Disclaimer: All MLP:FiM characters belong to Hasbro and DHX Media. I do not own any of them except my OC. Also, this chapter is slightly inspired from A Journey Beyond Sanity Chapter 195 "The Little Merpony."

I was walking back to the castle after having my daily meditation with the Tree of Harmony and boy was it interesting. I don't talk about it a lot because it would be very boring and that's specifically my own private time with the Tree of Harmony when the cameras aren't rolling if you're picking up what I'm putting down. Anyways, when I got back to the castle, I went into the throne room to check if there were any new enemies on the loose and there was nothing, so I reverted back to the way it was. Suddenly, I hear the doors open and it's none other than Twilight. I said "Morning, my beautiful princess." Twilight giggled and said "Morning, my handsome prince." She came over to me and kissed me. I returned it because I can. After we pulled away, Twilight said "So, where did you go this morning?" I said "I went to go do my daily meditation with the Tree of Harmony." Twilight said "I don't really get why you do that." I said "Eh, it's just something I do. In order to get stronger, I have to meditate with the Tree of Harmony every day so I can keep that up. I would describe it to you, but it would be very boring."

Before Twilight could say anything, the map appeared and started glowing. We both looked at it and saw that somepony had been called on a friendship mission. Oh, it's more than one. And it looks like they're young. Wait. I recognize those cutie marks. Huh. The Tree of Harmony has called the Cutie Mark Crusaders to MOUNT ARIS?! Okay then. Next thing I know, the doors burst open and three fillies come running in. They said "Princess Twilight! We're glowing!" Well, that's what happens when you get called by the map. Twilight giggled and said "That's what happens when you're summoned by the map." Sweetie Belle asked "Some pony needs our help?" Duh. What else would it be? Apple Bloom asked "We're being called by the map?" Yes, Apple Bloom. Calm down. Scootaloo said "Did I mention we're glowing?" Yes, all three of you said that already. "So where exactly in Equestria are we needed?" I said "Oh it's not in Equestria. Where you're called is beyond Equestria." Twilight said "He's right. Where you're going isn't even in Equestria." We motioned over towards the end of the table and Sweetie Belle said "Wow. That's almost… off the table!"

I said "Well, it actually used to not be on the map until the defeat of the Storm King. Then the map expanded beyond Equestria's borders." Apple Bloom asked "But what's way out there?" I said "None other than Mount Aris. Home of the Hippogriffs." Twilight said "He's right. That's where you're headed." They stared in awe and went to go get ready. When they went to go do that, Twilight said to me "You're coming too mister." Oh, goodie how wonderful. I'm being sarcastic for the uneducated and uncultured people here. Well, on the bright side, at least I get to go with my favorite mare while trying to supervise young children. Once we were done packing our bags, we headed out to the train station. While boarding the train, Sweetie Belle said "You really don't need to come with us, Twilight and Zachary. We can take care of this mission just fine on our own!" Apple Bloom nodded while I said "On the contrary, I don't think so. Mount Aris is really far away from here and it's not a very good idea for you young children to be venturing off that far by yourselves for a friendship mission. Not while I'm around."

Twilight said "He's right girls. I'm not so sure the ponies who care about you want you going off so far on your own. Besides, there's some school business I need to take care of on Mount Aris." I said with humor "Yeah, while you drag me along with you." Twilight said "Oh be quiet you. I know you just want to just be with me." Stop it! You're embarrassing me in front of the kids. They all giggled while I just let out a low growl in annoyance. I said "But all banter aside, it's part of my duty to make sure that nothing goes wrong because of what my title says." Twilight rolled her eyes at that and said "This permission slip is for Sliverstream. It's very important that her mother and father sign it, or else no field trips!" Ooh, the horror! Yeah, honestly, it's not that bad. I said "And that's why I'm basically your representative for the Hippogriffs…." Twilight said "You're basically my delegate for them because you're on good terms with them while me uh… not so much." Yes, we all remember what happened. I'm not going to repeat it.

Scootaloo whispered to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle "Sounds like somepony just wants a vacation." The three of them giggled amongst each other while I whispered to them "In all honesty, she does just want a vacation. She's just using the excuse of business to hide it." Twilight lightly smacked me against the back of my neck and I just gave an annoyed stare. But Twilight countered mine with her own and I backed off. Her moody female hormones always win against my brute strength. She's the only one that can counter my stares and win. No one else can. The children giggled while I just gave a pouty face which made them laugh even more. Twilight said "Ok, yes, I have been wanting to visit Mount Aris ever since the Hippogriffs moved back. But it's purely research." Okay sure, go with that excuse. Ow! I said annoyed "Will you cut that out? That's going to hurt eventually." Twilight just shook her head lightly and continued on. "Silverstream's brother is going to meet us there, and take us to their houses." Gee, I wonder what that's made out of.

Ow! Twilight hit me on the neck again. Why does she keep doing that? That's animal abuse. Apple Bloom asked in amazement "Wow. They have more than one house?" I don't think a family would have more than one house, but the entire mountain has a lot of houses. Twilight said "I guess so. The social structure of the Hippogriffs and Seaponies is a bit of a mystery." I guess that's true. They were unknown by everybody until they were introduced in the movie several years ago. This almost makes it sound like a divorce or something. But not really. Some just wanted to go back. I'm watching you Stardust Balance. The conductor said "All aboard! Last stop, the new Mount Aris station!" That will be interesting to see. We all boarded the train and took our respective seats on the train. Sweetie Belle said "I don't know if I'd like being a hippogriff. Part bird, part pony…" Well, they have claws of an eagle, so they can pick up things as easily as a human while still walking on 4 legs. It's grip is stronger than both a lion and a pony.

Scootaloo said "I'm happy with just my pony parts, thanks." I said "Try being a lion. It's a lot more difficult than being a hippogriff." Apple Bloom asked me "What do you mean?" I said "Well, me being a lion, I only have paws. Even though the grip is stronger than a pony, it's nothing compared to a hippogriff. That's the only part I wish I had, but oh well. I can't change that. Actually, I could, but it would be quite a disaster." Apple Bloom said "I think Hippogriffs are pretty neat. I learned it all about them from Applejack." I'm sure you did. "The Hippogriffs all once lived happily on Mount Aris… but when the Storm King invaded, they used a Magic Pearl to turn into Sea Ponies and escaped to the underwater safety of Seaquestria." Basically, Queen Novo ordered that everyone escape to Seaquestria using a magic pearl and turn themselves into Seaponies. This all happened before the Tempest invaded Canterlot. "Then, in the battle of Canterlot, when Applejack defeated the Storm King." Wait, what? That's not right. All of us defeated the Storm King. I think Apple Bloom might have missed something.

Twilight asked "Wait, what? She told you she defeated him? By herself?" I said "It wasn't just her that defeated him. It was all of us. I think you may have missed something in the translation." Apple Bloom said "Maybe she didn't say that exactly, but it makes for a better story." I guess that's true, but that's just bragging. People are going to get annoyed by the fifth time. Twilight smirked while I rolled my eyes. Scootaloo asked me "Hey Zachary, how come you are friends with the Hippogriffs?" Twilight then added "Yeah, I always wondered why you're on good terms with them." I know why, but I'm not going to tell them the real reason at least for right now that is. I said "Well, I'm basically an ambassador between them and Celestia. Whenever they had to talk relations with each other, I would represent Equestria to go talk to them since I'm a different kind of creature and not throw me under the bus for an entire group. So yeah, that's why."

They all stared at me in silence for a second before Twilight asked "How do I know you're telling the truth and not making up some story?" I said "As soon as you tell me why the heck you thought it was a good idea to steal a pearl and had to tick off an entire species." That got her to shut up. She looked away in embarrassment. I then asked "Why did you steal the pearl?" I knew why she stole the pearl, but I wanted to see if she would tell the truth or not. I'm not God, I just know because I watched the movie, so I know what happens. So don't come after me claiming to be God or something because I'm not. Before it could get anymore "awkward," the conductor said "Final stop, Mount Aris station!" Oh how wonderful. We are here. That only took three billion years or something. The children looked in awe and I admit, it looks a whole lot different from the last time we were here. When the train finally stopped, I noticed that the station was relatively small, but it doesn't matter to me. It's not part of Equestria, so it's not my responsibility. It only lies in Equestria and nowhere else.

Sweetie Belle said "All right. So what kind of cutie mark-related friendship problem do you think we're supposed to solve?" That's always the hardest part is trying to figure out what it is. The map is very vague when it comes to details. According to the Tree of Harmony, it does that because if it revealed what the friendship problem was, there would be no point in it. It's kinda hard to understand, but I get what it's saying. The only detail that the map gives you is where the location of the problem is. Twilight said "I don't know, but Hippogriffs don't have cutie marks, so it might not have anything to do with that at all." The Tree works in mysterious ways and has it's reasons for everything. Apple Bloom said "Hmm. Still the map called us, so it must be a kind of problem that only we can solve!" You would be correct. They all said "Go crusaders." It's kind of cringe, but they're kids, so I'll let it pass. Sweetie Belle asked "But how do we know exactly who we're supposed to help?"

I said "That is something only you three can figure out. Whatever it is, it will be very obvious to spot. Most of the time that is." Scootaloo said "Ahem! Attention, please! Anygriff here have a problem?" I don't think that's going to work. They all shook their heads no and walked away. "That's all I got." Well, for a kid, not bad. But you kinda embarrassed yourself a bit by yelling to a bunch of strangers. Apple Bloom said "Maybe if the map could be a little more specific about our mission?" I said chuckling "It doesn't work like that. The Tree of Harmony works in mysterious ways and has it's reasons for everything." Apple Bloom said "They could have at least given us an address." I said "The map already did. This is what the address is. The map's only detail is where the location is. Everything else you have to figure out on your own." Twilight said "He's right. The map doesn't really work like that. But I'm sure you, and whoever needs help, will find each other." We all walked down the balcony to find Sliverstream's brother. Terramar I think it is.

I heard a voice that said "Excuse me, Miss Sparkle? Over here!" She has a title, you dimwit. "Sorry I'm late." You're not really late. We just took a little bit to get over here. You're good. "I'm Sliverstream's brother. Terramar." I knew that's what his name was. Apple Bloom asked "A Hippogriff can have a Sea pony for a brother?" Have you been living under a rock? Applejack, did you forget to tell Apple Bloom what the situation was? Good grief. What were you doing? Getting yourself drunk and stealing cars like this is GTA V? Dang. She probably drove vehicles at the speeds of a half a football field every second and driving it like she stole it. That's something my dad said when people would speed on the highway and swerve in and out of traffic. I can only imagine the visual. If someone can make a video of that, that would be awesome. "How does that work, exactly?" With the pearl necklace Terramar on his neck. Sweetie Belle said "Sssh! It's rude to ask a question like that!" Kids always ask stupid questions. I've asked stupid questions as a kid and I'm sure everyone else has. I wouldn't have cared if I asked that question. Yeah, I'm that savage.

Terramar demonstrated how it's done and the children were amazed. Apple Bloom said "Can I ask now?" Terramar laughed a bit and said "It is kind of strange. See, after the Storm King was defeated, the Sea Ponies didn't have to hide anymore." They basically didn't have a reason to. "So some of them changed back to Hippogriffs and went home to Mount Aris." It makes sense. Twilight said "But others got used to living under the water and stayed in Seaquestria." That's basically what happened after the Coronavirus was over. (AN: This takes place in the future when Coronavirus was over. This is NOT taking place in the present, so I just wanted to clear that up so people don't get confused.) You had the people that came out of their houses like pigs running out of their pins, meanwhile you had the people that didn't want to leave their house and are afraid to go back out. So if you're picking up what I'm putting down, you'll understand the allusion I'm making here.

"And me, well, I kind of go back and forth." Yeah, both places are amazing. "With this. It's a tiny piece of the Magic Pearl. It was split up among our kingdoms." The children were amazed at that and Twilight said "Well, I'm pretty eager to see the Hippogriff village. You know, to get this form signed, and research, so... " You're fooling no one at this point. Ow! I said to Twilight "You know, I'm going to get you back for that eventually." Twilight said "We'll see about that." Oh, you dare challenge me to that? Bet. It kinda reminds me of the scene in Lion King where Mufasa says to Scar with anger "Is that a challenge?!" One of the best scenes in Lion King. Apple Bloom asked "Hey Terramar, does anygriff you know up there have a problem they need help with?" I doubt he knows. Terramar laughed and said "On Mt. Aris? No, everygriff is pretty happy up there. It's a great place to live." I definitely agree. The views are amazing. Probably Stradman would say something along the lines of "We're chasing views on views." We walked up to the top of the mountain and boy did it look different from the last time I was here.

Twilight however, looked in awe. She said "Whoa! This looks amazing! Last time I was here, it was a ghost town!" That's because it was abandoned at the time. It was destroyed by the Storm King, but now he's defeated, they could go back to the mountain to rebuild it. Terramar said "Yeah! Queen Novo thought it was important to return our village to it's former glory." That would make sense. I'll admit, it looks quite decent. If someone were to recreate this in Minecraft, oh man that would be epic! Suddenly, the trumpets went off and a Hippogriff in armor flew down and addressed the village. He said "And now, I officially open the "Glad to Be A Hippogriff Festival!" That's a thing? That's weird. But people have had weird traditions for thousands of years. Of course, the crowd cheered and the trumpets continued to sound off. Looks like to me this is some sort of jousting. That's pretty cool. Scootaloo said with excitement "Wow! We picked a good day to show up!" I'd say so. But I could make it better.

Terramar said "Not really. We do this every weekend." Oh, when you do that, it becomes pretty boring. I think it should be an annual festival instead of every weekend. It kinda fits better when you do that. "Hippogriffs really like being Hippogriffs." They are just proud of who they are. Pretty much what nationalism or patriotism is. Once that was done, the blue hippogriff with the armor came down and said "There's my boy!" Terramar said "Hi, Dad!" They hugged each other and the Dad said "Haven't seen you in days, Son!" Gee, I wonder why. "Wish you'd come around more often." Well, with his current situation and with this festival going on every weekend, it's pretty easy not to be around here. Terramar said "Oh, Dad, these are Sliverstream's friends from Equestria, they came up to…" before his dad said "Prince Zachary!" Wait what? Oh no. I forgot I was popular here. He did a high pitched shriek and boy was that loud! OW! That really did hurt my ears! I responded with a loud roar in greetings because that's what animals do for greeting.

Terrmar's Dad said "Attention, Everygriff! Prince Zachary is here! He was the one who saved General Seaspray and the Hippogriff navy from drowning!" Oh yeah, that's right. If you read chapter 31, you know that I saved General Seaspray and his navy from drowning. Every Hippogriff gasped in amazement and next thing I know, I took the entire spotlight. I was trying my best to keep it together, but all these creatures surrounding me are really nagging at me. "Oh, and uh, Princess Twilight Sparkle is here too. Silverstream's teacher and principal." No one seemed to care. Ouch, that really does hurt. No comment there. I feel your pain, Twilight. Sky Beak went up to me and said "Here to take in the marvel that is Mount Aris, your Highness?" I said "Uh, I was dragged along, but I'm just on royal duty once again doing my business." Twilight rolled her eyes at that while I continued. I said "And of course, my lovely princess has a "permission slip" to sign for you."

Twilight said "It's for Silverstream." Now that's out of the way, we can move on to more important things. Sky Beak said "Glad to! But first, let's show the prince and princess some real Mount Aris hospitality. To the refreshment tent, for a stein of salmon juice!" That sounds disgusting, but as a royal, that's no way for me to act. As someone who's on a different land, I need to respect others' culture and not be rude about it. Of course, I was being dragged by all of these Hippogriffs and I tried getting away. I heard Twilight say to the crusaders "Eh! Research! See you later!" Oh no! No, stop it! Kids, take ME WITH YOU! MY AUTISM IS SCREAMING AT ME TO RUN! I went into my shadow form and took off, but Twilight lit up her horn and restrained me from fleeing. I looked at her annoyed, but once again, Twilight gave me an angry stare to which I backed off because of those moody female hormones. They get me every time. I went back into my lion form and just followed the hippogriffs to the refreshments tent. Twilight turned to the children and said "And good luck on your mission!" *sighs* This is going to be a LLLOOONNNGGG day. After a bit, I almost crashed to the ground, but my shadow form saved myself from doing that.

I came in with style though. However, Twilight was as happy as a pig in poop. She said with excitement "Hey everypony! This festival is fantastic!" Maybe for you. When you get surrounded by a bunch of strangers you just met, it's quite awkward and terrifying. "Look what I won at the ring toss booth!" I said "Yeah, just barely. You couldn't hardly figure out where to throw the dang thing. If I were you, I would have nailed it every time." Twilight smacked me against the neck again and at this point I was irritated with her doing that. If she did that again, I will do something about that. I mean, I was glad that I wasn't exactly getting all of the attention. Twilight was mostly getting the attention mainly because of how bad she was, but it wasn't that bad for me. The Hippogriffs are very nice and don't invade your personal business which is nice. A couple of them asked questions about my adventures and how Twilight and I met and other non-personal stuff like that. So overall, it wasn't extremely terrible. However, I can't say that about my body. Twilight was literally dragging me from booth to booth trying to win prizes and it drove me nuts. She even interrupted a conversation and I had to scold her a bit on not butting into a conversation.

Twilight said "Ahem! But of course, I'm really here on business." Sure, you are. You're just using that as an excuse to be on vacation. OW! I want to hit Twilight back, but it's wrong to hit girls. That's what my father told me growing up. "Sky Beak's already signed the form, now I just need your mom's signature. Is she around?" Uh, no. We have to go to Seaquestria to do that. Apple Bloom said "Uh, she's a sea pony. In Seaquestria." You would be correct. Twilight said "That's what Silverstream meant by "houses." So the parents are divorced eh? Nah, I'm just kidding. Although, it does make me wonder, how do the parents stay together like this? I'm so confused at this point. Terramar said "Mm-hm. If you'd like to meet my mom, we're just heading down there now." Glad to. I haven't been down there yet, so I'd like to see what it's like. Apple Bloom asked "And, how exactly are we going to visit underwater?" With the pearl around his neck. We went down to the ocean, but while everyone else went inside it, I was flying in the air since I didn't want to get wet. I have my own way of transforming.

Apple Bloom looked up and said "Uh Zachary? Aren't you coming down here?" I said "Nope. Don't want to get wet. I have my own way of doing it." I charged up my scepter and my crown which resulted in my eyes glowing white and the scepter's magic surrounding me turning me into a sea lion. No, not the ones that look like walruses, but just me as myself, but with fins. Twilight said "I didn't know your scepter could do that." I said "My scepter can do many things you don't know that it can do." The rest of the group were amazed at that, and they did their transformation and OH MY CEREAL! Never mind how I looked. Twilight looked very hot. Yes, I know that's quite weird and corny, but I don't care. I heard Scootaloo say "Whoa. This must be just like flying!" but I kept on staring at Twilight endlessly. Now I know some of you may call me a sick pervert, but one, she's my girlfriend, and two, we're not in any inappropriate situations, so it's fine. Of course, Twilight was blushing beet red and could barely contain herself. Apple Bloom said "Where's your mom's house, Terramar?" Oh right. His house. Uhhh… Sorry, I can't stop staring.

When they got going, Twilight said "Zach." Still staring. "We need to follow them otherwise, we'll lose them." Not my problem. Finally, Twilight just sighed and said "We'll be stuck like this if we don't get moving." Ugh, fine. I looked away and catched up with the rest of the group. Or at least I tried to. If only I could figure out how this dang thing works. As soon as I took off, I just started spinning in circles. Twilight came to help me, but I said "Hang on a second." I adjusted my fins and began swimming properly. "There we go." We took off following them and Twilight said with that blush still on her face "It's easy to figure out once we get going." I'm sure it is. "If you're in awe of my new appearance Zach, imagine how I feel seeing you like this." "I had no idea you felt that way about me, Twilight. Thanks for the analysis." We were swimming all the way through until we got to the country of Seaquestria. Still looked the same as last time. We swam all the way up to the top and I knew the Queen was around here somewhere.

We went inside and Terramar said "Mom!" His mom waved and said "Terramar! Welcome home, baby!" That brings back memories. It almost makes me want to cry. But I'm not going to do that. I don't want to talk about what happened. "No excuses, this time you're staying for dinner!" Oh goodie. Terramar said "Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom? This is my mom, Ocean Flow." That's a nice name. "And this is…" before Ocean Flow gasped and said "Prince Zachary!" Oh boy, here we go again. I better not have another party with a bunch of strangers with Pablo Escabar hiding somewhere in the background. "What an honor!" I said as Scar's voice "Charmed." Yeah, I can do that too. She turned to Twilight and said "You know, Silverstream just raves about you!" I can imagine that. She looked at me and said "She also talks about you a lot as well." Huh. I didn't know that. I actually have relevance with the Student Six? "Yes you do Zach. All of them talk about you so much about how they miss you and they want you back and other things like that. You had an impact greater than you think you do."

That makes me feel happy that I still have relevance with them. I thought they just moved on and forgot me. "How could anyone forget about you, Zach?" I don't know, brain farts? "Of course not, silly. The sacrifice you made will always be remembered by the student six. In fact, the entire school remembers the sacrifice you made and are trying the best they can in honor of you." They are? "Mhm. Even for the short time you were there, everyone grew to like you and they all miss you terribly. The students miss you, our friends miss you, I miss you. I really wish you would come back." I can't Twilight. You can't change the past. What's done is done. There's nothing you can do now. I will always have that crime over my head, so there's no point. And besides, if I break my part of the deal, that means the EEA will invade again and I can't let that happen. "But don't you see? You didn't commit that crime. It doesn't matter if you're breaking the deal or not, it's making everyone miserable. Are you seriously willing to give that up just so you won't break your part of the deal and have the EEA invade the school again?"

Yes, Twilight. I am. It will always be that way. There's nothing you can do about it and nothing will ever convince me to change my mind. "You know, sometimes, you're the most stubborn person I've met." Yeah, because that's how I was built. It's not worth it to me to have everyone be under total EEA control just so I can be back in school. I'd much rather be restricted from entering campus grounds than to have everyone suffer. Besides, I have my spirit to come visit the school. "Yes, but it's not the same as your physical self being in the building." Well, that's how it's going to be. You'll just have to deal with it. "You're so stubborn and stupid." I know I am, but I don't care. Twilight looked over at Ocean Flow and said "Well, she is one of our most hard-working students." Yeah, I've noticed she acts so aloof sometimes, but she works harder than anybody else. Kinda reminds me of the movie on Netflix "1 Mile to You." That's a good movie. I recommend you watching it. If you like teen romance, then this is the movie for you.

"In fact, I brought this form for you to sign, so that…" before Ocean Flow saying "Both my children are so smart!" Weird flex, but okay. "Would you like to see their baby pictures?" Uh, no thank you. I'm not here to embarrass Terramar over here. Speaking of which, he said "Mom!" Twilight didn't care in the slightest and said "That sounds adorable, I'd love to!" Good for you. Have a nice ladies chat while I go pay a visit to the Queen. "And, you know, to find out about aquatic pony early development and uh…" before the children said "Research!" You're so predictable sometimes, Twilight. Ocean Flow said "Oh, well maybe your friends would like a snack while we're gone? Some kelp chips? Fish oil tea?" Uh, no thank you. I'm good. That's disgusting. Terramar said "No thanks, Mom. I'm going to show them around." I said "Welp, see you people later. I need to go pay a visit to the Queen."

However, before I could leave, Twilight swam in front of me. She said "Why would you need to see the Queen?" I said "Just to talk about some royal business. I'm your ambassador, remember?" Twilight said "Oh right. But please be careful." I will Twilight. I know where she is. Twilight gave me a quick kiss and I took off. I went to the throne room and I saw Queen Novo looking absolutely bored to death on the throne. However, Skystar noticed me and said "Prince Zachary! Twilight Sparkle's husband!" Oh no, no no, no. We're only boyfriend and girlfriend. We haven't gotten that far yet. Unfortunately, it was too late because Queen Novo's face lit up and said "I didn't know the princess was married." I said "Well, we're not. We're only dating right now." The Queen squinted her eyes and said "I see. Congratulations then and sorry for the lack of enthusiasm from me. It's not the most glorious news I heard. However, what brings you here?" I said "Well, you see your Majesty, I have come to pardon the charges the princess has received from you. She often does make mistakes like any other creature, but she means it with good intentions."

"So whatever the punishment is, put it all on me." The Queen was quite surprised at this and said "You dare to be willingly accepting all of your marefriend's crimes not knowing what she did at all, and you just sweep it under the rug without batting an eye?" I said "Bingo. Because that's how I'm built." The Queen stared at me for a second before sighing and leaning back on her throne. She said with a smirk on her face "At least the princess has decent tastes in life partners. I can see why my general speaks so highly of you. The Lion soldier." Skystar gasped at this and I just stood there in amazement. I guess word spread very quickly. The Queen chuckled a bit at my puzzled expression and said "No need to worry, Prince. Because you saved my general and his navy, the princesses' crimes will be pardoned. But I need something in return." Oh dear. What would that be? "I need you to stay here in the kingdom for a week and basically learn all of the customs here and then take it back to Celestia so we may discuss relations in the future."

I sat there for a second and I said "Well, I'd be honored to do that for you, your Majesty. I won't let you down." The Queen chuckled and said "I figure not, and call me Novo, dear. It's a lot easier." I said "Okay. Will do." Once I finished that, I headed back to shore waiting for the rest of the group to show up. A few minutes later, they did. Twilight was almost hugging me to death. She said "Are you alright? Did anything happen? Did you get hurt? Where is it? Does it make you feel pain?" I said "Twilight. I'm fine. I had a nice chat with the Queen and nothing happened. Everything's good. Chillax." Twilight went blood red in embarrassment and said with almost a pee pee voice "Sorry. I was just worried about you." I said "I know you are. But I'm fine. Besides, no dangerous creature can ever stand against me." Twilight said "That doesn't mean I don't worry about you." I said "I know and it just means you care about me." Twilight put her head under my neck and just purred while I did the same but making actual purring noises from a cat.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Terramar were giving smiles while Scootaloo was disgusted. You know what? I don't care. That doesn't matter to me. I was disgusted as a kid once as well, but I knew I'd have to do it eventually. Same thing will happen to you, Scootaloo whether you like it or not. Suddenly, there was a loud shriek and of course it was none other than Sky Beak again. He said "Prince Zachary, Princess Twilight, you're back! And just in time for the Screeching Competition!" Oh now that sounds like fun. I can't screech, but I sure can roar. Twilight said "Why not? Could be another trophy in my future! Be back soon!" I said "Hah! We'll see about that. I think that trophy will go to me." Twilight rolled her eyes and took off. I said "See ya later children. Behave yourselves and don't get into trouble." I then took off after Twilight. After a little bit, Sky Beak began the competition. It went around in a circle. When it was Twilight's turn, man was I impressed. When it was my turn, I was like a little kid in the candy store. I screeched like an eagle and then let out the loudest roar I could produce out of my mouth and it made the whole Earth shake.

Of course, I cast a spell to make sure the mountain didn't collapse, because I didn't want to do that and tick off the Queen. They all looked shocked for a moment and then cheered like a victory in a stadium! Therefore, I won that competition by a landslide. I came back down to where the children were and I was confused on what was going on. Well, not really. I knew what happened, but I didn't expect them for it to be this heated. Twilight said "Uh, what's going on? Where's Terramar?" I said "Yeah, last time I was here, he was with you guys." Apple Bloom said "Uh. Well, he… kind of left. He wanted to be by himself." Really? YOU HAD ONE JOB AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN GET THAT RIGHT! Celestia, help us all. Scootaloo said "Which was not my fault." Sweetie Belle said "Mine either!" Will you two please just shut the heck up and stop bickering like foals? No one said it was your fault. My gosh, you sound like me now when I was a teenager. Twilight said "Well, of course not! Why would you think that?" Because they're kids and they're stupid? Apple Bloom backed up a bit clearly annoyed while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said "Because it was our fault!" I was not expecting that, but okay.

I want an explanation for this. Scootaloo said "All we had to do was help him choose which world to live in." I think you may have overdone this. Sweetie Belle said "And we let him down." Yeah, because you disagreed amongst yourselves on which world was better. So it made it even harder for him to decide. Twilight said "Who ever said that he had to choose?" That's what he thought. No one ever said it, but they have kind of implied that was the case. It was kind of those peer pressure situations where no one said that you had to decide, but you feel like you're the odd man out. Apple Bloom said "Well… he did." Makes sense. I did it all the time in the past. Twilight said "Hmmm… Maybe Terramar is making it harder than it has to be." I would normally agree with you because kids do that a lot, but I don't think that's the case. Suddenly, Ocean Flow said "Yoo-hoo! Princess! We're having a seashell crafting circle, care to join us?" I'm fine, but I think Twilight would be perfect for that. She said "Actually we're right in the middle of... " before Sky Beak said to me "There you are! The flag folding ceremony is about to begin!" Oh crap. This is worse than I thought it would be.

I twitched my eyes before disintegrating into ash. No I did not die. I'm still alive. Discord does this all the time. Everyone gasped, but I rose back from the "dead" into my lion form and then opening and closing a door that randomly appeared. Twilight said "Thank you, really. I've had a great time in both places today, but… *whispers to children* Wow! This must be how Terramar feels all the time! I think we can all tell by how Zach reacted. Poor him. He's been stressed the entire time we were here. Because of being in the spotlight." Yeah, I've gotten most of the attention and I'm about ready to have a breakdown if this does not stop. Ocean Flow said "Oh. Hello, Sky Beak!" Sky Beak said "Ocean Flow. You're looking well!" They all went down to have some chatting while I looked for Terramar. I heard Sweetie Belle say "Hm… This gives me an idea." Not If I beat you to it. I went over to where Terramar was sitting and said "Still having a tough time deciding huh?" Terramar said "It's just tough. I don't know what I'm going to do. It doesn't even matter to me anymore. Nothing will work. Sorry to disappoint you."

I said "I'm not disappointed. I just feel bad for you. In fact, I've been where you are." Terramar looked up at me and said "Really?" I said "Yeah sure have. I know what's been like to be a tough spot and not know what to do next. It happened to me all the time as a child. But no matter what happened, I was always able to figure out something." Terramar said "Huh, that actually helps. Thanks." I said "No problem. If you need to talk about anything, I'm here anytime." I heard Scootaloo say "Huh. I thought for sure he came this way." I said "Yeah, it's called looking up." Terramar said "And I'm staying up here too." Why is that? "That way, I don't have to be on land or in the water." I guess that makes sense, but that won't solve your problem. Scootaloo said "We're sorry." What are you apologizing for? I mean, you screwed up, but you were trying your best, so there's no reason to feel remorse. Well, sorta. But I do appreciate you apologizing. "We were supposed to help you, and... " before Sweetie Belle saying "We just ended up confusing you more." That was on sheer accident. "It's all our fault." Not really. You had good intentions, but you didn't really make the situation better.

Terramar said "Oh, great. You're sorry, and I'm still confused. I'm staying in my tree." Eh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. Apple Bloom said "We might have something worth coming down for." I would agree with that. We went back to the beach and it was still the same as it was when I left it. Sweetie Belle said "We thought we'd get everycreature together for a picnic on the beach." It looks decent. Scootaloo said "And we mean everycreature." Everyone looked like they were having a good time to me. Terramar was shocked though. I guess he just wasn't expecting this. But he does seem happy about it. We saw Sky Beak and Ocean Flow talking to each other along with Twilight. Sky Beak said "Son! There you are! Your friends told us how you've been feeling…" when Ocean Flow said "and we're sorry if we ever made you think you had to choose between worlds. That wasn't our intention, honey." That's what parents always say to their kids. My parents said the exact same thing growing up.

Sky Beak said "Your Hippogriff heritage is something to be proud of, certainly…" while Ocean Flow said "but you're more than just where you're from, or who you live with." That is true. "We love you because you're you." Why does this sound like my mother is talking to me when I've been down? "No matter where you choose to be." Okay, I'm moving on. This is getting too emotional. Sky Beak said "You don't have to decide. You can keep doing what you've been doing, going back and forth." Ocean Flow said "And enjoying both places." That isn't as bad as you may think when your parents put it like that. Of course, Terramar was super happy as if he was finally home free and no longer had to make a choice. Once he was done with that, Scootaloo said "Something we forgot to add that both places have." Have a parent that loves you. "Family and friends who love you." Nope, nope, nope, nope. Not crying. MOVING ON! Terramar said "Thanks. For everything. Hey, uh… are you glowing?" Uh, apparently so. The children all said at the same time "Yes. We did it!" Congrats. You've solved your first friendship mission. Twilight said "Congratulations! Your first map-mission is a success."

I said "The Tree of Harmony is very proud of you for solving this friendship mission." Sweetie Belle said "Guess that means we're officially done here." I said "Technically yes, but that doesn't mean we have to leave yet." Sweetie Belle said to Terramar "I hope you come visit your sister in Equestria." That would be nice. Apple Bloom said "Yeah! Come see us! You'll love it!" It's a pretty great place. Scootaloo said "Who knows, you might want to even live there!" Hold your horses, Scootaloo. No pun intended. "Yeah, that was a joke." I hope so. All three of them headed towards the sunset and we headed back towards the train station. It was a quiet one home and once we got back to the castle, I was about ready to collapse. However, I have a plan. You'll see in a second.

I saw Twilight put her stuff away and then say "It's been a long day." I can agree with you there. "Uh, Zach? How come you're looking at me like that?" I said "Oh I don't know. Maybe THIS!" I grabbed Twilight with my magic and started tickling her to death. She went into a giggling fit and said "Zach no! Nooooo!" I said "You think you can slap me on the neck and expect me to do nothing about it? I don't think so. You can't stop the King of the Jungle." Twilight continued to have a giggling fit when she wiggled and rolled around on me. She said "Z-Zach, stop! I-I'll teleport a-away f-from you!" I said "Your magic has no power here. I have you under my total control now!" That's when all hell broke loose. I blew raspberries at Twilight's face and she reached the climax of her squirming. She said "Zach! ZAAAACCCCCCHHHHHHHHH! DON'T BE DOIN-HAHAHAHA! SSSSSTTTTOOOPPPPPPPITITITPPPLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE!" Finally, I stopped and said "That's what you get for hitting me on the neck so many times. I just had to get my revenge."

Twilight looked at me and said "You're the most goofy person I've met sometimes." I said "I know, but you still like me anyway." Twilight smiled and said "That is true." She then grabbed my neck and pulled me in for a passionate kiss. I returned it with eager passion because well, I can. Get over it. Once we were done having our makeout session, we both started to get tired and fell asleep to one another. So even though there were some hiccups on the road today, it was pretty good and I hope Terramar feels at home.

AN: I am very sorry this chapter is being posted so late. I'm not going to go into the not posting for two weeks cycle again. I promise. This chapter was longer than I thought it would be and I was very busy yesterday moving furniture in my house. Today was even busier, so by the time I was done with appointments, schoolwork, and eating dinner, I was exhausted. So I continued to write this chapter while I was watching Monday Night Football between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Giants. Honestly, I thought the gap would be a lot bigger, but the Giants played great football tonight despite their record. But regardless, I'm happy that Tampa Bay was able to pull off the win. So hopefully I'll be able to post the next chapter next sunday instead of late Monday night. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

Next Chapter: A school play! For the upcoming Onesiversary of Celestia raising the Sun, Twilight decides to put on a play showing the backstory behind it. However, she decides it's a good idea to have Celestia to be an actress which goes horribly wrong. Applejack along with Zachary try to tell Twilight to tell Celestia the truth, but she refuses to listen. But things turn for the worse right when the play is about to start. Will Twilight listen to her friends' advice, or will her relationship with Celestia be forever damaged?

Until then, my fellow readers