I was so exhausted. I hadn't slept the previous night, no matter how hard I tried. Now that Pinkie had "awakened" my own insecurities, the stress of what was to come was starting to wear on me. After losing two sisters when I was a teen, I had become careless with my own life...sometimes destructively so. My loyalty became no longer to myself, but to my loved ones. It was at this moment that I decided that I needed to make sure everyone would come out of this war alive, including myself. If not for myself, then for those I care about.

Sometime during the night, Vinyl and Twilight had joined me in bed. Without even noticing it, I was absentmindedly rubbing their backs in an attempt to calm my own nerves. Of course simply being around them did make me feel better, and while I was still stressed, my coat had turned back to its normal color. I was happy again and I had come to terms with my own fears...partly because I resolved to now put it in the enemy.

After all...fear is the enemy of any army. I just had to figure out what a gryphon fears.

I woke up to find myself spooning with Pinkie. Thankfully I had woken up in stranger situations, so I didn't freak out or anything, but that still left the question as to where Steel had gone. In his place was Princess Celestia. It was still kinda weird waking up in the same bed as my princess, but hey...things could be stranger.

I groaned and rolled over, dropping off the soft mattress and onto the ground. After that, I grabbed my shades and put them on, because I didn't feel comfortable with many ponies seeing my eyes. I had a pair of neon crimson eyes that after all these years I was still kinda self-conscious about. Lyra had seen them, but that was an accident...and Steel was a special case. Just thinking about this was bringing back memories of all the teasing I used to get back in school. When I put these on, I didn't have to be Vinyl anymore...I could be a different pony. I could be DJ P0N-3. I took one more look at the ponies still sleeping, grabbed Steel's mp3 player, and left.

Steel had taught me a spell that let me control his music player like he did, so I put on my headphones and turned on some music he called "hardstyle". It was still nighttime as I walked around the palace, which was odd because this would make the first time I've gotten up before the sun did. I decided to check out the palace grounds, and so I calmly walked towards the gardens.

It had been an hour or two since I started to take a stroll around the place, and the princess had already raised the sun. For the first time in a long time, I got to see a sunrise. I was enjoying this simple beauty to life when I heard the sound of metal clanging against metal from the direction of the guard's barracks. Interested as to why they were training this early, I headed over there.

I walked through the stone archway to find Steel training with...Darkflight? And they were using real swords...cool! I couldn't help it and I found myself sitting down a ways away so I could watch them. Darkflight was using a sword that was easily the size of me, and I wondered just how strong he must be to even be able to lift it...but he was swinging it around as if it were nothing.

The dragon was clearly stronger and faster than Steel, and I started to get worried that he would hurt him. Steel was just barely hanging on with his own swords that were being held with magic, but then I saw his horn begin to glow brighter. I saw his silver aura of magic extend out from his horn as he was fighting, until it covered a huge area around them. And then...I heard the ground start to crack. Dark fell to his hands and knees like something was holding him down, and he couldn't lift his sword. All of the sudden, a giant crater formed around where they were standing, as if something really heavy just hit the area. Steel's eyes started glowing brighter, until they were completely gold now. After a few seconds of this, the aura disappeared, and Steel collapsed on the ground.

I woke to the sound of what sounded like an earthquake, and violent shaking that seemed to be coming from beyond the gardens, near the guard's training grounds. At that moment, Tia burst in the room with a panicked expression on her face.

"Luna, I think we're under attack! Gather the guards and get to the barracks!" she said quickly.

I nodded and sped off to gather the full Celestial Guard - our most elite of guards. I then followed my sister towards the plateau where the guards trained. When we reached it, we found Steel being helped up by Darkflight and Vinyl Scratch...and they were in the middle of a massive depression in the ground.

"Steel," I said with a hint of panic, "what has happened here? Are you okay?"

He nodded and smiled. "I'm fine, Luna...just fine. I'm just a little tired is all because that spell took a lot out of me."

I was confused. "What spell are you speaking of?"

He looked around him and chuckled. "The spell that caused this. Sorry about that, by the way. I guess it's a good thing there's nothing to damage out here. I didn't know it was going to be that strong, I'd never used it before."

"I am confused as well, Steel. What spell did you cast exactly?" Tia said, now less panicked.

He grinned and sat down. "A spell that manipulates gravity. Now that the war is coming, I'm starting to experiment with more battle-worthy spells. This spell for example is great for keeping enemies that can fly on the ground, which in turn makes the fight that much easier. Also depending on how strong I make it, it can change from being a simple spell that grounds them to being a spell that can crush them. I'll have to practice more and get a better feel for it before I'll be ready to use it on the battlefield, though."

I found it unnerving that he was dabbling in manipulating the physics of our world, but he assured me that the effects were not permanent. This relieved me somewhat, as for some reason my mind conjured a fear that somehow his spell would pull my moon upon our world. A silly fear, but a fear nonetheless. What frightened me now was the fact that he was so visibly weakened just from using one spell. 'I do hope he trains to overcome this...'

It was midday by the time we made it back to our palace, so all of us joined Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and the rest of the Elements in the dining hall for some lunch and tea. I could not help but giggle as Steel was brought to the ground by Rainbow Dash, who he had not seen in days. They hugged tightly and then Rainbow Dash, in a rare display of public affection, kissed him. This prompted giggles from all the others within the area, including a few of the palace staff.

I found myself lost in a kiss with Steel and couldn't help but stare at him a little dreamy-eyed...I missed him. Just a few days away seemed like forever. I then quickly realized that everypony was staring at us, and I blushed in embarrassment and jumped off of him. Rarity was laughing at me, and I glared at her, but she just smiled a coy little smile and turned away to face Spike.

I was kinda surprised that Spike finally got his wish to be with her, even if she was almost thirteen years older than him. Still, he was a lot taller now - taller than her - and had matured a lot over the years. He even wanted to join the military to help us fight, but Twilight told him no.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the feeling of Steel grabbing me and placing me on his back, and I couldn't help but breathe in his scent as I wrapped my hooves around his neck. He smelled like the air right before snow...that crisp, cold scent that made my nose tingle. We all walked to the large table to sit down, and just in that short distance, I almost fell asleep.

Luckily I woke up when Steel levitated me off and into my chair across from him, and I was happy to see roasted carrots and a small salad already waiting for me. I ate like a wild animal...I was so hungry after training. I could hear AJ giggling at me, but I didn't care at the moment...my stomach had blocked out all forms of embarrassment at this point. Luckily for me I finished quickly, so I sat back into my chair with a very contented look on my face.

“Ah...much better." I said with a smile. I looked over at Princess Celestia with a grin. "Thanks a lot, princess. That hit the spot."

She giggled and waved a hoof in dismissal. "You are most welcome Rainbow Dash but please, you may simply call me Celestia. There is no need for formality among friends."

I had to admit, it still felt a little strange not having to address the princesses as royalty, but I knew she was right. We weren't just subjects to her anymore, we were friends.

'Now if I could just get to be friends with Spitfire and Soarin, I'd be set.'

We all finished lunch and went our separate ways. The princesses both had work to do with things starting to pick up as far as the war, so they stayed at the palace today. AJ headed towards the training grounds with Dark, while I flew back towards Cloudsdale to finish work.

"Hey Rainbow Dash!" said a voice from behind me. I turned around to see a gray pegasus with a blonde mane and tail flying towards me. I thought it was Derpy at first until I saw her eyes, and then noticed this must be her twin sister Steel had told me about.

I smiled and waved. "Hey...Ditzy, right?"

She nodded and flew closer. "Hey there, Commander Steel told me I should meet you. I hear you're the fastest thing in the air around here."

I couldn't help but puff out my chest a little bit with pride. "Yep, that's me! So what's up, Ditzy?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Not much. I was just coming over here to ask if you were going to join up."

I nodded. "Of course I am. I wouldn't let my friends go in without me! Besides, I've got a really cool set of armor that Celestia made for me."

Her eyes widened in shock. "You mean Princess Celestia personally made you a suit of armor?"

I nodded again, this time with a little more pride showing. "Yep! It pays to be friends with a princess. Why don't you come by my place? I'll show you." She nodded and we sped off towards my cloud home.

We landed a few minutes later and I opened the door and walked in, Ditzy following me. I leaned down near my couch to stroke Tank's shell and he greeted me with a smile. We then walked to my room and I heard a gasp from behind as my armor came into view. Rarity had been nice enough to donate one of her ponyquins for me to keep it on, and it looked awesome.

"What is this? I've never seen armor like this before..." said the gray mare.

I giggled and walked over to her next to the armor. "It's because it's one-of-a-kind. Celestia said it's made of something called 'magesteel'. It's a magical metal that's stronger than diamonds."

She then frowned. "Okay this is cool and all, but how would you ever fly in this? It must weigh a ton!"

I grinned. "Well why don't you try it on and tell me how heavy it is?"

She nodded and got to putting on the plated armor to her legs, body, head, neck, and stomach. She then looked confused. "It doesn't feel like it weighs anything...what's up with that?"

I giggled. "The princesses put some kind of enchantment on it to where it's not any heavier than clothing. Makes it so that I can protect myself, but still fly fast."

She nodded and removed the armor, placing it back on the ponyquin. "Wow Rainbow Dash, I'm afraid of what you're gonna do to those gryphons."

We shared a laugh and headed back outside for some more flying time. Now that I was getting to know her, Ditzy was pretty cool.

We flew around for a few hours before laying down on a cloud to rest.

Ditzy let out a sigh as she turned to me. "So Dash, what are your thoughts on the commander?"

'Haha...she has no clue! Oh, I'm gonna have some fun with this...'

I shrugged. "I mean Steel's pretty cool. Why, you wanna date him or something?"

She blushed and stuttered out, "N-no, I didn't mean it like that. I mean he's really nice and all, I'm just not in a place in my life for a relationship with anypony right now. Maybe after this war is over, I'll think about it. Besides, our first meeting left me with a little reminder. He's a little scary sometimes," she said while pointing to a scar on her neck.

All of the sudden I found myself angry at Steel. I nearly screamed out, "What did he do to you? Nopony is gonna get away for hurting another pony for no reason!"

She looked at me shocked and placed a hoof on my shoulder. "Dash, calm down. It happened during training, and I learned a good lesson from it. This little mark will always remind me to not underestimate my opponent...no matter who it is. I promise Dash, he did it for a good reason and I don't blame him for it. He had to show me that the mistake I made could have gotten me killed."

I relaxed when she told me of the first day she trained with him, and how he held his sharp horn against her neck...which is how she got the scar. Then I felt like a foal. I knew Steel wouldn't hurt anypony for no reason, it's not in his nature. I had to kept reminding myself that he came from a different world. He came from a world where violence and killing was completely normal. He always told us about how much he hated that about his world, but that didn't mean he wasn't used to it. I let it go when I understood why he did it. Likely he'd have to do similar things to me in my training if I slipped up.

'Ugh...training is gonna suck!'

I had decided to take a nap in the gardens after some more training with my spells. Over the past few weeks, I could feel myself slowly getting stronger. I just hoped when the time came that it would be enough. I was drifting in and out of consciousness until I was startled awake by someone laying down next to me. I turned to see Lyra, and I couldn't help but smile and hug her tight. She had been gone longer than she expected because of the carriages shutting down during a slight panic caused by gryphons moving around. Thankfully she was back now, and I was glad she was safe.

I gave her a kiss on her forehead and held her against my chest. "Lyra, I'm so glad you're okay. I missed you...we all did."

She giggled and nuzzled into my chest. "I missed you all too, Steel. Especially you. How have things been?"

I shrugged and smiled. "Eh, not bad. I'm making new spells for this war, Dark is making new armor and weapons, and Vinyl's making new music. Other than that, same old same old."

"Well that's good. Say, do you feel like getting something to eat? I'm starved," she said as her stomach growled. I nodded and we headed out to the city.

I had taken to wearing my royal regalia when in public in Canterlot, as otherwise I would be bombarded with questions from the cityfolk about who I was and whether I was a prince, and so on and so on. The royal wear took care of both of these problems, so I didn't feel weird wearing it around here. Besides, I just loved seeing the looks of surprise whenever I would bring Lyra or my other girls - who the ponies around here considered "common" - out to a nice restaurant or park for the day.

Being a prince does have its perks.

We walked towards a place I had come to enjoy called Blue Surf. The tastes of the place were similar to Japanese and Hawaiian, and because of that I had come here a lot over the time I started staying here. I got to know the owner - an old vivid blue unicorn stallion named Coral Crash - and made his business that much more popular to the nobleponies simply by eating there. He tried a few times to give me a free meal, but I turned him down saying that I wanted to be treated as just another customer. After he got over the whole "royalty" thing, we became fast friends. He reminded me a lot of my late great-grandfather - who interestingly enough was Hawaiian - and the ponies of Canterlot would often find me in my off-time simply enjoying a drink and listening to the old pony's stories of his past. He'd lived a long time, and coincidentally used to live on one the islands south of Equestria before they became sovereign. After I'd become comfortable enough with him to confide in him who I really was and where I was from, we'd swap stories of our lives.

As Lyra and I entered the restaurant, Coral was there to meet us. "Steel! It's great to see you, as always. How ya been, boy?"

I chuckled and shook his hoof. "I've been great, Coral. Sorry I haven't been back in awhile, things have become kinda hectic."

He waved a hoof at me. "It's no problem, Steel. I heard all about what's going on to the north, and I know just how busy that can make you. That's okay though, because I'll always have a place here for you to rest and unwind. You two eat yet?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "Nope, that's why we're here. This is my dear Lyra. It'll be her first time eating here," I said while gesturing to the pale green unicorn next to me.

She stuck out a hoof and shook hooves with Coral. "It's good to meet you, sir. Steel talks about your restaurant a lot, so I figured I'll try it out and see what all the fuss is about."

The aged stallion let out a hearty chuckle and motioned to a booth in the corner. "Well then take a seat. I'm pretty positive you won't be disappointed, young mare."

We nodded and made our way over to the corner booth to sit down. A young white pegasus mare fluttered over and handed us menus as she greeted, "Hello there again prince, it's always a pleasure to have you here. And who's this?" she said while gesturing to Lyra.

I smiled and placed a foreleg around Lyra, hugging her tight. "This is Lyra Heartstrings, my marefriend."

The server smiled and extended a hoof to shake Lyra's. "Well it's nice to meet you Miss Lyra. My name's Pearl. Have the two of you decided on some drinks to start with?"

We both nodded and gave Pearl our orders before she nodded and walked away to get them.

Lyra turned to me with a smile. "You know Steel, this would be like only the second real date we've had."

I chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Does that mean I have to act awkward and stutter in nervousness? I'm not sure I can pull that off."

"No, I'm just saying. Besides, it's nice. With you training so much, I hardly get to spend time with you anymore," she said while nuzzling into my chest.

Pearl returned a moment later with a piña colada for me and a rum-cranberry-pineapple cocktail for Lyra. "Okay you two, are you ready to order?"

I nodded. "Sure are, Pearl. I'll have the grilled ginger haysteak with some kimchi, please. Lyra?" I finished while looking at the unicorn beside me.

"Umm...I don't know, what do you recommend, Steel?" she asked, a little nervous.

I grabbed the menu and scanned it quickly. "Okay, how about the sautèed mushroom soup with tofu and bean sprouts, and then some fried banana and grilled pineapple."

Pearl nodded and finished writing on her pad. "Okay you two, we'll have it out to you in a few minutes. Let me know if there's anything else you need." and with that, she sped off to the kitchen.

Our server returned about ten minutes later with our meals, piping hot and smelling oh so good. I was about to dig in when I noticed Lyra staring at my plate

Lyra leaned over and took a whiff, and scrunched her face up at the smell of the kimchi. "Ugh...what is that Steel?"

I took a small bite, chewed and swallowed, then smiled. "It's fermented cabbage, seaweed, carrots, radish, and onions with all kinds of spices. Trust me, you wouldn't like it. It's an acquired taste."

She shook her head and giggled. "You are going to be brushing your teeth before you kiss me again."

"Well I'll brush them twice if I get to taste those lovely, succulent lips of yours," I said in a very seductive tone.

She blushed madly and turned her eyes to her food and began eating. Her ears perked up and she smiled when she tasted the soup. "By Celestia, this is amazing! Now I feel like I've missed out all these years by never coming here before. I mean I do live in Ponyville, but still."

I chuckled and smiled. "You have missed out. This is the same kind of food I used to eat in my world, minus the meat and fish of course."

She nodded and continued eating, and I did the same to be sure I savored the lovely hot meal before me.

We finished eating in a few minutes and spent the next hour or so sipping drinks and talking with Coral. Lyra was just as interested in his stories as I was, and she was mesmerized when he spoke about how he used to surf and swim in the ocean. I had always loved talking to old people because they always had such great stories and wisdom from life, and Coral Crash was no exception, especially with his life span being many times that of a human's.

Lyra stood up and headed to the washroom, at which point Pearl came by to clean off the table. I chuckled inwardly when she watched Lyra go. "Mmm...that is one fine mare. How did you land that?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" I asked with a huff.

She giggled and shook her head. "You're just one of the goofiest stallions I've ever met, which is saying something."

"Well you're right, but she loves that about me. So do all my other marefriends...princesses included," I said with a smirk.

Her jaw dropped open for a moment before she composed herself. "Wait a minute, you mean to tell me you're in with both princesses? As in not just one, but two?"

I nodded and chuckled. "Yep, guess they just can't resist all of this." I said while gesturing to myself.

Pearl rolled her eyes. "Well I'm not really into stallions so I can't say I agree, but they must see something. Still, you're a good friend so I guess you get points there."

I nodded and stood up to join Lyra as she left the washroom. "Well Pearl, it was good to see you again. I'll be back soon, okay? Stay out of trouble until then."

"Hah, trouble's my middle name." she said with a grin.

"And danger's mine, which is why we get along so well," I finished with a smirk. We waved goodbye to each other and I walked out with Lyra.

We arrived back at the palace in the late afternoon, and the sun was just about to touch the horizon. We both trotted up to my room and she lay down on my bed. Now that I'd had a few hours to let it marinate, the alcohol and kimchi was starting to leave a bad taste, so I quickly showered and brushed my teeth before stepping out of the washroom. I grabbed my brushes and gave my mane, tail, and coat a quick brushing before laying down next to Lyra.

She rolled over and straddled on top of me with a mischievous grin before leaning down to kiss me. I had forgotten just how soft her lips were so I savored it, pressing back into her which caused her to moan a little. She then pulled back and winked before leaning down again to continue.

"You have got to teach me that spell, Steel," said Lyra, a large grin plastered on her face.

I shook my head and grinned back. "No can do, hun. Trade secret."

She pouted cutely and looked up at me. "Oh fine then. Was worth a try."

We lay sprawled out on the bed next to each other, trying to cool down in the now unbearably hot room. I heard a knock on the door a moment later and the door opened to reveal Pinkie, Dash, Twi, and Celly. I smiled at all of them and beckoned them over to me. All but Celestia bounded over like little playful fillies and jumped on the bed, making me bounce up off it in response. Celly giggled and strode over to me, laying down on the other side of Lyra and I.
The sun princess looked at me and smiled. "Luna has night court tonight, so she won't be able to rest until around three in the morning."

I nodded. "You know after this war, I'd like you to train me in these royal duties and such so I can take over for you two sometimes. I may not be able to raise or lower the moon or sun, but I could at least sit through court so that you two could get more time to yourselves."

She nodded and smiled. "I was thinking the very same thing. Yes, that can wait though...your training of yourself and the guards is more important at the moment."

There was another trio of knocks on the door, and the door opened to show Vinyl. She walked in and closed the door behind her, before running and jumping on top of me. I responded with an "oof" and she giggled. I reached up and started to take her glasses off before she stopped me.

"Hey Vi, why don't you take your glasses off? I think you have beautiful eyes," I said with a gentle smile.

She looked nervous for a moment but then slumped a little and sighed. "Alright then, I guess I can do it around all of you. You're friends after all." She then proceeded to remove her shades and levitated them to the dresser across the room. She held her eyes closed for a moment before opening them, eliciting a gasp from everypony but myself and Lyra. She winced and started to hide her face in her hooves before a pink hoof stopped her.

"Don't hide, Vinyl. I think you have pretty eyes too. I like them a lot," Pinkie said in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

The other mares agreed and Vinyl broke out in a relaxed smile. "Thanks, all of you. I'm just a little self-conscious about them is all. I got teased a lot in school for these babies."

I reached up and booped her on the nose with a chuckle. "You don't have to be self-conscious around us, Vi. I'm from an entirely different world, but they all accept me. Just because you have eyes that are a rare color doesn't mean we'd ostracize you or something because of it, okay?"

She smiled and leaned down, planting a kiss on my cheek. "Thanks Steel...I needed that."

I smirked at her. "You did that wrong, Vi."

She looked at me, utterly confused. "Did what wrong, Steel?"

I grabbed the back of her head and pulled her down to me. "This..." and with that, I planted a soft kiss on her lips. Her eyes rolled back in her head as her eyes closed, and she sighed happily. I released her a few seconds later and she sat up, smiling.

"It's about time," said a giggling Lyra beside me. "The tension was so high I could cut it with a knife."

I nodded. "Yeah I was gonna wait for her to make the first move, but I had to take matters into my own hooves...again."

We spent most of the rest of the night talking before one by one they all started to fall asleep. Before I knew it, it was just Vinyl, Pinkie, and myself left awake. Vinyl was listening to music and Pinkie was snuggling against me like she always did. I tried so hard to stay awake, but I felt my eyes working against me. Before I knew it I was in darkness, and I felt myself fall into a peaceful slumber.