A week later, Twilight and Storm were hard at work in the study in their castle. Sometimes, the life of Equestria's most popular princess and prince was quite demanding and lots of ponies wanted them to sign things for various reasons, while also being parents. Twilight and Storm could never turn anyone away, no matter what. They only stopped signing when her quill broke, causing her to let out a groan. Luckily, Spike brought them a new quill. Starlight and Eric also came in while holding Midnight. Suddenly, the little dragon felt an ominous rumbling in his stomach. Without warning he let out a huge belch, then promptly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh, thank goodness. I thought I had too many deep fried gems,” Spike said.

“I told you not to eat those, Spike," Storm lightly scolded. He and Twilight then read over the scroll that has been belched up from Spike, when they had finished reading them, their eyes lit up.

“It's from my parents! Spike, they won a free zeppelin cruise and get to take the whole family!” Twilight said, prancing happily.

“Where and when are we going?” Eric asked.

“I wish we had the time to go with them, but there's just too many prince and princess duties we have to take care of,” Twilight replied.

Spike walked over to Twilight and said, trying to persuade her, "Come on, Twilight. Even Princess Celestia takes a break sometimes, and she raises the sun."

Spike rolled up his non-existent sleeves, then shoved Twilight and Storm out of the room, and said, “You need a vacation! I can keep track of the friendship log, boost community morale, and answer fan mail for a few days.”

“But, Spike, you're as much a part of the family as anypony. We can't just leave you here to do all that work,” Twilight replied.

“I’ll stay and help him,” said Starlight.

“What?! I can't hear you! You're on vacation!” Spike called out.

“I guess I could use a little time off from being a princess,” Twilight replied.

“And from being a prince,” Storm added.

“You're the best, Spike!” Twilight said.

“I know,” Spike replied.

“We’re gonna go pack everything neatly into one suitcase!” Twilight said as she, Storm, and Eric left the room.

“Wait for it…” Spike said to himself.

“Cruises have activities, right?! We should probably make a schedule?!” Twilight shouted.

“There it is,” Spike said to himself.

Later on, at the boarding dock at the Zeppelin, Twilight Velvet and Night Light were walking on board.

“Grandpa! Grandma!” Eric said, reaching his arms out for a hug.

“Hi, Eric,” Velvet greeted as she hugged him.

“Hi, kiddo,” Night Light added.

“Oh, gee. I am really looking forward to a relaxing vacation,” Velvet said.

“Watch out. She won't admit it, but when your mother says "relaxing vacation", she means "doing something crazy". Last time, she ended up bungee-jumping over Luna Bay!” Night Light said to Twilight.

“What was that, hon?” Velvet asked.

“Oh, I was, uh, just telling Twilight about my new, uh, bingo strategy book! It's a, heh, real page-turner!” Night Light said, as he winked at Twilight.

“Oh, I can't wait to get on this zeppelin and fly like a Pegasus!” Shining Armor said.

“Really? I remember you getting airsick on Admiral Fairweather's Wild Ride at Pony Island,” Twilight replied.

“Not a pretty picture,” Storm added.

“Oh, please! I grew out of airsickness a long time ago,” Shining Armor retorted.

“Hi, Uncle Shining! Hi, Aunt Cadance,” Eric greeted.

“Hi, Eric,” Cadance said.

“Good to see you, little buddy,” Shining added.

Suddenly, there was some feedback on the loudspeaker, until an assertive male voice spoke, “We hope you ponies feel welcomed aboard, because you are!”

“Well, that was an... assertive welcome,” Twilight said.

Suddenly, the ropes holding the Zeppelin were untied, and then a mysterious arm activated the finned propellers, and then the Zeppelin took off into the sky so the cruise can start.

Soon enough, they went to a guest room that was huge for each other, and they got situated. “Guess this is what it's like to be big-time prize winners,” Night Light laughed, “I just wish I could remember what contest we won.”

“Wait. You don't know where this prize came from?” Twilight asked.

“When somepony offers you a free vacation, you just sign the paperwork and don't ask questions!” Twilight Velvet replied.

“Especially when it means we all get to fly off together. What should we do first?” Night Light asked.

“Well, I did categorize the ship's activities and make a schedule organized by each of our interests. Dad, you're easy. Bingo competition right here,” Twilight said.

“Oh, I just love how the numbers and letters are organized in their little boxes. It's so satisfying,” Night Light commented, as he looked at the schedule Twilight made.

“Shining Armor, they've got a tiny boat race in a tiny pool here,” Twilight said.

“Aw, sis. Only you would remember I love tiny things.” Shining replied, being pleased. Flurry Heart babbled as her father played with her cheeks.

“Hi, Flurry,” Eric greeted his cousin.

Flurry just hugged Eric’s face babbling, as usual.

“And Cadance, there's a Peewee Prince and Princess Playtime here that Flurry and Midnight are gonna love!” Twilight said, as Flurry Heart babbled again, so did Midnight, but excitedly about how they’ll get to play with the other foals.

“It’ll be good for the two cousins to have some extra playmates,” Storm added.

“Oh, wonderful!” Cadance replied as was surprisingly pleased about her sister and brother-in-law’s kindness.

Twilight Velvet looked at her part in the schedule, “Hmm. This barrel jumping at Neighagra Falls sounds interesting,” she said.

Twilight then placed the schedule on the wall and stuck it with tacks and explained, “Eh. I just want to see you all have a good time. And this works out perfectly, because we have room for the one thing Storm and I wanna do! Our ship passes the Frozen North at sunset, which is the only time you can see the astrological phenomenon known as the Northern Stars. It's like the stars are shooting out of the setting sun!”

Velvet, Night Light, and Shining Armor had interested reactions.

“Well, we definitely don't want to miss that,” Cadance said.

“Then it's settled. Hmm. But we don't have anything to do right now. Any suggestions?” Twilight asked.

Eric gazed at the picture, until Twilight and Storm realized she forgot about him.

“Eric? I also didn’t have time to think about what you wanted to do, but if you want, you’re welcome to join some of our activities or watch them,” she said.

Eric nodded, and then received a hug from his mom and dad.

“How about if we get situated before we start?” Storm suggested, and then the rest of the family made agreeable comments, and sat down on separate chairs.

“Attention, cruise ponies! Don't let this zeppelin be a bore! Leave your room and see the tour! Uh-huh-huh.” said another male voice in the loudspeaker.

“A tour could be fun,” Cadance said, as they all went outside for the tour. Eric suddenly felt uneasy as he saw so many ponies on the deck. Shining Armor stood up and waved his forelegs out, “I'm flying! I'm—“ Shining Armor groaned and gagged like he was gonna puke, as his face turned green.

Cadance came over, while holding Flurry against her chest, “I'm afraid Flurry may be airsick. Since I know that isn't a problem for you, would you mind taking her below?” she asked.

Shining Armor grunted and then took Flurry, and rushed somewhere else to puke.

“Far to our right, you can just make out the white tufts of Cloudsdale, where Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Storm Blade once toured the weather factory. Uh-huh-huh.” the second announcer said on the speakers.

The ponies got interested, and then they took some pictures and made some comments.

“How'd he know that? And why announce it on a cruise?” Twilight asked.

“Beats me. It makes no sense to us at all,” Storm replied.

“Why don't we move to the other side of the deck?” Cadance suggested.

“Good thinking, Aunt Cadance,” Eric said.

Twilight, Storm, Eric, and Cadance tried to go to the other side when the first announcer spoke up on the speakers again, “We are now high enough to see all of Canterlot, even the royal tree where Princess Twilight and her brother Shining Armor were born!”

“What? That's not right,” Twilight said.

“Dude, that’s just wrong!” Eric shouted.

“Oooh!” Velvet exclaimed.

“Let's get down for that!” Night Light said, as he and his wife laughed.

“Um, you guys know that's not where we were born. What are you so excited about?” Twilight asked.

“Well, it is a really nice tree, sweetheart,” Night Light replied, with Velvet nodding in agreement.

Twilight and Storm turned to see three ponies grinning at them and had uneasy looks on their faces.

“Oh, we just wanted to say how excited we are to be here!” a mare called Raspberry Sorbet said.

“Um... yeah. Us, too,” Twilight replied, uneasily.

“On our route north, we will pass the spires of the Crystal Empire, where Princess Cadance rescued her Alicorn baby Spike from a monster made of fire!” the first announcer said over the speakers.

“Well, that doesn't even make sense,” Cadance said.

“This is all wrong,” Eric added.

“Well, "Royal Grandparents" sounds a bit fancy, but of course you can take our picture,” Night Light said to a random cruise pony.

He and Velvet gave big smiles as they had their picture taken by several cruise ponies.

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed.

“It’s a good thing my parents didn’t come on this cruise. Otherwise they probably would have had their pictures taken,” Storm said.

“I think Spike and Starlight made the right choice to stay home, too,” Eric added.

Twilight, Storm, Cadance, and Eric soon noticed the cruise ponies wearing royal pony themed merchandise, such as shirts with their faces etched on and cosplay props. Among them was a filly wearing a tacky mask of Cadance looking for an autograph.

“Uh... Oh!” Cadance exclaimed, with an unsure look on her face.

“Okay, that's it! Does anypony know where the cruise announcer is?” Twilight asked.

The cruise ponies pointed their hooves toward the bridge in response.

“Whoever he is, we’re gonna give him a piece of our minds!” Storm said.

Twilight and Storm entered the bridge and went to see the captain.

“Excuse me, sir,” Twilight said.

“You can call Iron Will “Iron Will”!” he said. The captain was a muscular minotaur with grayish cobalt blue fur on his upper body and dark grayish cobalt blue fur on his lower body, two gray horns, yellow eyes, a black tie around his neck, and he had a big nose ring on his muzzle. He was also wearing a sailor’s hat on his head. Alongside Iron Will was a grayish Persian blue earth pony with a light indigo and light mulberry gray mane and tail, grayish chartreuse green eyes, and a dark blue suit which had a glittery hemline, cape, pale orange shirt with a darker bow tie, which had an image of bits on it.

“And I’m Gladmane. The director of this cruise,” the pony in question added.

Twilight and Storm gasped, remembering that minotaur and con-pony, “What are you two doing here?!” she asked.

“The assertiveness seminar market dried up, so Iron Will started a new career organizing themed vacation packages!” Iron Will replied.

“You mean my new career, Iron Will. You run the ship and I run the cruise, so remember your place!” Gladmane said, before turning to Twilight and Storm, “I’m here, ‘cause I lost my resort no thanks to Applejack and Fluttershy. I gave Iron Will an offer too good for him to refuse, then I started this service so that I can get back on top again. Uh-huh-huh.” Gladmane explained.

“And the theme of this vacation is...” Twilight asked.

“Everypony, stomp your hooves if you are here for the premiere Cruise of the Princes and Princesses Experience!” Iron Will said over the speakers.

Banners were unfurled as the cruise ponies on the deck cheered and stomped their hooves, leaving Twilight and Storm looking on with uneasy looks. It wasn’t long before they followed the Sparkle family back towards their suite, then Cadance closed the door.

“Iron Will, I'm not sure it was entirely honest of you and Gladmane to offer this cruise to my family without telling us that ponies bought tickets just to see Cadance, Eric, Storm, and me,” Twilight said.

“Iron Will outlined all the details of the cruise in the Prize Acceptance and Consent Form that you signed,” Iron Will replied.

“Uhh... I don’t get it,” Storm said, “None of these make sense.”

“It’s not fair making profits at other ponies’ expense! That’s cheating!” Eric added.

“Well, when somepony offers you a free vacation, who reads the fine print?” Velvet asked.

“Iron Will prides himself on providing a quality vacation experience. But if Twilight Sparkle and her family don’t want it, Iron Will can cancel the cruise and break the hearts of every prince and princess-loving pony on board!” Iron Will said.

Twilight just groaned when a fan mare called Sunny Side shouted, “I love you, Princess Twilight!” She then closed the curtains.

“As much as I want a family vacation, I don't think I could entertain all these cruise ponies. My hooves are pretty full taking care of Flurry Heart,” Cadance said.

“And I’m sure you and Storm have your hooves full taking care of Eric and Midnight too,” Shining added.

“I guess we were just so excited by the idea of a family cruise,” Velvet said.

“All right. I guess we better turn this ship around,” Night Light replied with a heavy sigh.

“Wait! Iron Will, what if we offered you a deal? If Storm and I agree to do whatever princess activities you want, will you promise that my family gets to do the activities they want?” Twilight asked.

“And that we all get to see the Northern Stars at sundown?” Storm added.

“Sis, you and Storm don't have to do that. We want you three to enjoy yourself, too,” Shining said. Flurry and Midnight just babbled.

“We don't want the vacation to end now or let down all these ponies who were looking forward to seeing us,” Twilight replied.

“We got this,” Storm added.

“So what do you say, Iron Will? Do we have a deal?” Twilight asked.

“Princess Twilight and Prince Storm have a deal!” Iron Will replied, shaking their hooves.

“Great! So it looks like we have some time before Dad plays Bingo,” Twilight said.

“Actually, we have just enough to pick the winner of our grand-prize raffle,” Iron Will replied, shoving Twilight, Storm, and Eric out of the room.

“Oh. Well... who doesn't like prizes?” Twilight chuckled with a nervous smile.

“I just wonder what prize we have to give,” Storm said.

It wasn’t long before the cruise ponies were gathered for the raffle. They were all eager to know which of them was the winner.

“All right, cruise ponies! When the zeppelin flies, it's time for a prize!” Iron Will declared over the mic.

The cruise ponies cheered in response. Iron Will gave the microphone to Twilight and Storm, and she said, “Thank you all for being so gracious and respectful to me and my family.”

“And without further ado, the winner is…” Storm continued, as Twilight selected the winner's name from the barrel.

“Star Tracker!” Twilight finished.

The earth pony colt in question was surprised and smiled nervously as his name was called, while the other cruise ponies stomped their hooves.

“Congratulations, Star Tracker! Enjoy your prize!” Storm said.

“Okay, Dad! Bingo time!” Twilight said to her father.

Just then, they bumped into Star Tracker and she apologized, “Uh... Oh. I'm sorry. We don't have the prize.”

“Congratulations to Star Tracker, who wins the grand prize: spending the day with Twilight, Storm, and their family in a VIP experience!” Iron Will spoke up. The cruise ponies cheered as confetti shot out.

“That's the prize?!” Twilight and Storm asked in unison.

“At least that’s better than nothing,” Eric remarked.

“Uh-huh,” Star Tracker chuckled nervously.

“Okay, well... I guess you should come with us, VIP,” Twilight said.

“Sure. There's always room at the bingo table!“ Night Light added with a laugh, lightly nudging Star Tracker’s shoulder.

Soon enough, they went to the bingo tables for some bingo.

“Ahem! Is everypony ready?” Twilight asked through the megaphone.

“Yes, Mommy!” Eric replied.

“Sure are, sweetie! Give that cage a whirl!” Night Light added.

“Dad? What did you say?” Twilight asked.

“I believe he said to give it a whirl,” Storm said.

“Thanks, honey,” Twilight replied.

She then rolled the cage sphere full of bingo balls, and one of them popped out and she called out the letter and number, “I-19!”

“Hey, hey! Now we're talkin'! This Princess Bingo is great!” Night Light said.

“Did you get that one, Dad?” Twilight asked her father.

“Did you get it too, Eric?” Storm asked.

“Can anypony tell me how my dad and son are doing?” Twilight asked over the megaphone.

“I think your dad said the Princess Bingo is great, and so does Eric,” Storm replied.

“Princess Bingo! Princess Bingo! Princess Bingo!” Night Light, the other cruise ponies, and Eric chanted.

“Twilight is my favorite time of day, and it's also your name. So I just thought that was cool,” Star Tracker said.

“Choose your words carefully around my wife, dude,” Storm replied.

After lunch, Twilight, Storm, Eric, and Star Tracker made it to the pool area.

“Phew! Just made it! And I'm ready to give you the tiny boat race of your life!“ Twilight said to Shining Armor, as he whinnied excitedly, but got sick again.

“Are you okay, Uncle Shining?” Eric asked.

“I-I... I’m fine... bud,” he replied while gagging.

“Are you sure you're not airsick, big brother?” Twilight teased.

“No way. How can I be airsick? I'm in the water, so it totally cancels out!” Shining Armor replied nauseously, then gurgled in his mouth.

“I don't think that's how it works. But I'm ready if you are,” Twilight pointed out.

“Technically, Princess Twilight Sparkle should officiate the princess paddle boat race,” Iron Will said.

“Well, I suppose I could could race your brother,” Velvet suggested, putting a life vest on.

“I don’t think Shining is in any condition to race, maybe Eric should take his place,” Storm said, levitating Shining out of the boat.

“Good thinking, Daddy,” Eric replied as he put a life vest on.

Eric and Velvet got into the boats, then Twilight and Storm teleported, and the cruise ponies took their pictures. She accidentally backed into Star Tracker, giving him a serious look.

“S-Sorry,” he laughed nervously, then moved aside.

“I'm gonna write about this race tonight in my journal! It's just so exciting!” Star Tracker said.

“On your marks, get set…” Twilight began.

“Go!” Storm finished.

Velvet cheered while pedaling as fast as she could and turned around the bend, causing a splash. Twilight and Storm cast a force field, preventing them and Star Tracker from getting wet. Velvet came in first with Eric coming in second.

“Oh, my word, that was exciting! Wasn't it, Eric?” Velvet asked, with a short laugh.

“Yes, Grandma! I loved it!” Eric replied.

“Just so everypony knows, I'm sitting this one out because of how not sick I feel,” Shining Armor said, nauseously.

“Aww, that's all right, dear. We'll take you back to the room,” Velvet replied, as she took Shining Armor back to the room.

“That was just the first heat! Of ten!” Iron Will said, as his abs popped. “Now, who's ready to see a prince and princess face when they win their race?!” This made the cruise ponies cheer, while Twilight and Storm just smiled nervously.

After the race was finished, Twilight, Storm, and Eric went to check up on Cadance. They noticed Flurry Heart and Midnight Star playing with the other foals, by sharing with them and using their magic safely.

“Cadance, I'm so glad you got in the Peewee Prince and Princess Playtime!” Twilight said.

“Flurry and Midnight are having a wonderful time,” Cadance replied.

“That's great. We’re just on our way to take some old-time Appleloosan photos!” Twilight said.

“Themed photoshoots are the best, but I never had one,” Eric spoke up.

“And then do a quick question-and-answer session on becoming an alicorn before Mom’s barrel ride at Neighagra Falls! I really hope we don't miss that,” Twilight finished.

“Twilight, are you sure you don't mind doing all of these princess activities?” Cadance asked with concern.

“Mind? What? Absolutely not. I mean, you guys are having fun, right?” Twilight said.

“Besides, we have to make sure these cruise ponies are happy if we want to be a good princess and prince,” Storm added.

“You're already a good princess and prince, Twilight and Storm,” Cadance replied.

“Honestly, as long as Storm, Eric, and I get to see the Northern Stars tonight with everypony, we'll be happy. But right now, we gotta go take some pictures and give autographs. See you later!” Twilight said, as she, Storm, Eric and Star Tracker trotted off to the photo booth.

“Why don’t you play and make prince and princess friends?” a mare called Sun Cloche asked her baby, as the mothers gathered their babies around Flurry and Midnight.

Suddenly, Cadance magically lifted them up. “Uh... I am so sorry, everypony, but it looks like Flurry and Midnight need their nap,” she said, as she walked away with a soft sigh.

After the question-and-answer session took longer than planned, Twilight, Storm, and Eric rushed toward the barrel loading dock with Star Tracker behind them.

“Oh, why did that last question have to be a two-parter? I just hope I have time for one barrel ride with Mom!” Twilight said.

“I’ll stay with Eric,” Storm replied.

They arrived just in time to see one of the last barrels plunge over the falls. One goat pushed one of them each over the wooden board and over the waterfall and the other pushed a wet barrel back onto the dock. The barrel popped open revealing a wet Twilight Velvet and she gasped excitedly.

“Neighagra Falls was amazing! The endless open air, the water in my mane! Oh! The small confines of the barrel!” she said with excitement.

“Another ‘relaxing’ vacation in the books, hon.” Night Light chuckled, then gave his wife a kiss on the cheek.

Velvet’s barrel tumbled to the side and she spilled out, coming face to face with her daughter. She knew from experience just by looking at the face what was troubling her daughter.

"Oh, honey, I know you're disappointed, but we waited as long as we could. Maybe you and Storm should take a break from all of these prince and princess things,” Velvet said.

“Disappointed? No! We've just been answering some detailed questions about alicorns! You know how much Storm and I love details!" Twilight replied.

“If Applejack were here, she could tell that’s not the case,” Storm pointed out.

“I just don't want the both of you to forget. It's your vacation, too,” Velvet said as Night Light helped her up.

“How can we when it's a totally successful vacation?” Twilight asked.

“All right. Well, uh, see you at sundown!” Night Light replied as she and Velvet left.

“Attention, cruise ponies! At sundown, we’ll be experiencing the Northern Stars, so be ready!” Iron Will said over the speakers.

“Come on, sweetie. Let’s get some dinner,” Twilight said to Eric.

Twilight, Storm, and Eric went to rejoin the rest of the family at the buffet for dinner. Once finished eating, they went outside and watched the Northern Stars.

“Are you ready to see the Northern Stars, sweetie?” Twilight asked as she set Eric on her lap.

“Yeah. I kinda like a calm vacation better, because peaceful happiness makes me happy more,” Eric said.

“That’s why we’re doing this your way,” Twilight said.

“Oh! Here they come!” Velvet said.

Suddenly, the Northern Stars appeared and zoomed through the sky in a beautiful shower of comets. The ponies gazed in awe, and then made enjoyable calm comments.

“They’re so pretty!” Eric said, then asked, “Why did you and Daddy do all those prince and princess activities, if you wanted peace and quiet?”

“We only made that deal with Iron Will so our family and the cruise ponies could have the vacation they wanted,” Twilight replied.

“What about what you wanted?” Cadance asked.

“We just want everypony to be happy,” Twilight replied.

“Well, sometimes ponies want more from a prince or princess than you can give, and it can be hard to know where to draw the line,” Cadance said.

“You seem to know pretty well,” Twilight replied.

“How do you even know, Aunt Cadance?” Eric asked.

“Once I had Flurry Heart, the line was easier for me to see. You and Storm will always have obligations as a prince and princess, but you also have an obligation to yourselves,” Cadance replied.

“You’re right. I think we need to set up some boundaries, especially since Storm and I are parents too,” Twilight said.

“If only the line became clear to us sooner after you adopted Eric and after Midnight was born. This cruise wasn’t too exciting, but at least we got to see the Northern Stars,” Storm added.

“Now everypony got what they wanted, even that con-pony Gladmane,” Eric replied.

“That’s what I’m afraid of. Something tells me that upon making that deal with Iron Will, we became pawns in Gladmane’s scheme to get back on top,” Storm said.

Just then, Eric opened his backpack, then took out some paper and his quill, and wrote a letter to Princess Celestia about Gladmane’s scheme.

“Mommy, can you please send this letter to Princess Celestia?” Eric asked, “I wanted her to know what Gladmane is up to.”

“Sure, sweetie,” Twilight replied as she teleported the letter.

“Hey, let’s go get some ice cream!” Storm said.

They all stood up and went to the ice cream stand and got themselves some ice cream cones. When Twilight was about to give a mint chocolate chip cone to Shining Armor, he got airsick again, so he decided to let Flurry Heart have it, as the cute baby alicorn giggled as she adorably stuffed her mouth on it. The entire Sparkle family laughed at how adorable it was.

Just then, Gladmane and Iron Will came onto the deck. ”Attention, cruise ponies! If it's your dream, come to the deck for ice cream!“ the minotaur said over his headset.

“And feel free to get in line if you want the princes and princesses to sign an autograph or get a picture! Thank you. Thank you very much.” Gladmane added over his own headset.

“No! Leave us alone!” Eric yelled.

“What did you say?” Gladmane asked angrily.

“It's okay, everypony,” Twilight said, as she took the microphone from Iron Will and placed it on her ear, then spoke up after clearing her throat, “First, I want to thank all of you for coming. It means a lot that you'd spend your hard-earned bits just to be with us. But Storm and I honestly came on this cruise to take some time off from being a prince and princess and enjoy some time with my family. We’re just ponies too, after all. But even though we want everypony here to be happy, we’d all really like to spend the rest of the cruise relaxing with my family.”

Eric then hugged his mom as she held him on one hoof and let him rest against her chest. “Of course, Princess Twilight and Prince Storm! Anything for you and your family!” Sunny Side said.

“But I don’t get it. Why was this trip advertised as a Cruise of the Princes and Princesses if you just wanted to get away from being a prince and princess?” Sun Cloche asked.

The cruise ponies and Twilight looked at Iron Will whistling like he did something bad, so Gladmane explained everything, “The Cruise of the Princes and Princesses makes no guarantees as to participation of actual princes and princesses! No refunds, whatsoever!”

“What?!” a random cruise pony asked in anger. The other cruise ponies also engaged in angry chatter.

“You made up a scam VIP experience with Storm, Twilight, and her family, including Prince Eric Sparkle?” Star Tracker asked in anger as he reappeared.

“It wasn’t Iron Will’s fault! It was Gladmane’s idea, he gave Iron Will a so-called ‘generous offer too good to refuse’, but he did not keep his word, and Iron Will does not deal with those who break deals and promises,” Iron Will replied in defense.

“You’re right about that, Iron Will. I used you the whole time, once the season is over, I’ll be back on top again and nopony is going to stop me,” Gladmane said.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” a royal elegant voice spoke up. It was Princess Celestia, with Captain Blitzwing and Lt. Windcharger standing next to her.

“Princess Celestia!” Eric said, and he gave Celestia a hug on her foreleg, until she lifted him up and hugged him against her chest.

“I got your letter, Eric. Is this con pony bothering you and your family, Twilight and Storm?” she asked.

Twilight and Storm nodded, then spoke to Gladmane with an angry tone, “Gladmane, for crimes of false advertising, blackmail, bribery, and fraud, you are under arrest.”

“As for you Iron Will, you shall be sentenced to five months of community service at the castle,” Captain Blitzwing added.

“Seize him,” Princess Celestia said, as the guards took Gladmane and Iron Will to her carriage on the other side of the deck.

“As Princess and Prince of Friendship, we hereby announce this cruise to be free for all!” Twilight said, and then the cruise ponies cheered.

Later on, Twilight, Storm, Eric, and the rest of the family went back to the room for the night.

“There's still plenty of activities to do tomorrow. We pass Fillydelphia on the way back. I could give Flurry Heart a quick history tour,” Twilight said, as she and Cadance walked over to her folks in the living room.

“That's very thoughtful,” Cadance replied, as everyone else agreed.

After some reading, Twilight and Storm tucked Eric into bed before turning in themselves.

Next Chapter: Chapter 10: A Visit to Appleoosa Estimated time remaining: 43 Minutes