The chapter begins with Shining meeting his parents again. It is his 25th birthday and while the conditions he lives in prevented him from meeting them on his earlier birthdays, this time they came for him. His mother seems to be an extremely huggy person while his father is more distant and collected. It is also hinted that something horrible happened on his 16th birthday, but today, their biggest worry is how to get Twilight away from studying and to spend some time with her family.
For Twilight a great change in her life was predicted, which does come true with her becoming the Element of Magic and Shining got the same prediction. He hopes for a promotion but his mother points out it could be the same promotion his uncle got: A posthumous one. In fact her own horoscope told her that precious things will go away from her and since Twilight will move to Ponyville, in a way this family does loose both of their children. Soon Shining awakens back on the ship, being woken up by his alarm clock. The scene he remembers was the last time they were all together before all of this started. They have just left the airspace of Columbia and just as he is about to leave, a surprised minotaur is standing before him, ready to accidently knock on his face. It is Petty Officer First Class Kryten who has a few letters and the message that the Princess wants to see him and Thunderchild.
While Shining envies him for having hands, the minotaur is too big for passages that are designed for ponies. But actually the one crew member with the worst luck with this tight space is the Chief Engineer, the Diamond Dog Scottie. Many people use the canines for cheap labor work since they can be paid with all gems, no matter how worthless these are to ponies. But if a pony manages to gain the loyalty of a Diamond Dog, then they can form a true companionship and are considered a pack member. Once that happened the canine would be willing to die for the pony. After being persecuted in the Hooviet Empire until there are no Sika Deer left there, two of them are actually part of their crew. Interestingly the postcard from his parents has his mother begging him to write back so she will not forget him. After Shining’s experience with the stalker, he should know what she is talking about. The rest of the mail is the message that he can now order a certain report, the remainder that he and his platoon can join the Air Naval Cavalry's physical training and finally there is a monthly Guard newsletter.
Both Shining and Thunderchild encounter a spoony reference on their way to the Princess but eventually they are standing before her. The hoofmaidens are currently busy to make her look like the flawless Princess everybody is expecting and the Alicorn wants their aid in creating a birthday calendar for the entire crew and to show them that even so far away from their families their birthdays will not be forgotten. Without Twilight, the master of scheduling, they decide that pegasi would be the best fit for this task since weather patrol work often includes making schedules. On their special day the crewmember would get a personal congratulation from the Princess and eventually there will be weekly shared-parties for all the crewmates whose birthday fell within that week.
As they talk about what they could do to keep everybody entertained, they realise that they have more enough players for hoofball and could use that both as physical exercise and for friendly matches against other nations. Both Tunderchild and Minuette are not exactly happy about it, not because the idea of a Princess playing it is so unorthodox but mostly because the two usually end up in goal. They also plan their own radio show, after all they already receive Griffin-style music like Griff Metal and could use the radio to show their crew more of the culture of the many different countries. Shining thinks that they need to be careful about the music and Thunderchild agrees since some music might be too vulgar or even racist, while actually the unicorn was worried about creepy prophetic songs. Finally the Princess wants to take her own tour over the ships while there is still time before Zamunda. Sunset and Ranger eventually end up working on the birthday calendar together and both the tour and the radio seem to work out as well.
As Cadence and the Hoofmaidens try to improve their own fitness, Shining does his own training and the interviewers suddenly become very interested in it to compare a few facts. After all they already had their suspicions that the story might be on a different track.
It turns out that the barrier Shining creates is a lot smaller and weaker then what the interviewer, his comrades and he himself were expecting. For the next task several unicorns combine their powers to create something similar to Mr. Makarov’s blast and Shining tries to shield a dummy from it. The shield is broken but at least the dummy isn’t completely disintegrated. If the dummy would have been a person, he might have even survived the attack with quick medical aid. Shining himself notices that it is strange that he can create a shield with enough power to defend a city from an army but is unable to uphold against this destructive force. His aiming is still horrible but that is still an improvement over his aim being atrociously horrible before. The unicorn also fails at the task to crush a crate with his shield and unlike with the surprising weakness of his shields, he knows exactly why he can’t do it and Ace seems to know it as well. Shining even tries to replicate Mr. Makarov’s anti-magic field but lacks the mana to do it. Maybe he should buy an anti-magic field generator? Eventually the training is over and by now the unicorn really enjoys this normal life.
Shining enjoys some normal interaction and fun but mostly spends the time with his friends. Thanks to Sunset both Minuette and Twinkle Shine have found out that Shining’s and Cadence’s birthday is just one day apart and they lead the conversation into the direction that many married people forget each others birthdays. They are as SUBTLE as always. The hoofmaidens wonder if the two were close together when they were younger and the unicorn admits that he knows about the birthday connection thanks to Twilight. Even when she was younger the Element of Magic had one of her panic attacks when she was worried that she couldn’t get enough money to get both of them good presents. Thanks to a misunderstanding and Shining being so modest, the Alicorn got a necklace while Shining just got a hat. Even today the Princess tries to wear this necklace whenever she knows she will meet Twilight.
The next day is wonderful uneventful and relaxing until Captive Audience finds the book written by Shining’s mother. Surprisingly the earth pony interviewer had no idea about that. It is basically a harem comedy IN SPACE. Not only all the Hoofmaidens but even Cadence will read that story and it turns out that Shining’s dark secret is that he is responsible for the science fiction setting. Both him and Twilight got a copy of the book and while Shining’s had an unfortunate accident (maybe it was killed with fire?) his sister let Spike file it where nobody would ever find it again. But there is also good literature here like Starship Ponies by Heinmane and The Farm by Oatwell. The unicorn interviewer wonders if he had read the version changed for children but he read the version where the pigs are eventually overthrown. Twilight felt insulted when she learned that she read a changed version with an added happy ending.
On the next day Cadence shows her own knowledge about Zamunda by giving everybody a preparing speech about it. Zamundans are known for their hospitality, for having a large population of pegasi and for having a lot of goat cheese from their time as goat herders. Thankfully Garnet is able to stop Gag from making a joke about the topic. There are also bears who might be dangerous when they are playing too rough.
They also have the strange but very charming tradition of building a new hut for guests in the middle of their village (for the leaders) while the rest would live among villagers of the same status. Once the guests leave anything left behind will be taken as a gift and the new hut will be burned down to make room for more friends. It is very rare that hospitality is combined with the BURN IT ALL DOWN mentality but it is a very charming and entertaining tradition. The only downside is the waste of resources. It seems that even the guests themselves can blow up their own hut if they want to. It is a true shame that Destruction is not around to see something like this. He would love it.
They also have to get their vaccinations and it seems that Garnet and Gag are getting closer. This preparation will hopefully prevent them from getting arrested again and finally Cadence declares VERY LOUDLY that there are no laws against singing in this country. Luna would be proud on this use of the Royal Canterlot Voice. Thankfully Shining is most definitively not afraid of needles and the more he talks about it, the more convincing be becomes. Twinkle Shine tries to run away but there is no escape from the needle. Soon they reach Zamunda City and the interviewers are curious how Virgacorns are treated in this timeline. After all they are not a normal sight in this world but they are so rare that Shining doesn’t know the answer and there are less confrontations between ponies and zebras anyway.
Compared to the last city this one is much smaller but build in a more natural way that allows rains to flow down towards the sea. There is much less air traffic and 100 % less Giant Golden Flying Bricks then last time. The Zamundan Navy is there to greet them and only the main ships of the flotilla, the URS Athena and the Takeshi-Jo are allowed to pass.
The chapter begins with Cadence with Shining, Thunderchild and Gag being greeted by an officer in an armor that Rainbow Dash would likely approve. There are also paper rose petals to be scattered by Cadence so they will become valuable collectors items. Now this idea is actually a clever way to make money out of an expensive diplomatic visit. The Alicorn is greeted in a very polite manner by Major Oha (who has a shield cutie mark) and the incarnation of Harmony reacts humble and even picks up the envelope like a zebra would. Everything is much calmer then Canterlot and here the zebras are the majority. Oha is their guide but is seriously shocked to learn how good Gag is in speaking Zamundan. This and NOT making jokes seems to be his true calling. And unlike Fluttershy he is not very good in understanding animals, when they just want to be left alone and when they want to attack him for being too annoying.
There is a mixup in the guest house build for Cadence, Shining and the hoofmaidens. They believed that Shining was married and had a daughter and build a room with a double bed and one additional room. Now this is surely some material for the hoofmaidens to joke about. It turns out that there was some confusion with Major Dawn Sharkle, so it turns out that Blueblood was right and there actually IS a Sharkle and she is even a shark, a Special High Altitude Reconnaissance Command. The dinner that follows that entertaining mistake is thankfully semi-informal and both the Crown Prince and his bride are present as well. Afterwards as Shining is alone he hears a growl and has to remind himself that he might have walked out of Cadence’s range without realising it. But thankfully it is just a bear, a bear that tries to jump scare him.
Then we get another dream about Winterstart, the equivalent of Nightmare Night in Manechester where the ponies hide from Windigoes yet are unable to stop winter itself. Shining’s group has no chance to get candy this time since they have to do patrol duty in the castle. They talk about possible disguises and besides Ellis and Shining they would have all gone as a Guardspony. The unicorn would actually go as Princess Celestia, now that is strange, it sounds more like something Twilight would say. Not to mention that now the real Alicorn is also present and she wants to look at the moon, that holds her imprisoned sister, from the lunar tower. The tension of the others reminds Thunderchild at a past event that Shining suspiciously has no idea about. Suddenly he finds himself not in his bed but before his bathroom mirror. Either he is sleepwalking or this was not a normal dream. And again he is unable to fall sleep again, this lack of sleep will wear him down if this continues. This day will have a few diplomatic events, preparations for the wedding and an acrobatic performance. And with their experience with movements in air and reflexes pegasi surely make good acrobats. It turns out that Sunset knows a lot about circuses since she was once with one.
She tells them that her parents are both acrobats but the circuses had suffered under declining attendances since these tricks take a lot of time to master it makes every night in one circus identical to the last one. Circuses just don’t get the same audience the Wonderbolts or hoofball teams get. Eventual the financial difficulties forced Sunset to leave her family to not make them give up everything so that their daughter could follow them. The trick that is shown now is called the Thunderdome and it takes very good coordination so that the pegasus flying through this obstacle course doesn’t get hit. Just one tiny mistake causes the flyer to loose his control and the one controlling the clouds instantly comes to his aid.
But the damage is done. The expert in low-level flying will be out for at least 3 days and this performance was meant to be the entertainment for the Crown Prince. So Sunset actually offers her assistance and both her talent for low-level flight and her past of working for the Ringwing Sisters, convince the Ringmaster to test her. She is willing to do this dangerous stunt to help the Prince and their own mission and to prove herself and maybe her parents that she can actually do it. And it turns out she is very good and the practise seems promising enough but needs more time. Gag and Ranger are left behind with her, Gag to translate and Ranger because he is her friend. Garnet wants to stay behind in case her talents are needed but she gets rejected. The pony shouldn’t wish so much for a chance to use her talents, her wish might come true.
Eventually the wedding takes place and Shining admits that he is not a big fan of them. It takes place in Temple of Kings and Ancestors and interestingly both bride and groom are accompanied by the servants of their future partner. In Equestria marrying a prince or a princess doesn’t actually give you the same rank but turns you into a duchess or a duke. Shining really knows an amazing number of trivia if you think about it, he really has a connection to Twilight. The ceremony itself consists of declaring their love and challenging the ancestors to approve it by doing nothing. Thankfully the dead don’t rise from their graves. Then the king challenges his son with three questions about how deep his love and loyalty towards his wife is. Soon they are married with a kiss and declare that they will honor their ancestors and make their own descendants proud. Finally the royals follow the newlyweds back to the palace as badger-handlers make sure that no bear does interfere. But are they prepared for the combined might of the cat-bear-alliance? Afterwards the honey badgers could either eat the cake or some of the ponies who ate the cake.
Sunset’s show is a complete success and the Crown Prince is very thankful for that. The dinner has a bit too much bananas and peaches but is otherwise very good. The various groups are all well separated and organised and after the expected speeches, the dance begins. Shining is still not exactly thrilled about weddings and sees Pinkie Pie doing another cameo. There is no escape from the pink. They talk about how weddings get girls to dream of their own possible future wedding and Shining admits that when he was five he wanted to marry a Princess. But since he was five years old, he thought that was related to slaying a dragon and began to wonder what would happen if you would slay multiple dragons. He completely lost track of the whole marrying thing while doing it, just like his sister would act. Amusingly today he is even better in loosing track of this topic. Or he wants to see how much he can frustrate the hoofmaidens before they will stop singing about him and Cadence.
Twinkle Shine tries to get the unicorn and the Princess to dance but there is actually a protocol against it. As her bodyguard Shining has to make sure the place is safe for dancing. It turns out in the past both a Princess and her bodyguard nearly slipped on a banana peel. So Shining decides to watch over Cadence’s dance and reminds the hoofmaidens to dance as well. Not every dance has to be romantic. In the end Shining did have one dance with Cadence and another one with the cheerful Neighponese princess. Soon this event is officially over. Sunset is happy about her performance and her new boyfriend but the other hoofmaidens seem disappointed that the love between Shining and Cadence still didn’t bloom.
The Alicorn is clearly is exited about all the new discoveries and being together with friends on her journey while Shining is more worried about what will come in the part of Zebrafrica that is controlled by Hooviet forces, including Kundu. The wreck of the Equestrian ship might still be there if Mr. Makarov was not able or willing to remove all traces of it in the years he had to do this. The unicorn tries to convince himself that it will not be as bad as his gut instinct is telling him.
