Doug’s languid pace through the hallways instantly shifts when he sees the door to their guest suite slightly ajar. He breaks into a dead sprint, hand slamming against the heavy wood, ignoring the painful feedback rushing up his elbow as he rapidly scans the room. He flinches as the door crashes against the wall, spotting nothing out of the ordinary.
The mound of covers shifts, a light groan from underneath. “Five more minutes...”
Doug takes a deep breath, still standing in the doorway, trying to calm his shaking limbs and racing heart. His eyes continue searching, finally resting on an object on his pillow that most certainly was not there when he left. He cautiously strides over, repeatedly checking corners, behind and above, his vigilance revealing nothing else out of the ordinary.
He averts his eyes almost as soon as he recognizes what it is. An essence crystal, larger than most; if his memory serves, the same one that Queen Chrysalis used and stole three years ago. At least, it’s the same shape, but the colors are off. He chances another glance, confirming his suspicions. The same crystal, but it appears… empty. Completely drained of the magic that used to swirl around inside, that threatened to imbue into him like they would an unenchanted suit of armor.
But that can’t be right; he’s watched Rarity craft with essences before. After they are used the empty shell always crumbled to worthless dust. And yet this vessel remains, emptied of its magic.
Is it a portent? A threat? A display of power? Or is Queen Chrysalis merely returning something that belongs to him, decidedly not in the condition that she received it?
Is it indicative of her plans for Equestria, should she win her ‘contest’ against the ponies?
Doug reaches a shaky hand, picking up the drained crystal. It is cool to the touch, colder than the pillow next to it, almost as cold as the stone against his bare feet. He tosses it from one hand to another, wincing slightly as the sharp edges press against his skin; not deep enough to draw blood, merely scratching the outer layer.
A knock at the open door draws Doug’s attention, hand slipping the crystal into one of his pockets. The unicorn - cobalt armor of one of Princess Luna’s Night Guard - is cautiously keeping one eye on him while the other scans the room, lit like a flashlight.
She clears her throat. “Everything in order, ma’am? Err, sir?”
Doug’s eyes briefly narrow, shifting to a defensive position between himself and Twilight. Actually, he realizes, Twilight would be far better at handling any threats, but when he can’t tell her his suspicions…
“Yes, everything’s fine.” Doug rests a hand on the mound of covers. “Sorry about the noise.”
The guard merely nods. “Your presence, and that of Twilight Sparkle, is requested at the Sky Docks as soon as you are presentable.” She proceeds to give Doug directions before taking her leave, shutting the door behind her.
“Come on, Twilight,” Doug says quietly, shaking the pile. “Time to go.” He looks around the room. “It’s going to be cold outside; did you bring anything?”
“Outside?” Twilight murmurs, purple hooves struggling to push the layers of covers off of her. “But I want to stay inside. It’s nice inside.” A raspberry aura lifts the covers, revealing a mare most certainly not having difficulty waking up, her mischievous grin and sparkling eyes revealing a far baser intent. “You’re inside.”
“Yes, and I’m heading outside,” Doug replies, getting up from the bed. He grunts at the tug against his hand, Twilight’s aura threatening to pull him back to her. His body nearly locks up, his breath coming in a halting gasp.
“Twilight?” Doug ekes out, his voice a mix of fear and suppressed rage, “please don’t restrain me. Not with magic.”
Twilight’s horn winks out, her lascivious grin instantly replaced by concern. “I’m sorry,” she pleads, manually untangling herself from the sheets as he slumps down, his arms wrapping around himself and clenching. She moves forward to nuzzle him but stops as he flinches, head turning away from her.
“I… I’m sorry,” she tries again when he does nothing. She takes a hesitant step forward, slowly growing more sure as she gets close and he doesn’t shy away. Her nuzzle is met by an arm slipping around her neck, pulling her into a tight hug. The quaking sobs aren’t there, but she can feel tears staining into her coat.
After several long seconds she asks, “Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” Doug says quietly, his voice carefully controlled. “No, you didn’t. Just… I just had a moment. A flashback. Not your fault.”
“It’s okay,” Twilight reassures, nuzzling again as her eyes find his. “Do you want to talk about it?”
A heavy sigh. “No,” Doug eventually replies. “I can’t.”
“I understand.” Twilight slips out of his grasp, lightly prodding him to stand. “From the sound of that guard, we should be heading out pretty soon.” She pulls over her saddlebags, looking inside and pulling out a scarf. “Why are we going to the Sky Docks?”
“No idea,” Doug says as he pulls on a heavier jacket, hat, gloves, and boots. “So. What kind of mischief did you get into while I was gone?”
"Oh, a little of this, a little of that," Twilight replies, her eyes gleaming.
The two eventually arrive at the Sky Docks; the lights illuminating the cobalt and gold airship slowly click off as they approach until only the gangway is lit. The white unicorn at the helm seems eager to set sail, the two earth pony stewards rushing to batten down the hatches. The concierge leads Twilight and Doug to Prince Blueblood, then leaves to assist in getting the airship ready for departure.
Doug nearly misses a step as he spots Princess Luna standing next to Prince Blueblood. The cobalt alicorn raises an eyebrow, her neutral frown slightly deepening.
“Evening, Prince and Princess,” Doug leads as he forces himself to continue walking closer.
Prince Blueblood looks up from the myriad instrument panels in front of him. His muzzle slowly curls to a smirk. “Sup.”
“GOOD EVE-” Princess Luna huffs as Doug’s arms immediately fold across his chest, his eyes narrowing. “Good Evening,” she tries again, no hint of the Royal Canterlot. “We are pleased thou was able to make it; some of us had doubts as to your… availability.”
“Nonsense!” Lunaris states, flashing Doug a cheeky grin. “I knew you couldn’t stand to miss the chance to pilot a technical marvel such as this!” He raps a hoof against the helm, smiling at the reverberation of the gold inlaid wood.
“So you’re serious about me learning to fly this hunk of junk,” Doug says, inspecting the instruments closer.
“Serious as a duel to the pain,” replies Lunaris. “Now, night flying is a bit more difficult than day, but since the only thing we’re likely to run into is an errant pegasus” -he motions towards Rainbow Dash and the two Wonderbolts she is cozying up to, all three with drinks in hoof- “it shouldn’t be too bad. After all, the Canterhorn is lit well enough, even as high as we will be going.”
“And how high is that?” Doug asks, his pilot training slowly coming back as they push away from the docks.
“Altitude is here.” Lunaris points to the relevant display. “Heading, airspeed, angle of attack and bank. Try to keep that one low, otherwise the earth ponies tend to fall off the sides.”
Doug chuckles as Lunaris demonstrates a correct turn, the ponderous airship taking its sweet time. Piloting turns out to be fairly straightforward, at least in beautiful conditions like this, and Lunaris quickly takes his leave as Princess Cadance and Princess Celestia fly on board.
“No Shining Armor?” Doug asks, one hand resting on the helm while the other waves to the collection of Princesses in front of him. Twilight Sparkle looks a little chilly while she bows, though even a freezing blizzard wouldn’t keep her from her mentor.
“He respectfully declined,” replies Celestia, her melodic voice easily reaching him despite the rushing winds. “Something about making sure that everything goes well on the ground.” She turns to Twilight. “I heard they have a few cakes in our honor below decks, waiting for midnight to serve. Seeing as the hour is approaching, I don’t suppose you would like to accompany me?”
“Certainly, Princess,” Twilight replies, gladly getting up and following the white alicorn to a more sheltered location.
Princess Cadance grins, a roguish glint in her eyes. “I’m going to go follow the Prince around. Since he has to leave whatever room I’m in, I plan to see how long it takes before he catches on. Wish me luck!”
“You’re a monster,” Doug replies, though he doesn’t stop Princess Cadance from smoothly gliding up to him and whispering in his ear.
“How many?” she asks. She rolls her eyes at his questioning gaze. “Foals. How many more attempts are you letting me observe?”
“Right now? Just Applejack. Why?”
Princess Cadance huffs. “Not yet with Twilight? Ugh, I may need to work her over a little.” She says in a louder voice, “Good seeing you again, Doug.” She politely nods, “Luna.”
“Love,” Princess Luna replies with a slightly bowed head. She steps closer to Doug as the pink alicorn leaves in search of either a white or purple unicorn. “Doug, why art thou afraid of me?”
Doug sighs, shaking his head. “It’s not you I’m afraid of.” He smirks slightly, chuckling to himself as Princess Luna slightly cocks her head. “And not Nightmare Moon, either. Something else. Can’t really talk about it.”
Princess Luna slowly nods, though her expression shows that she wants to continue that line of questioning. She glances around, her horn and the air around them briefly shimmering. “Doth thou wish to court our Sister?”
“That seems out of the blue. Mm, no offense.”
“It… offense?” Princess Luna looks down at her cobalt coat. “It is an idiom?”
“Yes. Out of nowhere. It just surprised me.” Doug sighs, his fingers drumming against the helm. “I’m not… strictly opposed to the idea.”
“We sense a ‘but’ as large as her flanks,” Princess Luna replies with a smirk.
“I don’t think anything is that large,” Doug says before taking a long, leering glance at the black and white cutie mark next to him. “Except for-”
Doug winces as Princess Luna’s tail flicks sharply against his arm, his hand letting go of the wheel in order to rub the sore spot.
“Thou art an incorrigible charlatan.” Luna manages to hold her angry look for several seconds before her smirk reasserts itself. “We can see what she likes in you.”
“Aww, getting a little jealous she called ‘dibs’ first?” Doug returns to the wheel, continuing their course on a lazy, spiraling circle, just starting to crest the tops of the Canterlot Castle.
“We are unsure as to the meaning of this ‘dibs’, but before we were banished it was not uncommon for a stallion to bed any number of sisters.” Princess Luna sighs as she gazes out over the capital city. “We suppose that tradition, like many others, has fallen into disrepute and ignominy.”
Doug shrugs as the bells of midnight resound from Canterlot. “Well, it’s not some-”
“LUNA!” Princess Celestia bellows from below decks. Princess Luna briefly freezes, eyes going wide before she crouches behind Doug and the helm. A frenzy of hoofsteps echo from below as everypony gets out of the way of the charging alicorn. Her hiding spot proves woefully inadequate as Princess Celestia spots her immediately. “Did you mess with my cakes?!”
Princess Luna glances to the hollowed out shell of a cake held in a golden aura. If it could be called that any more, as all of the ‘cake’ portion has been replaced by oozing blueberry and blackberry jam. “Umm… maybe?”
Princess Celestia snorts, clouds of vapor shooting out of her flaring nostrils. Until her traitorous fork spears off a bite of icing and fruit, artfully maneuvering between her clenched teeth and depositing it inside her mouth. She chews slowly. Mechanically. Every masticating motion punctuated by eyebrows narrowing further and further. All eyes stare, breath held, until she eventually swallows.
“Best cake ever!” Princess Celestia declares, cheers and twin party cannons blasting off the first Year of the Two Sisters.