Very well then.”

“What I’d like to know, is the exact plan they have against us. And I’m starting to get a hint of an idea, but… where does this all tie together?” Celestia said, eyes knitted in concentration as she flipped through Twilight’s conspiracy theories.

~

Saying their goodbyes to Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, the starry and sunny princesses boarded the landing craft with elegance. A small crowd of Crystal Ponies had appeared to wave them off, as Arin inspected the massive vessel before him.

He had never seen an Air Ship before, though his world did have them. A massive balloon towered into the sky above the strange boat-like machine, large turbines and propellers situated on the back. The figurehead on it was a large star, painted gold. The blue body of the ship curved up to meet it, trimmed in purple and gold paint. It wasn’t garish like the trains of Equestria, but felt like a more serious version of Canterlot’s color scheme. One that meant business.

And judging by the three canons lining either side of the floating boat, its business was deadly. On the bow of the ship sat four guards, two of which bore night armor similar to the ones who would haunt the castle at the late hours of the night.

Of course, they were just normal guards, the armor simply changed on the Princess’s whims, and granted small benefits like increased night vision. Something that Arin had been noticing himself, when he wore Luna’s gifted vest.

Vapor Cloud nudged him in the side. “Are you gonna just stare, or actually get on so we can get moving? Shining told me you needed to practice sword fighting, and I’m desperate to smack someone senseless after dealing with Celestia the last few days.”

“You really think you can take me? I disarmed Shining not too long ago.”

“Yeah, if you duel for a few hours, somepony is bound to slip. Shining is no exception.” He chuckled. “But I don’t plan on letting you win a single match.”

Arin felt his newly awakened duelist spirit boil at those words, and he made his way up to the deck of the ship. It had quite the size to it, plenty of room to move around with few cords or wires to trip or slice. He was happy to find that Vapor had brought two training blades with him, the duo of Princesses having retreated to the interior of the ship during take off.

“By the way, it’s going to get pretty cold fast. Hope you’re okay with freezing winds.” Vapor said, drawing the wooden sword in his muzzle.

“And I hope you’re okay with getting a few too many bruises to count.” Arin replied, swinging the sword up in an arc. He held it in both hands, eyeing his opponent curiously.

All at once, Vapor Cloud charged at him – but he was ready. He took Shining’s lesson to heart, and knocked the quickly approaching blade to the side before stepping forward in a flat kick – forcing Vapor to tumble to the ground. Before the pegasi knew what was happening, he stuck the blade to his throat, seizing the victory in a moment.

Luna clapped her hooves, as the ship began to raise from the ground. Upon finding her knight missing, she exited the cabin to scout for him. Happy to find him victorious in his bout, she was more than pleased to cheer. The weight of theStarstruck began to shift, hefting itself into the air slowly. Spinning around the Crystal Palace in long circles.

“Okay, yeah, I didn’t expect that.” Vapor Cloud said, picking up his sword in his muzzle. Arin helped him up with his hand, feeling good about himself.

“I made the same mistake too many times with Shining not to let that one stick. Over confidence will kill you, and so will charging blindly.”

Stepping back, Arin raised his blade again. Vapor shook off the loss, and approached much more cautiously. The fighting had drawn more eyes that he anticipated, a few guards leaving their position within the cabin of the ship to spectate. Celestia herself made an appearance, whispering quietly to a stallion to her left. He laughed, nodding, and withdrew a small pouch of bits.

But Arin didn’t let it distract him. He met his friend halfway, swinging his blade forward in a simple slash, before withdrawing the blade in a feint backwards. The stallion reacted to block, but stumbled when no strike made contact. Seeing his chance, Arin dashed forward in a wild jab.

But Vapor’s fumble was intentional, as he spun around on his forehooves and reared to kick at the Seraph’s unguarded chest. Caught in the motion, Arin had little options left before him. Out of reaction, his front leg kicked off the ground, and he tried to jump back to avoid the potent hooves.

Instead, he jumped up, the motions blending together to put him airborne out of the panickedmovement. The kick missed, and Vapor nimbly darted forward as Arin fell to the hard deck, landing on his heels with a solid thud.

A few cheers erupted from the crowd, as the Seraphstumbled to his feet. He swished the blade to his side, holding himself steady once again. Vapor didn’t fight like Shining did; his moves were more wild and sporadic, and fed more off instinct than anything. He held the blade aloft, trying to come up with a plan.

“Giving up already?” Vapor said, circling around him. Speaking through the blade in his teeth. “Don’t worry, Luna wont cry too much once I knock that sword out of your hoof… claw… things.”

He was trying to get to him, and he wasn’t going to let it work. Quietly, he approached, watching the bouncing pegasi body bob back and forth on the deck. Just out of reach of his sword, his mind whirled into action.

He tilted his leg forward, meaning to lunge at him. Seeing the pegasi raise his blade in reply, he instead stepped forward in a heavy stomp. Vapor gave a half hearted swing, his movement to block mixing with his nerve to attack, as Arin keenly led the simple swipe with his own blade. He forced the pegasi to over extend, and in retaliation, he attempted to spin and buck at him once more.

But he stepped with him, spinning with the movement of the pegasi as the sword came down at his exposed neck. A flurry of wings, and he just barely dodged the incoming blade, Vapor falling back to get his barrings.

The ship lurched as it began forward, Arin shuffling to keep his poise. Vapor was back on him in a moment, swinging for his unsteady legs. But the Seraph knew this trick, and kicked for his muzzle – landing a square bump right on the sensitive snout.

His two front hooves shot for his nose, as Arin pointed his wooden sword towards his neck once again.

Arin tried to think of something cool to say for so cleanly winning the second duel in a row, but instead found himself at a loss. There were a couple of cheers from the guards, four of them rolling their eyes in frustration as they began to pass bit bags to Princess Celestia. Luna simply beamed, her wings stiff as she watched Arin win his second duel.

All too sudden, the world started to turn a chilly cold as they headed south. They were exiting the protective warmth of the Crystal Empire, and his fingers felt like they could freeze to the wood. Quietly, he offered his hand to Vapor, who took it with newfound appreciation.

“Yep, never mind then. You kicked my ass fair and square. Didn’t think you’d learn so quickly. Or that I was so out of practice. Then again, I didn’t have hooves on training with the Shining Armor.”

“He taught me well, I guess.” Arin smiled, shivering. “Let’s get the hell out of this cold before I lose my fingers to frostbite.”

“That’s what they’re called! Fingers! I knew it.” The crew began to return to the comfort of the cabin, only a couple of pegasi sticking around to maintain the top end of the ship.

“You did splendid, my Knight!” Luna cheered, wrapping Arin up in her wings. “If thy had been any more elegant, We would have confused thee with Sir Valiant Rose, the greatest knight of the ancient tournaments of yore!~”

“…Who?” He asked Celestia. She rolled her eyes.

“Quite a long time ago, we had a little tournament to find me a knight. He was the winner of said tournament. It was a shame, though. He preferred the company of… stallions, unfortunately. He was my very first knight, and a fine one, otherwise.”

“Stallions? What does thy mean, Sister?” Luna asked, confused.

“Nothing, Luna. Oh! Look! Arin is being handsome again!” She teased, Luna’s eyes sparkling as she turned to hug Arin. He gave a soft grunt, holding on tightly to his bundle of midnight love.

“Hey Seraph! Are you related to that runt in Ponyville? A-non-y-mouse? Or whatever his name is? He says he’s a hoo-man, and I’m sure you two are like, close to the same. Though you’re not ugly enough to hide your face in a mask all the time.” A stallion guard asked, entering the cabin doors.

“Okay, no, I’m not related. But I keep hearing about this guy, I’m pretty sure I should meet him sooner or later.” He waved the unicorn off with a hand, who rolled his eyes and headed back to the front deck.

Arin finally peeled away from the conversation to take a look around the air ship interior. It was simple, with little furnishings to fall about in case of battle. Wooden deck beneath, a round stairway up and down on this section. He was sure that the central pillar in this room was part of the rudder to direct it. It felt stark, like a military building should, a few swords and crossbows strapped to the walls to allow quick access in case of battle. There were two hallways to the left and right that led to other small rooms of the ship, but he was certain that the majority of the exploration lay beneath.

After all, it wasn’t particularly huge. The vessel seemed mass produced, even. One of many.

“So, this is the Starstruck, huh?” Arin asked, not feeling particularly impressed. It wasn’t a luxury cruise, that’s for sure – it seemed more like a small scouting ship than anything.

“Indeed, one of the Comet’s Rush fleet. A simple model produced in bulk meant for scouting and skirmishes, not for direct military combat. It’s more so a hub for Pegasi elites to scour a region, meant to house twelve to twenty military personal. We have twelve in the fleet, but only an average of six see any real use during any part of the year.” Celestia said, leading them towards the staircase in the center of the main room.

“This way to the command hub. Starcharts and information on your left, the right is the medical bay. Down below you’ll find the engines, sleeping quarters, artillery, kitchen and bathroom.” Celestia continued, beaming at her military knowledge.

“This place has plumbing?! Wow, color me shocked.” Arin said, as Vapor, Luna, and himself followed close behind. Luna was a bit intrigued to see more herself; she had never been on a scout ship before. High class warships, yes – plenty of times.

The command deck really was a wonder, compared to the stale entrance down below. Dozens of dials, knobs, meters, gauges, wheels, buttons, and even a command system lined the wall, plenty of reinforced glass giving as much viewing room as possible. Mirrors gave extended views above and below, a sight of the deck, even a small system called a ‘radar’.

What a radar was, he had no idea. His world was heavily magic based, but this seemed to be leaning more towards the technology side of things. He tapped the round green screen below, a stick swinging in wide circles around it.

“You might not have this in your world, but this is unique. A new technology, developed five years ago. A radar uses waves of energy to reflect back off of objects, signifying their position in relation to the device.” Celestia said smartly, “And there’s so much more, as well. Meet the captain of the ship, Star Chart.”

A turquoise maned unicorn stood at attention, his weathered blue coat outlining his soft orange eyes. He saluted the knight with a steely gaze, donning a navy cap and coat.

“Welcome aboard, Knight. You may not remember, but I was one of the ponies in the crowd of your knighting ceremony.” He said with a soft bow. “It’s good to work with the Princesses, really puts meaning to my job, wouldn’t you agree?”

Arin nodded, “They really do make it all worth while, huh?”

Luna blushed, stepping closer to his side. Vapor rolled his eyes out of sight of his charge.

“So, I always wanted to say this, but… what’s our heading captain?” The Seraph smiled, and the captain gave a short bark of a laugh.

“South-South East, towards home base to regroup and deliver precious cargo. Our ETA with clear skies is four hours.”

“And with bad weather?” Arin said, looking past him to the darkening clouds.

“There is no bad weather planned. Our weather crew has a clear hold of the sky.” Star Chart frowned, turning to look towards Arin’s sight. Storm clouds had already filled the world, a heavy blizzard cutting through the once clear horizon.

He approached a nearby microphone, popping it off the wall with his magic. “Come in Cloud Tail, do you read me? Come in.”

Static reached him for several moments, before a fuzzy “Aye Cap’n!” Reached him.

“We’ve got a heavy blizzard blowing this way, got eyes on it? Over.”

“Yep, we’re working double time on it, but we can’t break ‘em. They’re stretching miles above, Cap’n. Over.”

The captain blinked, frowning, as Celestia and Luna gave each other a worried look.

“10-4, what’s the draw on this? Think we can pace it with a hard cut East?”

Fuzzy static filled the cabin, as heavy winds blew across the glass.

“Negative Cap’n! This looks like the same storm over Vanhoover and Cloudsdale, over.”

“Affirmative, return to command and prepare the wind shears. 10-3.”

Captain Star Chart quietly clicked the radio over two channels, cursing under his breath.

“Come in Vanhoover Watchtower, this is the Starstruck of the Comet’s Rush Fleet, Royal Equestrian Military.”

Click. Buzz. “10-1, 10-9.”

Star Chart repeated himself to the quiet cabin, the soft click of the radio’s static following shortly after.

“10-1, 10-4. This is Vanhoover Watchtower. What can I do for you?” A crackly voice replied of a young mare.

“Do you have eyes on the weather from CE to CA? Over.”

More crackling.

“Be advised Starstruck, FW inbound north. CD Station 10-7, no 10-13 for CA.”

“What the hell do all of these codes even mean?” Arin asked Celestia, who gave a shrug.

“I’m not trained for military or police code. Star Chart will fill us in when he’s done. Just try to remain calm. There’s nothing we can do, and if a storm is blowing in, we may just have to cut through it.”

Star Chart sighed, nodding.

“10-12 for CA, repeat 10-12 for CA. Need a viable 10-13 for enroute to CA. This is a 10-18, copy.”

Click. Buzz. The radio hummed for several long minutes, before a reply came through.

“10-4, no viable 10-13. Proceed at your own risk, or 10-19.”

Star Chart cursed, clicking channels over until he got a soft buzz of static.

“Come in CloudsdaleWeather Hub, this is the Starstruck of the Comet’s Rush Fleet, Royal Equestrian Military.”

Nothing. Not even a static reply. He repeated himself several times, before clicking the intercom back to local.

“Cloud Tail, report. Is this storm heading North bound?”

There was no reply as the sky grew ever darker, the ship hanging at the edge. Even Cloud Vapor got a little antsy, seeing a storm scratch the stars like this.

A pegasus flew in front of the window, hovering in front of the captain. He clicked the radio, frowning when the captain couldn’t hear his response.

Star Chart mashed the button, grunting in frustration as he leaned forward. He undid a small latch on the view, opening a small section to the wind outside. It ripped through the once warm cabin, ruffling fur and making Arin shiver. He was not used to chilly air.

“What’s going on out there?” He yelled above the wind. Cloud Tail pressed his front hooves to the glass, shouting to be heard over the wiping air.

“This isn’t your normal escaped storm from the Everfree, Cap’n! It’s heading straight for the Crystal Empire! It’s gonna be a doozy, and I don’t know if the ship can handle this much lightning!”

Star Chart cursed, growling beneath his breath. “Alright. Are the Wind Shears set up? We don’t have the fuel to stick around the Empire, if we do, we’ll be marooned with a dry engine.”

The pegasus nodded, his shirt whipping at the air. “Set up for high winds. Are we going up, Cap’n? I don’t think we can handle the snow below.”

“Aye! That means get us tied down and run more helium to the balloon, dump the water balance and get inside. This is going to be a bumpy ride.” He closed the window, drawing back on the power.

“So what did all of that number nonsense mean on the raidey-yo?” Arin asked. Luna gave a soft cough.

“Tis a Radio, fair knight.”

“Right. That.”

“Basically, we don’t have any advice for our route to Canterlot, and a lot of Free Weather is gonna make it difficult for us. Couple that with a bad connection, and we’re gonna be flying in the dark with nothing but our compass and radar to guide us out of this mess.”

“Why not just wait in the Crystal Empire for a refill of whatever fuel this thing takes?” The Seraph asked, Celestia shaking her head.

“If the engines run dry, it’ll cost a cart and a half of bits to repair the damage, since standing idle for a long time can sap the engine and ruin it. I know this first hoof; the military is expensive to maintain, and Star Chart is well aware of our current budget.”

“Hence why we’re using a Scout Ship instead of a War Model.” Captain Chart said, getting the all clear from Cloud Tail. A few flicks of several switches, and the stern rose up – picking up speed.

“I didn’t even think we’d see free weather this far from the Everfree. It’s my fault we’re in the mess. I went heavy on supplies and light on the fuel, expecting this to be a quick journey full of, excuse me for saying it, snobby royalty who eat only the finest grains.” The Cap’n said, sheering into the clouds. The world went dark, as he flicked a few switches. A powerful beam of light erupted from a sconce above, breaking the black clouds apart.

“No one expects free weather, Star Chart. It’s nopony’s fault. I should have worded the letter more carefully.” Celestia said with a frown.

“Well, I did bring extra cake, if that counts, Princess.” He smiled.

She nodded. “Indeed, that does. I’ll be sure to inspect it in a moment, to make sure it’s ah, up to standard.”

Vapor Cloud rolled his eyes.

Luna, on the other hand, was a little excited. She bounced on her hooves, looking to the massive clouds before her.

“Exhilarating, that’s what We call it! The daring captain delving into the dark of the unknown! It sends shivers up Our spine!”

“You say that until we crash into a mountain.” Star Chart scoffed, spinning the wheel dramatically to dive into the tumbling toil.