“Ugh, finally! Where had you two gone?! We’ve been waiting for ages!” Pipp loudly demanded when she caught sight of Alex and the Queen crossing the threshold of the door leading to the great hall, flanked by the same guards that had led us there and had gone off in a worried search for them when noticing they were missing from our group.

“It’s only been like… ten minutes, Pipp.” The tired voice of Zipp joined her sister’s after a quick look over her phone.

“Yeah, an eternity!”

“Forgive me, my dear fillies.” The Queen left Alex’s side and nuzzled her daughters lovingly. “I’m afraid we got a little bit sidetracked back there. I wanted to know his thoughts regarding your trip to town this morning.” She warmly informed the pegasi sisters. “He also has graciously offered to retell the true origin of Zephyr Heights to me, since he was there to witness it!” She directed a sideways glance at the waiting human. “More or less.”

“That I did.” He confirmed with a firm nod.

A gasp escaped me when my ears caught the news. Another piece of Equestrian history! And I wasn’t there to hear it!

Nickering annoyingly, my legs suddenly grew a mind of their own and unsuspectedly dragged me closer to my human friend. Once at this side, I made sure to address him with my most innocent look.

“Anything I can help you with, miss Starscout?” He questioned in his trademark mock serious tone.

“Mmmmm, perhaps…” I let it hang with a winning smirk, my tail flickering excitedly behind me and betraying my apparent disinterest.

‘Ugh, I swear I’m gonna chop that thing off one of these days… ouch.’

“Then I’m afraid that thing will have to wait, miss, for there's a party awaiting us.” He motioned with his stretched hand.

Denied of my chance to learn a new piece of a long-lost age, I was about to start pouting, my most effective counterattack, but his gloved hand found its way under my chin and began scratching, hitting me dead on my weak spot and rendering me utterly defenseless.

“C-C-Cheater…” I managed to stutter between unrestrained hums of pleasure.

“And proud of it.” He smugly returned.

I had to give myself a metaphoric kick in the head to escape his prison. We were in the presence of royalty! This was no time to start acting like a filly!

Although I made sure to remind myself to resume the session later.

Seeing my poor attempts at a temporary retreat, he let go of me with an amused chuckle. “I’ll tell you some other time, it’s not that big of a deal.”

I took deep offense at such a travesty. “What do you mean it’s not ‘that big of a deal’?!! Anything regarding our lost history is a big d-”

“GUARDS!!” The piercing call of the Queen made me flinch and flatten my ears over my head. “Please inform the royal chefs that they may begin bringing forth the treats and refreshments. Ohoho, it’s sure been a while…” She cheered to herself in a manner that brought a crooked grin to my muzzle, and an embarrassed one to her daughters’.

“Time’s up, Tangerine.” I couldn’t help the blush warming my cheeks at his use of that nickname. “Now, to stuff our faces with whatever the chefs have prepared, else we offend Her Royal Highness.” He dramatically uttered, shaking his hands in front of my face.

“That’s the last thing we’d want.” I joked back, and with a shared laugh joined the rest of our friends around the long table covering up the central portion of the hall.

Or at least, we tried to, but on our way, we almost stumbled over Hitch, who was desperately chasing his baby dragon who, encouraged by the smell of soon-to-be-arriving tasty food, was already making a beeline towards the unsuspecting waiters.

“SPARKY!! NO!!”

“Grrrrah!!”

Leaving the poor sheriff behind, I couldn’t help but fondly comment. “He makes such a great dad…”

“If my visits to the Dragonlands are any indication, I believe he is,” Alex added after me, his sight also fixed on the galloping stallion.

“You’ve visited the Dragonlands?” I now realize it was kinda stupid to ask considering who he was, but my curiosity got the better of me at the moment.

“Mhm, several times. My brother and I had some work to do with the dragons after the establishment of the UH. And by some I mean a huuuuge load of.”

‘The Dragonlands! The mythical lands of the dragons under the rule of the mighty Dragon Lord who… wait.’

“Your brother?!!” My ear-splitting inquiry was enough to catch Izzy’s attention, making her stop harassing the poor waitress for more avocado bites and tune in her ears to our direction.

“Who’ffs ffrother?” She mirrored my question with her muzzle full of tasty bites.

“I thought I’d told you already.” He twirled on his heels to address us both. “I spent a lot of time with the little guy. I mean, we lived in the same castle, always surrounded by mares from ALL directions. With time and a lot of guy talking we grew close enough to consider each other siblings and, after my formal adoption into the Sparkle family, it kinda became more or less official.”

“Your brother was a dragon?!!” Izzy asked again, not before stuffing another bite in her hungry jaws.

“Yeah.” He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I have a weird family.”

Izzy pointedly dragged her gaze along his entire length. “I can tell…” She teased, surely referring to his weird anatomy. I mean, not weird just… peculiar.

‘But you want a piece of it alright.’ My brain was kind enough to remind me.

“I was talking about you, idiot.” Alex reacted before Izzy could escape, whereupon he playfully tousled her curly mane and secured her between his arms.

“AAAH!!” Izzy cried in surprise. She gave her best to try and escape, but Alex’s strong arms kept her in place. Tussling her mane to the point it mirrored her usual morning bedmane monster, Alex only let go when he was satisfied. Although we couldn’t see her eyes behind the mess of blue hair, it was evident Izzy wasn’t amused.

“There’ll be consequences…” She announced in a threatening voice.

“I’ll make sure to dampen the noise around the room later tonight, then.” He teased back in a suggestive tone.

With a pump of her forehoof and a victory ‘YES!’, Izzy's attention returned to the long table which now held new treats freshly prepared.

“You’re not serious right?” I asked, definitely NOT feeling the slightest bit concerned about his suggestion.

A few tense seconds passed between us, after which he simply returned an exaggerated shrug and went to join Izzy in grabbing a bite, leaving me behind to watch blankly at the exuberant curtains Pipp had chosen for the occasion.

‘He’s only joking… He IS joking!’ I convinced myself… more or less.

“Ponieeeees~” Pipp’s call saved me from mentally slapping my nonsense away. Pumping her wings, she had her back turned to us and held her phone high, ready to take a snap. Hastily bringing forth my best smile, I only noticed Alex’s return to my side when I felt him dragging me closer to him with his left arm, resting it over my back and kneeling to stand at our height. Izzy accompanied us at his other side so that the three of us together could pose for the impromptu selfie.

“Say cheeeeese!!”

Following her lead and smiling broadly, the clicking sound from her phone concluded the short photo session. “Oh, I’m so getting this framed!” Pipp celebrated with an excited twist in the air.

Not a second later, a ping from my phone alerted me of an incoming message, that being Pipp having sent the picture through our shared group in Teleprance. A fond smile lit my reflection on the screen when the sight of us came into view, Alex hugging both myself, Izzy, and Hitch. The butterscotch stallion had finally secured the rampant dragon between his forelegs, and he sat on his haunches alongside Zipp, whose wing draped behind the sheriff’s back. Pipp’s face barely clung to the bottom of the picture in her haste to take it, but we all looked amazing together.

‘Yeah, I think I’m getting it framed too.’

Letting go of Izzy and freeing her to resume her bouncing around the hall, I noticed how his arm didn’t move from my back, instead moving up to grab my previously, and now positively stress-relieved shoulder.

“You sure you’re okay? Perhaps I went a bit overboard back there…”

Warmed by his concern for my well-being, I assured him I was totally fine with a thankful nuzzle to his arm. Smiling tenderly in return, he let go of my shoulder and raised himself on his hooves… um, feet, and motioned for us to join the bigger group of ponies, who now included several of the guards in charge of the protection of the royal family. The Queen had granted them temporary leave so they could enjoy the party with us, yet their uniform and equipment never left their side.

“WAIT!” Pipp jumped into the air from within the circle of ponies and sped towards the music equipment the palace staff had arranged in advance. I hadn’t even noticed it since it had remained silent since the party started.

“I can’t believe I almost forgot!” She dramatically bellowed in front of the folding table atop which the twin speakers rested. Plugging in her phone and quickly browsing through her seemingly endless playlist, her hoof finally tapped on the screen when she’d found her desired track.

An upbeat rhythm filled the air, the melody roughly matching that of Pipp’s usual pop hits, yet this song wasn’t hers. My hooves, making use of that mind of their own, started tapping in sync with the music bouncing on my ears.

“Ah, this is one of my favorites,” Alex observed, his own feet slowly following my lead.

“Is this from your world?” I couldn’t help but wonder, feeling the beat now reaching up to my hips.

A simple nod of confirmation, which soon transitioned into a bobbing motion of his head. “Come on, Sunny. Show me what you got.” Now loudly tapping his feet on the marble floor, his body began swaying to the beat of the song that had just entered the refrain.

Had it been anypony else asking, I would most certainly have begun feeling apprehensive and shily refrained from complying. I wasn’t a very good dancer… I wasn’t a good dancer, period.

But not with my best friends, and especially not with him. If something had become clear to me from the time spent with him, especially during that alicorn fiasco thingy from a week ago, it was that I could trust him. I could allow myself to feel vulnerable around him, where I could just be myself, and never would he try to take advantage of it, or make fun of me.

Previous experiences had made me hesitant to expose my true self to others, but meeting the ponies who are now my closest friends, and Alex as well, had drastically changed the way I saw the world.

“Come ooooon.” He egged me on. “You can’t be a worse dancer than me.” He jested, striking a pose and mirroring holding a mic to his muzzle while following the song’s chorus with his lips.

A quick glance saw the rest of our friends already far into the beat, a very energetic Izzy flailing her limbs wildly in her own particular style of dancing. And, funnily enough, I caught the Queen herself shaking her body in a very youthful manner to the visible surprise of her guards, who made sure to give her a wide berth.

“Hit it, Mom!!” Pipp cheered from the air where she performed dance move after dance move in a manner only a pegasus could achieve, making full use of her wings.

It felt overwhelming but in a good way. My own birthday party had been a blast. The dancing, the jokes, the gifts, the games, the… perhaps a smidge too much cider. I felt then like I was living a dream, a dream come true. And I craved more of it, more of that wondrous notion of having the time of my life with my friends.

My eyes met his once again, friendly and inviting. His hand reached towards me and, with a tiny nod, the invitation was extended. A thousand butterflies fluttered in my tummy, the warmth threatening to asphyxiate my entire self. I could hardly believe my eyes. Me, the weird mare with the crazy ideas who always got into trouble and was the butt of everypony’s jokes, asked out to dance with the guy I… well, it was undeniable what I felt for him at that point.

So many unfulfilled hopes were all but accomplished over these past few months, and I was about to fulfill one of my most cherished dreams. Not even that idiot had asked me out on a dance during the short time we spent together, and the last thing I wanted to do was to think about that prick at a time like this.

So, leaving behind any lingering inhibitions, and feeling my cheeks and ears light up to impossible temperatures, I took his hand into my hooves and let go.

“Yeaaaah!! Go Sunnyyyy!!! WOOO!!” Izzy, having caught sight of us begging to dance together, loudly cheered without missing a beat of her own moves.

For a moment I grew worried about the fact that, considering our anatomical differences, dancing would become a very awkward matter or outright impossible. However, my concerns were unfounded. With practiced ease from his time prior to our first meeting, he guided me through the motions of pony and human dancing, which from an outside perspective might have seemed ridiculous, but at the time I couldn't care less. During slower songs, the tempo would slow down enough for me to get up on my hind legs and dance alongside him. When it sped up, my wobbly bipedal position was not agile enough to keep up, so I got back on all fours and started shaking my body to the tune of the music. I even tried to imitate some of his dance moves, ‘freshly arrived from Earth’ he quoted. I tried my best, but most moves demanded his superior flexibility.

Song after song we danced the afternoon away, only taking brief pauses for some much-needed hydration, and a longer pause for the dreaded birthday song moment. Poor Zipp almost succeeded in bolting out of the hall in embarrassment had it not been for her sister pinning her down in front of the massive cake. And when we all began to sing, she tried to hide underneath the tablecloth but was foiled by her mother’s exceedingly strong hold on her nape.

Most of the time I danced with him, although Izzy would steal him from me from time to time for a dance in which, I’m ashamed to admit, she was way more talented than I was. I used the opportunities to switch partners and share a dance with the rest of our friends. I was relieved to see poor Hitch similarly fumbling over his hooves like I had been, taking a small amount of delight in knowing that I was at least sharing the title of the evening’s ‘Worst Dancer’. Who would’ve thought he’d be such a ladies’ stallion? When Alex and I weren’t dancing, we rested our limbs together while enjoying another bite of the scrumptious meal the palace’s cooks had whipped up for us. His hand always unconsciously searched for my mane and it made me weak at the knees.

A permanent blush had taken root on my cheeks and ears, and my foggy mind could barely register what was transpiring. So many stupid fantasies and dreams were fulfilled in a single day, I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest!

An amount of time later I didn’t bother to register, both of us found ourselves panting like we had just run a marathon. Another catchy song, this time from the pop star princess herself came to an end, granting us precious seconds to catch our breath and have another portion of the considerably emptier silver plates. Trotting by his side away from the dance floor, I saw Alex stretching his now sore legs.

“Mmmgg, I’m too old for this…”

“That’s grown old by now.” I flatly noted after hearing his recurring lament for the billionth time.

“I have, you mean.” He joked back, eliciting a hip bump and an eye roll from me, accompanied by the silly smile permanently stretching my lips.

Seeing as how all the partygoers were exhausted by this point, as soon as we’d polished off the rest of the food, we decided to call an end to the party… or at least the party being held in the great hall. Tomorrow was a working day for the palace’s staff, the Queen included. We had gone through the better part of Pipp’s playlist, and the afternoon sun had already made way for the pale moon hanging over the night sky. But, seeing as we weren’t feeling particularly sleepy yet, mostly thanks to the absence of any alcoholic slash salty drinks in that night’s celebrations, we decided to continue in the sisters’ shared bedroom, although in a calmer mood so as to not bother the palace’s other occupants.

Thanking the ponies in charge of the catering for their service, we left the clean-up for the night shift crew and followed Zipp and Pipp to their bedroom, who claimed that the room was big enough to accommodate us all. The rest of us had been assigned guest rooms but, as I said, we weren’t feeling like hitting the hay yet. A unanimous desire to milk as much as we could from this night was shared between our little group. Hitch made for a quick detour to his room to tuck in a passed-out Sparky, having exhausted himself from all the fooling around and running himself ragged in foalish delight.

Their shared bedroom was huge, even for a two-pony room. Two beds stood against the opposite wall from the entrance, one with colorful bed hangings, plush pillows, and a thick mattress, with the other bed sporting a more simplistic and rustic aesthetic. It was evident who slept in what. A large window separated the two beds, the faint moonlight filtering through, but barely noticeable against the powerful ceiling lamp that illuminated the entire room. A simple wardrobe stood proud near each of the beds, while marks on the floor and walls revealed traces of several other pieces of furniture that had once adorned each of the sisters’ corners, but now accompanied them back to their sleeping arrangements in the brighthouse. That made the room feel somewhat empty, but on the other hoof, it meant more than enough room for all of us to hang out. Several blankets and pillows were arranged over the chilling marble floor for our comfort.

“Okay, ponies!” Pipp called out once we were all settled in, with Izzy and I in our usual positions at Alex’s sides while the rest closed up the circle. “Are you feeling up for some games?”

A few nods and words of excitement prompted the eager pegasus to vigorously beat her wings and flap them over her bed while she snuck a foreleg into the saddlebag resting above it in search of something.

“Come on… I know I put it somewhere…” She muttered under her breath, sticking her tongue in concentration. “AH-HA!!”

Her victory cry was followed by her forehooves rising in the air, a deck of cards held tightly in her grasp. Alex, straining his eyes to better discern the logo printed over the cardboard case, facepalmed once recognition flashed in his eyes.

“Mother of Faust…”

“Who’s up for a game of ‘Match it’?!!” Pipp asked, quickly gliding back to rejoin the circle.

“UNO, Pipp. It's called UNO.”

“Huh?” The Pink pegasus scrunched her muzzle. “Um, no it's not.” She pointed with her free hoof over the printed name of the game over the casing. “See?”

“It’s called UNO.” Alex stubbornly refused to give in.

“Match it.”

“UNO”

“Match it!!”

“UNO!!!”

“MATCH IT!!!”

“UNO!!!”

“UGH!!” Pipp desperately pulled down on her cheeks. “It’s literally printed right here!!” She now heatedly jabbed the colorful logo. A crooked smirk betrayed our shared amusement, but no pony made a move to interrupt their scuffle.

“That!” He pointed with his finger. “That is rip-off of Earth’s version, and there it’s called UNO!” He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. “And I refuse to call it anything else!”

Pipp’s left eye was now rapidly twitching, a snarl emitting from her muzzle and an accusing hoof stretched before her. “Yours is the rip-off! And I won’t stand you desecrating the greatest card game to ever exist!”

With a humph, both stuck their snouts in the air and refused to acknowledge the other, casting the room in an awkward silence.

“Soooo, are we gonna play or…?” Zipp spoke after a few tense moments.

“Hmph, I will make an exception and play your silly game.” Alex begrudgingly conceded, still refusing to make eye contact.

“And I’ll be the bigger mare and accept your proposal.” Pipp agreed in a similar manner to the pouting human. Opening the casing, she extracted the deck and began shuffling the cards.

Placing a comforting hoof over his crossed legs, I looked up at him. “You’re being dramatic.”

“It’s heresy, Sunny.” He lost his offended demeanor to meet my gaze. “Heresy!”

Comforting pats on his knee were enough to at least bring him down from his tantrum and, once Pipp had begun dealing the cards, he picked them up as if they were soiled nappies.

“Eugh.” He scrunched his flat muzzle while analyzing each of the cards he had been given. “What are these designs…”

“Stop whining already!!” Pipp heatedly demanded as she dealt the last of the cards.

“…Oh, what have they done to you…?!” Alex ignored her and continued whining, now casting a sorrowful look at the colorful numbers printed over each of the lively cards. Izzy and I could only look at each other behind his back and hold in our giggling with a hoof pressed against our snouts.

Since only the sisters had played beforehoof, a quick practice round was called for. The rules were fairly easy and soon everypony, and human, got the hang of it. A few rounds were played, the winners rotating between the sisters and Alex, all of them having played previously, the experience giving them the upper hoof. But none of us protested, instead attentively watching their three-sided duels once the number of cards in our hooves was big enough to make it clear we wouldn’t win that one either.

“UNO.” Alex called with a single card grasped between his fingers, making Pipp growl menacingly once again.

“You’re supposed to say ‘Last one.’” Zipp, seeing her sister on the brink of blowing up, decided to speak for her.

“Never.” He flatly answered in another stubborn bout.

Rolling her eyes tiredly, she returned her focus to her own hoof of cards. This round ended up being hers in the end, making the three of them tie in the number of accumulated wins. Of course, we couldn’t let it hang like that, so a final round of winners was quickly arranged. The stakes were high since the winner would hold the right to call the game by the name of their choosing, putting an end to the debate of which game was the rip-off.

A very smug Pipp meticulously hoofed the cards to the three contenders, the rest of us already having pulled out of the circle to stand aside and enjoy the show.

“Aww, if only we had some popcorn…” Izzy lamented with ears lowered, a sentiment that only lasted a second that is before her peppiness returned. That’s how she was.

“One of these days, Izzy, I’m going to teach you how to access the Hammerspace.” Alex said, briefly addressing our friend’s lament with his sight never leaving the cards arranged between his fingers.

“The what?” Hitch wondered.

“I’ll explain later; for now, I need absolute concentration.”

With that, the final round began, searching eyes looking over their hoof of cards and over the other players, trying to figure out their rivals’ moves. We didn’t voice it out loud, not risking our friends taking offense, but Izzy and I were rooting for Alex. I could feel her tail tapping on my back now and again from her excited wagging. Fewer players meant this last round took considerably less time. Pipp was down to only two cards while Zipp bit her lip nervously, her eyes running over her remaining three cards. Alex had five cards remaining, making his chances of winning poor, yet his expression remained impassive and focused.

“Aaaaaand, last oneeeee~!” Pipp chanted, proudly placing one of her two remaining cards over the pile which, by that point, had fallen sideways from the sheer number of cards stacked atop one another. “I’m so sorry, my dear human friend, but the Queen remains unbeaten!!” Pipp goaded with full confidence in her impending victory.

“Is that so…” Alex returned, unbothered by her taunting. “Zipp, if you will…” He ushered the oldest sister who had to draw twice before finding a matching card.

“Ugh.” Zipp lamented her chances of winning now all but dust in the howling winds of Zephyr Peaks.

“Oh please.” Pipp waved her hoof dismissively. “Just recognize your crushing defeat and don’t embarrass yourself furth-”

“Draw four, draw two, skip, draw four, uno!… aaaaaaand…” He raised the remaining card for all of us to see, dropping it forcefully over the collapsed pile with a victory ‘HA!!’.

A heavy silence fell over the room, with neither a muscle twitching nor a snout breathing. Spectators and players alike witnessed how the smugness drained from Pipp’s features as her posture slowly sagged forward, her last cards falling from her limp hooves. Her muzzle, slightly opened, struggled to utter a sound.

Crawling on his knees and avoiding the scattered pile of cards, Alex slowly approached the defeated pegasus with his own victory smirk. Moving his mouth near her droopy ears, he spoke in a whisper.

“I win. At what game did I just win?” He asked with a toothy smile, making Pipp’s limp ear twitch.

“U-u….uuuuuu…”

“Yeeees?”

“Uuuuunnnnn….”

“I can’t hear youuuuu~”

“Uuuunnnnnnnnnoo…” Pipp managed to squeak, wincing when the foreign word escaped her lips.

“You’re damm right I did.”

As he retreated with his evilest grin, Pipp’s forelegs came in, dropping her unceremoniously over the pile of cards in front of her, scattering them in the air and all around the room. Some fell over her coat and mane, sticking and only adding to the sorry sight of her crushing defeat. Low pained moas could be discerned from under the mane covering her face, snout tightly pressed against the cold marble floor and forelegs stretched before her. Her sister patted the poor pegasi's back comfortingly, yet unbothered by her dramatic performance.

“Guess we'll have to issue a royal decree to change the name. Sorry, sis.” She rubbed her back reassuringly, eliciting another pained, now considerably louder wail from the youngest princess.

With a sigh of profound accomplishment, Alex fell on his back, his head resting near where Izzy and I had been witnessing that final game.

“I did it, girls.” He glanced at us, flashing an upside-down smirk.

“You sure did.” I reached and patted his brow with my hoof, forcing his eyes to close. Izzy wasn’t so subtle with her congratulations, falling to her belly and tenderly nuzzling his face.

“Ah, the spoils of victoryAUCH!!” Alex’s entire being snapped upwards when the notion of Izzy nipping his nose registered in his brain. The culprit in question pursed her lips and whistled innocently, suddenly finding a spot on the painted ceiling worthy of her full attention.

Making a mouth shape with his hand, he snapped over Izzy’s muzzle, making her return the gesture and throwing them both into one of their usual scuffles.

“Guys, come on. You’re gonna wake the whole castle up.”

Hitch's soft scolding was enough to cease their fray. The biting contest had degenerated into a mares’ fight of sorts, with forelegs and arms equally flailing in the air but failing to hit one another.

A big yawn left my muzzle before I could see it coming, spreading to Hitch and Zipp whose own muzzles opened wide, following mine. The… now-renamed UNO Championship had been exhilarating but had worked wonders to drain the last of our energy reserves.

“Come on ponies,” I called my best friends. “Time to hit the sack, we can pick it up again tomorrow at breakfast.” I finished with another poorly disguised yawn.

“You remember where your rooms are?” Zipp inquired, dragging her still limp sister to her bed.

“Down the hall, two lefts, one right, one flight of stairs, a left, another left and…”

“Just across the hallway to our right.” Alex cut Izzy’s crazy tirade off, nogging her softly on her scalp.

“Yours is the furthest away on the right. I asked the staff to arrange a bed to fit your size.” Zipp informed our human friend.

“And by ‘arrange’, you mean ‘shove two beds together’, am I right?” He playfully hit back with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, excuuuuuse me for not anticipating the arrival of a legendary hero from the past who happens to be twice as tall as us.”

“The nerve, am I right?” Alex lightly jabbed my side with his elbow.

“Oh, yes. Totally unacceptable.” I went with the flow, our offended features soon breaking into shared chuckling.

“Hehe, well. G’night everypony.” Zipp said, flapping over her bed and falling flat on her belly in a very unprincess-like manner.

“I’ll have my revenge,” Pipp growled from her bed, narrowed eyes peeking over the sheets covering her and boring into Alex’s innocent visage.

“I shall be waiting.” Alex’s shit-eating grin only managed to drive her further up the wall. Yeah, tomorrow we were in for some rain clouds, alright.

Three ponies and a lone human marched down the corridor, our rooms arranged facing two-by-two at the very end of the palace’s dormitory wing. Her Highness’ bedroom lay at the opposite end of the long corridor. More portraits lined the walls we passed; most of them, if not all, were portraying members of the royal family, some long gone and others more recent. Zipp and Pipp stood proud in three of them, from their time as little fillies to the one painted only a few weeks ago. Their soggy manes, seaweed-covered coats, and guilty smiles welcomed us to our rooms, mine facing Hitch’s, and Alex’s and Izzy’s right at the very end where a sharp turn left would bring us back to the central corridor connecting all the way back to the throne room. The sounds of the last of the palace’s employees topping off the cleaning effort bounced around the otherwise completely silent halls. Since they were hired employees and not servants per se, their dwellings were within the city below, meaning that by the time night covered the land, the palace would become almost empty aside from the required night guard detachment for precautionary measures. One of those night guards stood at attention on that very corner, flashing us a warm smile and wishing us a good night along with a reminder to come to him should we require anything during our stay.

“Sleep tight, ponies.” Hitch tiredly waved his hoof and whispered, not wanting to disturb the little dragon resting within his quarters. Returning our hushed goodbyes, the sheriff disappeared behind the golden-decorated door, hiding a yawn behind his foreleg.

My room stood right across from his so, turning on my hooves, I too made a beeline toward some much-needed rest. Alex and Izzy walked the rest of the distance to their own rooms. Izzy reached her room first, opening the door wide, but remaining right in the foyer, using her body to block Alex’s progress towards his destination with an inviting hoof outstretched and her most sultry grin possible.

Snorting at her boldness, he gently flicked her snout, making her flinch and snort loudly in return, ceasing her unashamed efforts. He made use of the distraction and swiftly went around the now pouting unicorn and, with a wave of his hand, wished us a good night’s rest and disappeared behind the confines of his accommodations.

Scratching her itchy snout, Izzy scowled dejectedly. “I almost had him…”

“No, Izzy.” I patted her comfortably on her withers, my ears twitching at the restrained laugh of the guard who did his best to remain neutral to our little number. “You didn’t.”

“Meh, it was worth a try.” Her sad demeanor quickly morphed into a playful one, flashing me a cheeky wink and nudging my side with her elbow. “G’night, bestie.”

And with that, she pranced into her room and kicked the door shut with her rear leg, leaving me slightly perplexed yet already used to her usual silliness.

Seeing no reason to keep myself away from my cozy arrangements, I trotted the distance separating me from my lodgings and entered in a swift movement, trying hard to make as little noise as possible. The room I was given resembled that of the pegasi sisters’ in decoration, yet this one was meant for a single pony or a couple if you didn’t mind sleeping close together.

Without further ceremony I secured my saddlebag over a nearby chair, removed my horseshoes, tucked them near the bedside for tomorrow’s use, and then undid my braid, leaving my wild mane free to tangle and untangle itself in its usual mess.

‘Sigh, one of these days I’m getting rid of you, I swear…’

With a hop, I reached the mattress and quickly slipped under the thick covers, slightly shivering at their soft yet still chilling feeling, something I would fix soon and finally get some rest from that day’s crazy city tour slash party adventure.

Closing my eyes and smacking my lips, I waited for sleep’s peaceful embrace to take me, my mind replaying that day’s events with a smile growing on my lips. Yet, from all the experiences and cherished memories I had created that wonderful day, my thoughts kept getting stuck on a series of scenes, and it was the scenes where I had danced with him.

Faust, I could barely describe the sheer amount of feelings running wild through my head. Not even then, when all the hustle and bustle had passed, did my thoughts flow clearly, and neither could I find the words to express what my heart was screaming to me. The familiar warmth that filled my entire self every time I thought about him in that way was more than enough to chase away the freezing temperatures of the closing summer.

Tugging on the covers reaching my chin, my previous grin blossomed into a full-thrill smile which couldn’t prevent a few fillish squeals from filling the enclosed quarters, my rear legs kicking softly under the covers.

‘My hoofness, Sunny. You’re worse than a school filly!’ I mentally chastised myself, but the butterflies in my tummy reminded me in uncertain terms about my feelings towards him. That night had been absolutely magical if nothing else, and our proximity, his warm demeanor, his patience while teaching me how to adapt my steps to his… I fell for him even harder, if such a thing was even possible.

And yet, from within the fuzzy cloud of hormones and heated thoughts, a chilling dread froze my train of thoughts in its tracks, and promptly dragged them towards a new direction: the room across mine on the right.

“Izzy…”

My best friend in the whole world, my partner from the very beginning of the greatest adventure of our age. The pony I trusted with my life, the one who would know my first thoughts, my insecurities, and my dreams. My confidant, my…

“My wingmare…”

That’s how I had envisioned her at first. She would be the one to help me out of my shell and drive me to take the last step, for I knew for sure I could never muster the confidence to approach him with the dreaded question all by myself. That night, I had broken free from my inhibitions, and had we been alone under different circumstances, there would’ve been a slight chance I might have dropped the ball on him.

I had grown accustomed to her silly antics and saucy humor by then, the dynamic between her and Alex was something that always brought a smile to my lips. Yet, the wiggling worm in my ear kept yammering about her potential interest in him, too. My best friend had turned into my rival. That’s something that the cheesy romance ponies would whip out in some obscure place on the Canternet. This was real life, we were all grown ponies, and that kind of foalish reasoning was unbecoming of a mare.

And yet, no amount of mental flexing would make it shut up, and the closer I felt to him, the louder it screeched its ugly words to me.

I had to do something about it.

‘What are you gonna do? Barge into her room and demand answers? Secure your position and leave her in the dust? Some friend you are…’

“Shut up!” I seethed to my stupid brain. “I would never do that to her!”

‘So, then what? You're still gonna wait around while she grows the courage to ask him and then hit your head against the wall calling yourself ‘stupid’ over and over again?’

My brain knew me better than myself. “No! Ugh!” I rolled over onto my side, the coziness from the warmed-up blankets now a foreign dream.

‘Come now, Sunny, let’s be honest, you don’t have a chance.’

“Of course I do!”

‘Pfff, did you take a good look at her? How do you expect him to choose you over that?’

Yes, I wasn’t afraid to recognize it; Izzy was gorgeous, had a great figure, filled flanks, a flowing mane, beautiful eyes, a creative mind, a permanent cheery mood, always striving to get a smile out of you. Compared to that I was…

‘What? What are you, Sunny?’

Swallowing loudly, I initially couldn’t come up with an answer, curling around myself further into the blankets.

“…I’m his best friend.”

‘So is she.’

“…I’m an alicorn.”

‘Oh please, the last day's pitiful stunt wasn't enough?!’

“…I’m pretty too. He’s said it before.”

‘He’s a charmer. He says it to every mare he passes by. Don’t think yourself that special.’

I was running out of options by then, my mane was the only part of myself uncovered by the thick blankets by that point.

“I’m…” I stuttered and was forced to wet my lips. “I… I remind him of Twilight…”

‘HA! And how’s that supposed to be a good thing?!!”

“NNNNGGG!!” Aggressively rolling onto my back and kicking the sheets covering my head away, I grabbed the pillow and muffled a desperate yell, leaving me with bated breath and the beginnings of tears threatening to paint my cheeks.

‘So, who are you, Sunny, that Izzy or any other mare is not?’

On the brink of falling apart, his image intruded into my derailed thoughts, a memory of our first journey to Canterlot during the Discord crisis. ‘You only have to be you, Sunny. That’s all we need.’

I clenched my teeth and, as a stallion would word it, ‘grew a pair’. Forcefully throwing away the remaining blankets trapping me under their comforting warmth, I jumped down on my hooves and steadily made for the door.

‘Wait, where are you go-?’

“Silence!” Once again, I shut my stupid brain, this time meaning it. “I’m going to Izzy’s room, I’m going to spill my guts to her, and we will approach this manner as the grown mares we are! Do you hear me?!”

No answer was uttered. Satisfied, I retraced my steps back to the silent corridor, flashing a sign to the attentive guard that everything was fine.

Reaching Izzy’s room, I knocked twice on her door but received no response.

“She must already be asleep.” I reasoned dejectedly. “Perhaps it’s best if I try later… no, I have to do this now!”

It hurt me to bother my best friend in such a manner, but I knew that if I didn't get it done then, I might never grow the nerve to try again.

Steeling my resolve, I gently twisted the doorknob and cast an exploratory look around the room, an exact yet inverted mirror of mine. The lump of sheets slowly rising and falling gave away my friend’s sleeping form.

“Psst, Izzy!” I loudly whispered, crossing the foyer completely and closing the door behind me. The guard on the corridor needn’t be aware of our affairs.

“Psssst, Izzyyy!!” I called louder, eliciting a sleepy snort from the unicorn who used the moment to scratch her flank under the blankets.

“Izzy!!” I yelled that time, scaring the unicorn from her slumber and making her jump her height over the mattress.

“Wha?! Who?!!” Izzy fervently searched around the place, still half asleep. The moment her bleary eyes met mine, her posture relaxed a bit. “Oh, Sunny! You almost scared the fur off of me!” She protested with a pout and crossed her forelegs.

“Sorry, Izzy.” My ears flattened against my scalp. “I, uh… I need to talk to you about something. It’s serious.”

Her eyes narrowed in contemplation, carefully analyzing me and leaving me without an answer.

“*GASP!!*” A light bulb lit over her head. “Sunny. Are you on your period?!” She grabbed the sheet’s rim expectantly.

“W-what?” Her weird question caught me by surprise.

“Oh, it’s something Alex always asks me whenever I’m acting extra wonky.” She stuck her tongue and crossed her eyes as she worded it.

“Um, no I’m… not on my period…” I made a mental note to ask him what he meant by that tomorrow. “But… it has to do with Alex.”

“Oh.” Now came her turn to be surprised. “Well then… hop in.” She patted the mattress in a welcoming manner. With a flick of her magic, she turned the night lamp on.

Taking her invitation, I crossed the distance with trembling legs and pulled myself up the bed, not able to fully meet her questioning eyes.

“So, what’s eating you?” She ushered me to voice my concerns.

I tucked my limbs under me in a feeble attempt to hide their shaking, but the trembling of my voice betrayed my uneasiness. “W-Well I, uh…”

‘Come on, Sunny, it’s now or never!’

Swallowing hard, I managed to stutter a few words. “H-How do you feel about A-Alex?”

Contrary to my positively terrified mood, a fond smile split her muzzle. “Why, I think he’s great! I mean, he might as well be the nicest stallion I’ve ever met. And I’ve met a couple of ‘em if you know what I mean…” Her teasing smirk saw her playfully jabbing my exposed side.

Her comment lit my cheeks and ears crimson, momentarily distracting me from the matter at hoof. “Ugh.” I gave myself a good shake. “What I meant is that… I want to know if you like him.” My features turned more serious.

“Um.” She scratched her scalp in confusion. “That’s what I just said…” Her ears flattened a bit, not following my reasoning.

“Like him,” I repeated a smidge harsher. “As in like like him.”

Her confusion lasted for a few more seconds before a profound revelation shaped her muzzle into an ‘O’.

“Oooooh...” She finally got my meaning, eyes widening in understanding. “Well, sure! You can’t blame a mare for being curious.” She answered nonchalantly as if I had just asked her what today’s weather forecast was. However, as easygoing as her answer was, it worked wonders to drain the blood from my face and limbs.

‘Oh, no…’

“I mean.” She continued, not noticing my rising panic. “He’s very nice, especially compared to those stuck-up snots from Bridlewood. Why, during last year’s estrus season, you would see a mare literally shake her flanks in front of a guy’s snout and only manage to elicit a bored ‘meh’. I swear sometimes I felt I could just…” Gritting her teeth in frustration, she mirrored choking somepony with her forehooves. She held her position for a few moments before relenting and taking a deep breath.

“U-Uh huh.” I acknowledged her protest, almost choking on my own words.

Snorting to release the last of her frustration, she twisted her body a bit in search of a comfier position. “Also, he has this… I don’t know, laidback and sophisticated aura around him, it almost feels a bit cold from the outside sometimes. He’s very cool and collected.” Another fond smile from her lit up the room. “But he also can be so goofy when he’s in the mood.”

The more she spoke, her less playful mirth tainted her voice, replaced by a tender softness that permeated every word. Her eyes left mine and instead focused on the space between us, her mind conjuring scenarios I was positive weren’t that different from the ones I had envisioned myself. “He’s very patient and doesn’t mind my saucy humor and playful flirting. He’s always there to lend a hoof if you need it, whether it’s some word of counsel or just a warm cuddle… ponies back in Bridlewood were just so cold…” Her whole body visibly shivered even while being under the warmed-up blankets. “And… I’ve heard some ponies comment about his weird looks and all, but I believe it’s high time we ponies stop judging each other by our looks.”

Finishing with a longing sigh, silence fell over the room, only broken by her tranquil breathing and my poorly disguised one, for as much as it warmed my heart to hear my best friend sharing my exact thoughts on the stallion I was falling for, it might as well have meant I had already lost the war before it had even begun.

Fighting the looming tears with all my heart, I tried my best to come to terms with reality and not give Izzy the wrong impression.

‘See, you stupid mare? Thinking you held even the smallest of chances…’

Reeling away from my brain’s chastising, I swallowed my nerves and shakily said all that was left to say.

“W-Well, it’s g-great that you f-feel that way.” I offered my most convincing smile. “Y-You two would make a great couple...” I was on the brink of losing it by the time I finished, my broken heart burning my chest in unfiltered sorrow, only worsened by the feeling of having made a fool of myself with all those stupid thoughts and crazy scenarios and plans and…

“Pfff, what?” She snorted the moment her ears registered my final statement. “I ain’t gonna do anything about it!” She declared, sounding way cheerier than anypony is entitled to be given the nature of her message.

Whatever pain ran through my trembling form promptly evaporated, leaving behind a profound sense of puzzlement. “W-W-What?!” I managed to stutter.

“Don’t get me wrong, on any other day I would jump at the chance.” Her posture lowered further in a sideways position, her head moving to rest over her upturned hoof. “I’m sure we can both agree that any mare who doesn’t realize he’s quite the catch is simply stupid.”

“I-I guess…” I was feeling more and more lost the more she talked.

“But, alas, he’s not mine to take.” Another longing, albeit a bit exaggerated sigh left her nostrils.

“B-But why?! You just said it yourself!” I surprised myself by starting to feel angry at her easy-going manner of throwing away such an opportunity.

“I did.” She returned, unphased by my growing aggressiveness.

“Then why don’t you do something about it!!” I demanded loudly, immediately covering my muzzle and praying that a certain human sleeping in the room next to ours remained unaware of our conversation.

“Easy.” She changed her position, her head now lying flat over the pillow with both forelegs resting under it. “‘Cause there’s another pony who’s better for him than me.”

“T-There is?” The prospect of another pony expressing interest in him only made the knot in my stomach tighter.

“Uh.” Surprised by my apparent ignorance, Izzy nudged forward with her muzzle, more specifically towards my resting form.

Her meaning was clear as day. “M-Me?!” I pressed my hoof against my chest in disbelief.

“Come ooooooon, Sunny.” She once again turned over the mattress, this time resting her back and looking at me upside down. “We may have only been besties for a few months, but mare, I can read you like an open book." She flashed me a playful wink. “Or was you practically eating his face the other day just a happy accident?” She narrowed her eyes in a knowing look.

Feeling the heat once again painting my muzzle red, I hastily averted my gaze. “T-That was a m-mistake! I-I just lost m-my mind for a second there…”

“Was it? Hmmm?” My sorry excuse failed to make it through her filter, making my blush shine ten-fold and my eyes search anywhere else to cast their attention on anything but her knowing smirk. “Awww, you’re so cute when you’re flustered.”

“Izzy!”

A merry giggle saw the end of her teasing, only to return the moment she took notice of my embarrassed pout.

“Okay, okay.” She waved her foreleg apologetically, the last remains of her cackling fading into the silence of the night. “But, seriously… I’ve seen how you look at him, and I’ve seen how he looks at you. You’re perfect for each other! Anypony can see that!”

“Izzy, I’m not sure…”

“Aaaand!” She cut me off. “There’s a chance he might or might not have something planned regarding your… ‘particular’ situation.” She concluded in a mysterious tone.

I could feel my heart bouncing all over my chest from the sheer impact of the bomb she had just dropped. “H-HE’s WHAT?!!”

“Uh uh uh!” She refused to acknowledge my question with a playful shake of her head. “That’d be spoileeers~! I know the author likes a slow burn and all, but mare, I don’t like spoilers.”

Ignoring her odd silliness again, I would’ve protested further if the deafening buzzing of the butterflies fluttering in my tummy had allowed some semblance of rational thought in me.

“H-H-He likes m-me too?!” I sputtered in a low voice, struggling to believe in what I had assumed was a lost cause.

“That, my dear bestest friend of all time, is something YOU are gonna have to ask him.” She softly jabbed my chest. “But…” Shrugging her shoulders innocently, the rest of the unspoken message carried all the meaning I required to build the picture.

I can’t express with words the sheer amount of joy I experienced at that moment. All the piercing pain and resignation evaporated like dew on a sunny morning. I had already accepted that I had lost the battle but, in less time than it took to blink, I realized that I had in fact won the war!

Feeling my smile stretching from ear to ear, I couldn’t help the excited squeal that escaped my lips, my limbs wanting to dance under me in unrestrained happiness. Izzy remained silent as my joy filled the darkened room, regarding me with a fond smile.

When my overexcited bout of energy came to an end, all that was left behind was a profound sense of relief. Clutching my chest fluff tightly, I allowed myself a deep exhalation as I regained control of my body.

“Oh my hoofness, Izzy,” I spoke between deep breaths. “That… that takes so much off my chest.”

“Heh, I can see that, sister.” She joked back, her tender smile never wavering.

But in that moment of deep accomplishment, the ugly face of the opposite side of the coin filled my vision. There’s always a loser when two compete, after all.

“Izzy…” My tone was now filled with sorrow for my friend. “That’s not fair to you…”

“Oh, I’ll be fiiine.” She waved her hoof dismissively. “I’ll just look someplace else. There’s a lot of game ripe for the taking now that the three tribes are friends again. Why the other day I saw this stallion over the beach… mmm, what a piece of meat…” Her eyes closed and her muzzle stretched into a lustful grin.

However, just as she could read me like an open book, I also knew my best friend’s mannerisms by heart, and I knew for a fact that the naughty desire she was expressing for whomever she was envisioning was far from genuine.

“Izzy…”

“I’m fine! Really!” She tried to convince me with her best smile. I had grown used to her constant smiles. They’re always so bright and genuine, meaning that the fake one she was sporting at that moment screamed louder than Hitch on roll call duty.

“Izzy…”

“Sunny! I’m… I’m okay! I…” Her façade was crumbling by the minute, her magenta orbs failing to meet mine anymore, casting a guilty look at the sheets under her. “I, uh… I just need to…”

I couldn’t stand to see my friend like that, much less be the one responsible for breaking her heart just as I had feared would happen to me. Scooching closer to her, I rested my head near the pillow where she had dejectedly placed hers.

“It’s not fair to you…” I repeated, mirroring her miserable tone.

Izzy sighed loudly as she finally admitted the truth inside. “No… I guess it’s not,” She whimpered after a few silent moments. “But that’s how it is…” She buried her head further into the pillow.

“There must be something we can do, Izzy. I can’t leave you in the dust like this!” I placed a comforting hoof over her withers but it elicited nothing more than a pensive hum.

“I mean,” She began after a few seconds of mulling. “We could… try that…”

“Huh?” I tilted my head in confusion, not sure of what she was referring to.

“You know…” She pointed at her, then at me, then at the rough direction of Alex’s sleeping quarters, and then joined both hooves together.

Her simple gesture was meaningful enough.

“I-I-Izzy! That’s…. W-We can’t…!!” I tripped over my own words. “That’s… not something ponies do anymore!”

“I know, I know.” She conceded, her spirits only lessening even more. “It’s a crazy idea, forget I said anything.”

“N-No, I… I-I mean.” My outburst had arisen from the certain knowledge that what she was proposing was a custom that had not been practiced for a long time, at least among the earth ponies of Maretime Bay, but her words had let me know that the situation was similar from where she came from.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true, it was known that a very small number of couples had attempted something similar in recent times, but they were far and between. Actually, at that moment I couldn’t come up with anypony I knew who was engaged in such a particular romantic arrangement. Fear of rejection, of criticism, feelings I had grown more than used to and wanted to under no circumstances ever experience ever again had lit the spark of my explosive comeback.

“It’s fine, Sunny.” She tried to reassure me. “It’s a crazy idea. And, honestly, we’re getting waaaay over our heads here, assuming a lot of stuff we can’t be completely sure about.”

When it looked like she had put an end to that train of thought, her previously hidden head turned slightly towards me, her beautiful eyes once again seeking mine. “But,” She restarted in her most tender voice. “If there’s one pony, ONE pony, in all of Equestria I would ever think of sharing something like that with,” The warmth in her sparkling eyes chased any lingering sadness and worry away. “It would be you.”

To say I felt overwhelmed would be a huge understatement, the raw meaning behind her message weighing like a hundred brighthouses over me. My voice got caught in my throat, my muzzle opening and closing like a fish, unable to will my vocal cords to form coherent words. A renewed blush once again made its presence known all over my face. Never in my entire life did I think I’d ever be considering such a possibility.

After several attempts at trying and failing to address her overwhelming proposition, one thing managed to leave me: a big, muzzle-splitting yawn.

“Wow, I can feel the love from here...”

“N-No!” I exclaimed once I had regained control of my jaws. Embarrassed, I assured Izzy that the last thing I was feeling from our heart-to-heart was boredom. “It’s just… It’s been a LONG day, lots of thoughts and feelings… ugh, my mind’s a mess and it’s gonna shut down soon whether I like it or not.”

Chuckling at my little mishap, Izzy’s muzzle followed my example. Smacking her lips once she was done, she snuggled deeper into the mattress with half-lidded eyes. “Mmm, me too. Although I’m not sure sleep is gonna catch up with me easily after this. A lot of stuff to mull over, you know?”

Nodding in agreement, I saw how Izzy struggled to lose herself to the realm of dreams. Feeling like I had bothered her enough for one night, although perfectly aware that there was a LOT still left to be talked about, I extracted my limbs from under me and began getting off of her bed.

However, Izzy reacted faster. “Thank hoofness my bestie is willing to help me and stay with me for an impromptu sleepover!”

Not leaving me room for protest, Izzy’s magical grasp surrounded my entire self and dragged me back closer to her side, the unicorn swiftly taking the chance to surround me with her forelegs and sink her head into my chest fluff, careful to tilt her head so as to not hurt me with her horn.

“I-Izzy!” I was about to complain, but her already deepening breaths and tender snuggling had left me virtually trapped, rendering me without a chance to protest. “Sigh, fiiiine.” With a humorous roll of my eyes, I let the unicorn do as she wished and returned the gesture, feeling the blankets covering us under her telekinetic command. With a quick flick of the switch, the night lamp was turned off, submerging the room under the gentle light of the full moon.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“So fluffy!”

“Sigh, Izzy…”

“Aaaand,” I finished mixing the contents in the bowl, tapping the spatula on its rim a couple of times to make sure anything sticking to it fell into the mixture. “That’s all there is to it. The remaining steps are those of any other omelet.”

Night gave way to another beautiful morning, and it had granted me much-needed rest, only the ghosts of yesterday’s aches still haunting my joints. The only noteworthy event I could recall was waking up after hearing some sort of scuffle over a certain unicorn’s room, but I couldn’t quite make out what had happened over there. Who knows what that pony could have been doing….? Nothing good, I reckoned.

Still, more than used to the Royal Castle’s usual schedule, I had regretfully woken up with the sun and was unable to get my sleepy self back to sleep. So, feeling like doing something useful to pass the time, I took care of my morning business and headed for the palace’s kitchens following the directions of the guard who had relieved the previous one for the morning shift right outside our dorms.

It took me little effort to bribe the kitchen staff to grant me the chance to show a little example of my homeland’s cuisine, driven by me feeling a bit bored of the usual toast and scrambled eggs I tended to partake in back at the brighthouse.

“Hmm.” Amandine, the palace’s Head Chef, regarded the mixture currently sitting over the counter with a critical eye, also sniffing the air and analyzing the few but necessary ingredients required for this particular dish. “Eez zee onion slices truly necessary?” She inquired with a strong Prench accent. From where she had acquired it, I couldn’t even start to guess.

She and her assistant, Sous Chef Cinnamon Swirl, took a hesitant step back when feeling my entire form hardening up. Stiffly, I slowly turned my neck to address the ponies now swallowing nervously behind me.

“Amandine.” I called the pony responsible for such a heresy. “To ask if the Spanish Omelet should be with or without onion is the same as asking if pineapple pizza is a reasonable thing or not.”

I got two very different answers from both of the top-ranked responsible ponies in the kitchen, who spoke at the same time with equal fervor.

“Ah, why! Zat eez but ze most grave of sins for zee tongue!!”

“Are you kidding? That’s simply the best thing in the world!”

If it hadn’t done so before, a tense atmosphere fell over the immaculate kitchen as both headponies realized what their counterpart had just proclaimed. Without a word being uttered, two sides were quickly formed amongst the kitchen’s staff, and, in the midst of the tick-tock of the clock, a loud fight arose at the moment the hands struck nine o’clock.

The remaining time I spent in the kitchen was spent in silence, finishing the dish I had prepared for my friends for that morning’s breakfast while an honest-to-Faust turf war was being waged behind me, where words, insults, and even a few kitchen utensils had been thrown by both dissidents and supporters of such a controversial topping.

‘Faust above, what have I unleashed?’

As the heated discussion reached the point where ponies were about to throw in hooves, I tucked the finished omelet in a fitting dish with silver trimming as décor and promptly left the premises, avoiding flying ponies and cutlery alike. Just as I was making my way out of the sizable kitchen, a detachment of guards was rushing in, alarmed by the sudden commotion.

“Good luck there, boys.” I wished for the stallions dressed in fitting armor as they began to assess whatever scuffle was happening within the facilities. The same guardsmare that had accompanied me from my sleeping quarters now guided me towards the dining hall.

“What did you do back there?” She couldn’t help but wonder.

“I enlightened them, and some didn’t like the truth I granted them.”

Snorting bemusingly, she remained silent and focused for the rest of the way. Behind the double doors, the pegasi sisters, along with their mom, awaited me, enjoying some early refreshments and the remains of yesterday’s cake while waiting for the main course to arrive. And it would take a while now to do so, to my dismay.

“Sorry girls. Something came up in the kitchen and the cooks are… well, let’s say they might be ‘distracted’ for a little while.”I informed them with my best apologetic smile.

“What did you do?” Pipp mirrored the guardsmare’s question.

“Only what my heart told me to, my dear Pipp.” I answered honestly, holding my hand over my heart. “But while we wait…” I placed the plate holding the spongy omelet in front of them, eliciting curious looks from the royal family members. “Enjoy.”

And enjoy it they did, to the point I had to remind them to leave some for our still missing friends, who didn't take long to arrive after my return from my cooking trip. At least, Sunny and Izzy had; Hitch seemed to have taken the chance to sleep in. Perhaps Sparky had given him some work over the night, but I hadn’t heard anything that might back that assumption up.

Contrary to the ponies sitting around me, I chose to enjoy my breakfast standing up, making sure to stretch my legs since, despite the efforts of the palace’s employees to best accommodate me, sticking two beds together only improved the situation widthwise, but not lengthwise. Add that to the fact that pegasi are smaller on average than the other races, and you can guess how it was for me that night, although it was nothing that I wasn’t used to by that point.

With the fork halfway back from my mouth, I felt Sunny’s presence brushing affectionately against my side, pressing her head over my chest and looking up at me with one of her patented sunny smiles.

“My,” I swallowed the remaining omelet in my mouth and petted her scalp with the back of my hand still holding the fork. “Somepony’s having a good morning.”

She didn’t answer verbally, but her continued cuddling told me everything I needed. Feeling Izzy providing the same treatment on the opposite side, I responded in kind, relishing in my favorite mares’ sudden attachment. Once they had gotten everything out, both joined the rest of the ponies over the table and also found my little treat a delicacy from the way they devoured their corresponding portions.

‘Damm, seems I’ll have to whip up some more back home sometime.’

“YOU!!” A sharp yell almost made me choke on the next portion currently being chewed. “Human!”

Spinning on my heels, I saw a long entourage of ponies led by the Head Chef and her assistant, all their uniforms ruined by uncountable stains from a myriad of ingredients, a disaster that had spread to their manes and tails and probably to the uncovered parts of their multicolored coats too.

“Can I help you?” I asked with a raised eyebrow, not flinching at the Head Chef’s straightforwardness.

“Eet ees time wee put an end to this!” She demanded with an angry stomp that bounced around the ample room. “What ees your take in pineapple pizza, hmm?!”

Shrugging nonchalantly, I calmly finished the current portion and gently returned the small dish on the table. “What can I say? Whoever thought about putting pineapple on a pizza is currently burning in Tartarus for all eternity. And if they aren’t, I’ll make sure they do.”

Before the kitchen staff could explode in renewed outroar, I raised my hand to shut their opening traps. “But, now that you’re here, I’m sure the Princesses and Her Majesty would rather have their breakfast while it’s still morning, yes?”

Casting a fearful glance toward the members of the royal family, the marching ponies paled at their collective unamused leers and hastily bowed as one.

“Mon dieu! But of course, your Highnesses, right away!” Turning towards her ponies, she began barking orders and ushering them out of the room and back to their posts. Such was her anger she kept switching back and forth between Equish and Prench.

I shrugged and raised both my arms in the air. “Some ponies just can’t handle the truth.” Shaking my head, I returned my attention to the assembled ponies and continued with my meal. The rest of the breakfast was spent in amicable conversation, all present waiting for a sleepyhead Hitch to arrive while enjoying the rest of our food. It was a non-working day back at the bay, so we weren’t in a hurry to return to the shoreline. Just as the ponies were about to finish their respective breakfasts, a sudden idea popped into my mind.

“Zipp?”

“Mmm?” The alabaster pegasus answered with a muzzle full of omelet.

“Do you think you could take Sunny for a quick flight around the city?”

My question stunned the aforementioned mare who almost spewed her coffee. “W-What?!” She managed to stutter once the contents of her mouth were sent down to her stomach.

“I want you to feel the difference now that we are way above sea level.” I reasoned, patting her back reassuringly. “Just take note of the difference in the air pressure, the air currents, and all that jazz. Oh, and you’ll also notice how you tire out faster since there’s less available oxygen up here, and with the additional work to stay in the air with the thinner air.”

Visibly anxious, her looks betrayed her itching willingness to do absolutely anything else but my proposal. It pained me to put her under pressure like that, but now that it seemed she had gotten the hang of summoning her alicorn form I wanted to use any and all chances available for her to practice using it. And what better place to practice than in a known location with a better flying teacher than I could ever hope to be?

“Come on, Suns.” Zipp flashed Sunny her most reassuring grin. “It’s gonna be a piece of cake, you’ll see. We’re gonna have so much fun!” Her wings pumped in an excited burst of energy, almost carrying her into the air from her seat.

Gulping loudly, her hesitation refused to leave her side, but a myriad of comforting looks and words of encouragement got her at least to stop hyperventilating.

Once everypony was done, we instructed the guards to let Hitch know of our new plans and location and, with a parting goodbye from Queen Haven, who regretfully had to return to her royal duties, we chose the same spot in which the ponies had partaken in their little game of hide and seek as the starting point for our two flyers to begin.

“Ready, Sunny?” Zipp prompted the now-less-but-still-panicking mare, giving her wings and legs a good stretch in preparation for their flight.

“Um… no?” Poor Sunny was still lacking in confidence, even after the huge progress she had made with her abilities. The earlier incident with the townsponies and her alicorn form had hit her self-confidence hard, and her resolve was clearly faltering. And while now she was able to summon her powers willingly almost every time, never before had she been so hesitant to make use of them.

‘She needs to learn. She has to! It might be our only hope…’

“Come on, Sunny.” I placed a reassuring hand over her scalp, lightly startling her out of her trance. Her fearful eyes almost ate away at my defenses and got me to call the practice session off, but she couldn’t remain hidden in her shell, not when we were so close.

With a tiny nod of resignation, she closed her eyes and stilled her breathing, taking deep gulps of air and relaxing her posture as I had instructed her to do.

Silent seconds passed while her features tensed more and more with each failed attempt. A frustrated snarl threatened to overcome her previous calm attitude.

“Sunny,” A light warning was necessary before she could blow it with her stubbornness. “It’s not about forcing it out. Remember, it’s a part of you. It will listen to you as long as the intention is clear in your mind.”

And that’s exactly what she had described it as: an intention. The day after her alicorn fiasco was a day when a lot of inner searching was called for, and from her efforts a clearer picture emerged. She explained how she could feel it, a warmth that grew alongside her desire to just help somepony. She believed she’d found the necessary trigger, but still couldn’t bring herself to fully trust in her instincts.

With a long exhale, she resumed her previous demeanor and tried again. However, this time her eyes remained open, rising slightly to meet mine. I saw something in them, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but the spark in them burned fiercely alongside her determination.

The hairs on my arms stood up in goosebumps that ran through my entire body. My weak but still ever-present sixth sense was more than capable of feeling the magic rising within her. Her gaze remained fixed on me and, now from a cooler approach, the telltale hum of magic powering up filled our ears.

This time it came less flashy than her previous attempts, a sign I interpreted as a consequence of Sunny improving her control over her powers. A pair of golden-tinted orange wings blinked into existence, a prominent horn soon following in its usual place. While not appearing in a flashy manner, I could feel the breeze that rose and ruffled my hair the moment her alicorn form consolidated. She oozed power, more than any of us could ever hope to achieve. No manner of practicing and studying would ever bring me to her level once she was capable of mastering her magic. Strangely, I felt relieved by that knowledge.

Powerful enough to protect anypony from whomever was stupid enough to attempt something reckless, myself included.

‘And what could you possibly try by now, Alex? Haven’t you messed things up enough as it is?’

“Awww, no light show?” Pipp whined, taping on the screen to cease the recording and returning her phone to her wing holster.

“D-Did I do something wrong?” Sunny, seeing how the usual process had changed significantly, anxiously inquired.

“Nothing is wrong, Tangerine.” I returned a reassuring grin. “It just means you’re gaining more control over them. Now they manifest in a less explosive manner.”

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, she tested her wings with a couple of powerful pumps and her horn with short bursts of magic.

“Ready, Suns?” Zipp, positioning herself behind the alicorn mare and patting her rump, stretched her wings in preparation. “Let's give these land dwellers a show!” With an eager wink, she was the first to take off.

Sunny, the last remains of nervousness still clinging to her soul, turned to regard us one last time. My raised thumbs and our friends’ words of encouragement pushed her over the edge of her uneasiness, and with a couple of strong flaps joined Zipp in hovering right over us.

“We’ll be waiting around for you, ‘kay?”

Nodding to Pipp’s affirmation, both mares turned tail and began their route around the pegasi city, Zipp taking the lead and making sure to give Sunny a master class on advanced pegasi aerodynamics as they flew away.

Once they had become two indistinguishable dots amongst the agglomeration of flying pegasi, those of us who were flightless along with a pegasus princess decided to wait and spend the morning enjoying the inviting late summer weather, relaxing over the trimmed grass and watching the clouds pass by and crash against the highest point of Zephyr Peaks.

A longing sigh brought my attention to the unicorn resting on her back at my side. You didn’t have to be a detective to guess what thoughts were running through her mind. “You still wish you’d rather be with them in the air?”

A sad nod was her answer, her attention fixed on the blue sky stretching above us. “It must feel amazing flying under your own power…”

“Heh,” I chuckled, moving my hand to provide some comforting belly rubs. “That’s something I always wanted to try when I first got hold of magic.” Moving her head sideways, her focus was now on me. “I tried once, and I failed horribly, never tried again.”

“You tried to fly?”

Smirking at her surprised visage, I nodded while inwardly cringing at the pathetic show I put on that day. “I saw Starlight move herself using a bubble of her levitation magic during the timelines crisis, so I tried it for myself later on.”

Her eyes widened to two pairs of dinner plates. “*GASP!!* I could do that?!”

I didn’t want to crush her spirits, since the necessary skill and raw power required for such a feat was way over what an average unicorn could master. One who had gained hold of her magic only recently much less so. Still, I decided to compromise. “Perhaps. I can help you try it if you want.”

With her most excited squeal, Izzy forcingly flung herself at me, forcing the air to take a rushed exit from my lungs and nailing her hooves against some very delicate places…

“Uff! Izzy! Careful, please…”

Grinning sheepishly, she engulfed me in a warm hug of appreciation, which I eagerly returned. But now that she had acquired an advantageous position, she wasn't going to withdraw, nuzzling her snout on the crook of my neck.

‘Sigh, well, not that I feel like complaining either way…’

Another foray into Maretime Bay had ended in failure. Well, not a failure per se; My targets had disappeared from the town, and the brighthouse had been locked down with a key. Any attempts of entering by smashing a window or something similar would quickly warn them of my intrusion and, since I didn't know where they had gone or how long it would take them to get back, I decided to play it safe and just take a walk around town.

And now it was time to return home and inform Opaline of my total lack of progress. Our last attempt had also failed, having achieved the complete opposite of our intended goal. Instead of winning her over to our cause, she had only grown closer to her friends. Although it was true I hadn’t seen her in her alicorn form much since then, and by much, I meant at all.

Whatever, Opaline had abandoned that approach. Sunny was too entangled with her friends for a change of heart such as the one Opaline had expected, and being all the time near that human would surely chase any possible doubts away. We were alone in this, just as we always had been.

Faintly noticing the remaining aftereffects of that strange feeling that ran through my body every time I crossed the edge of the forest on my way back, I carefully trotted over the stony bridge separating me from my destination, noticing how every time I crossed it, it seemed to have one or two stones missing.

‘Yeah, that’s not gonna hold for long…’

As I pushed the humongous main doors of her fortress open, the memory of our first encounter suddenly filled my mind once again, albeit fuzzy and distant from all the years that had passed since then.

She always liked to remind me how she had found me and decided to take me under her wing when I was just a filly. But in truth, it had been me who found her. Traversing alone, lost, and scared out of my mind. Her fortress was the first thing I saw once the mist had dissipated and that weird paralyzing feeling had left my tiny body. I remember having… lost something, but time and age had erased the finer details of my unexpected arrival at her doorstep.

Gosh, I still can feel the pain on my forelegs and back from the sheer amount of strength I had to muster to get the massive doors open, screeching loudly after centuries of disuse. I remember walking through those dark corridors, flinching every time a sound intruded the recurring echo of my little hooves clopping against the dusty floor.

I remember finding her in that huge hall just past the throne room. She was asleep in the middle of a strange… I don’t know. There were symbols carved all over the stony floor, glowing in a pale greenish light. She was unmoving, resting on her belly peacefully with forelegs cushioning her head. She was so still I almost believed she was dead or something! I was so shocked then that I completely missed the fact she had both wings and a horn.

Part of me dreaded disturbing her slumber, but she was the only familiar face I had stumbled upon since losing my way from…where…? I remember stepping over the concentric circles drawn in the ground, hopping when needed to prevent myself from stepping into any of the glowing symbols. I remember reaching her side, my ears twitching and failing to hear even the sound of gentle breathing. I remember stretching a trembling hoof to touch her cheek…

Another set of doors gave way before me but revealed nopony inside the throne room. Puzzled, I could only wonder where Opaline might be since she tended to spend almost every waking moment sitting on her throne looking, but mostly glaring at the images her screening pool conjured.

A faint sound made my ears flicker and turn toward the left side corridor. The sound of her voice was almost imperceptible, but it was enough to guide my steps right up to her quarters. Placing an ear over the wooden door, I strained to make out what she was saying. She sounded like she was speaking to herself…

“Ah, my dear Starlight, such blindness from those who called you mad, and how close you were to greatness…”

Starlight? I couldn’t recall anypony with such a name, but Opaline spoke little about her past either way.

“But fret not, for thanks to your help I am closer to my victory than ever before...” A muffled chuckle reached my ears from behind the door. “That pesky Twilight Sparkle and her entourage of idiots isn’t here to trump my plans anymore, and that human is but a flea to be crushed under my hoof!” The way she worded ‘human’ sent shivers down my spine, such was the sheer venom in her voice. “I will show them, and they will learn to adore me, to praise me as the only chance for their future I embody!” Another dark chuckle, this time longer and louder. “I will take what is rightfully mine, and those two self-absorbed cunts can watch from the heavens while I do it!!”

Another laugh, this time borderline maniacal, enough to make me slightly recoil backward from my hunched-over position against the door. Such was my rotten luck that I ended up tripping over my tail and fell backward with a startled yell. The moment my body hit the marble floor, her laugh ceased instantly, only for a sudden force to tear the door from its fringes, launching me yet further into the opposite wall. Watching from her bed with alert eyes, where she laid sideways with a book opened in front of her, a positively raging alicorn bore the full weight of her glare into my trembling form.

“MISTY!!” Her irritated cry made my ears flatten against my scalp, a nervous knot choking my breathing. “You STUPID fool! What do you think you’re doing eavesdropping like that?!!”

Making use of all my mental reserves to steady myself, I composed myself the tiniest amount from my crumbled pose and addressed the raging alicorn. “I-I, I j-j-just… I j-just w-wanted…” But no amount of swallowing would ease the lump in my throat.

“Out with it already!!” Her furious demand jumpstarted my mind with a swift kick.

“I-I j-just wanted to let you k-know I’ve r-returned from t-today’s s-s-scouting trip.”

“AND?!!” She demanded with a raised eyebrow which did nothing to lessen her venomous glaring.

“N-Nothing new to report, I’m afraid…” Even at that time when I was truly fearing for my life, my gaze lowered in shame without a conscious effort behind. I had grown so used to failure that it came out by itself by that point.

“Of course you don’t. You’re nothing but a useless waste of air!!” Her harsh words cut deep inside, making me recoil even further into myself. “Now be gone and leave me be!! And if I catch you eavesdropping again, I’ll cut your ears off and force-feed them back to you!!”

Encompassed in a shining aura, the door raised in the air and rearranged itself back on its hinges, hiding the raging alicorn behind it and granting me the chance to breathe once again. I remained motionless, tears threatening to burst from my eyes, yet I was still terrified of making the slightest noise. When no more lashing came from Opaline, I shakily stood on my hooves and made my silent way to my own quarters, where I crashed on my bed and let the floodgates open.

Whatever words I had caught from her were all but forgotten…

Author's Note

The UNO scene inspired by the work of the talented @Marenlicious.

https://www.deviantart.com/marenlicious/art/UNO-with-sister-965590228

Btw, we’re more or less halfway into the story. Hurray.