The guys flew the airship to the border and expected to be stopped, but no one came. The borders had little to no security, it seemed, and they flew through unopposed. That could be a problem later… but this was now.

From there, they were able to fly unopposed through the rest of Equestria on the way to Canterlot, going well into the night. During the course of the flight, over uninhabited lands, they tossed whatever orbs they had left over the side, deciding that the princesses wouldn’t need them any more. Not for a long time, at the very least.

When they were close to Canterlot, they started to think about potential problems with the ship. Soarin’ was quick with his wits and grabbed tools to scrape any markings off of the outside of the ship. When they landed at the city and the guards came up, Fancy Pants took over and explained to them that he had just bought the air ship and would pay whatever fines were necessary to make up for an unplanned landing in the middle of the night.

Mac carried Blazer right past the guards without being stopped, with Ryan citing that the stallion was tired and had to sleep on Mac’s back. He had woken up briefly during the flight, but said nothing to his rescuers and didn’t even see Ryan. After years of captivity, he deserved some rest, so the guys let him have it.

They carried him through the city and, when they could see there were no guards around, using magic and careful timing, snuck through the more guarded areas to get to the castle. There, Fancy Pants came up and started talking to the guards, asking them questions about their armor and improvements he could make. While he did that, Soarin’ took custody of Blazer and brought him over the castle walls.

Fancy kept up his act and Soarin’, once Blazer was over, grabbed Ryan and then Mac, the last one proving more than a little bit difficult. When they were all over, they snuck through the remainder of the castle to make it to the garden.

There was only one suitable place to bring Blazer that they knew, and Ryan led the way through the garden. He brought them to underneath the balcony to Luna’s library. Once there, Mac and Ryan watched wordlessly as Soarin’ carried the sleeping bat stallion up to the balcony and left him there. When Soarin’ confirmed that it was taken care of, the trio left their trespassing behind and made their way out. Once out, they met up with Fancy Pants and took a train back to Ponyville.

Only one thing was left to do.

Ryan held up a mug of beer. “Congratulations on a job well done, boys.”

Everyone held their mugs up and cheered, clacking them together and downing their contents. Cinny wasn’t in tonight, apparently, but the guys could live with it this time. They figured it would be better not to have anypony ask them why they were back.

“To the best stallions the world has ever known,” Ryan said, nodding to his friends.

“The best group of friends the world will never know,” Mac said.

“Cheers,” Soarin’ and Fancy concluded.

The guys continued to drink celebratory drinks in their favorite bar. The place had taken a real turn from when Ryan first showed up. Sad ponies weren’t coming here nearly as much, and sometimes, there was a live music act. It really livened up the atmosphere.

Oktoberfest was serving them tonight. “You boys are in a real good mood,” he said, dropping more drinks on the table.

“The whole place is,” Ryan replied.

Oktoberfest nodded with a smile. “Yeah, ever since you guys started coming and having good times, more ponies started enjoying themselves here. Thanks for that, even though it wasn’t long before I plan to retire.”

“You’re welcome,” Ryan said. He had a feeling the old stallion would retire soon.

Oktoberfest left the group to the rest of their drinks, and the guys kept cheering each other and clanking their glasses together for the rest of the night. It was a good night to be alive, and they planned to make the most of it.

High above, in the night sky, a single star outshined all the others, unnoticed by the sleeping ponies, but always there, watching over them.