Radiant Dawn and Lightning Dust were at the boardwalk, sitting and looking out into the ocean. No sound except the waves crashing against the shore, and the cry of seagulls in the distance.
"Wow, isn't it just...amazing?" Lightning asked.
"It sure is..." Radiant nodded.
"I can't believe we spent a whole month out there." Lightning commented. "Across the ocean. It felt weird, being so far from home. It was a great time, though...even if the start was rough."
"You're telling me." said Radiant. "I still can't get over that I almost got sacrificed by some weirdo cult. I'd expect this to happen to somepony more...I don't know...important or something."
"Ha! So you're saying you're not important?" chuckled Lightning. "You ain't gotta be so modest, dude. You're the captain of the royal guard!"
"The Night Guard." corrected Radiant.
"Right." Lightning snickered. "So...how much stuff do you think we'll have to do once we're back in Canterlot?"
"A lot." said Radiant. "We've got soooo much to check up on. Long hours, late nights, and lots of new names to remember. And lots of paperwork for me to fill out. Good thing I got that report on Saddle Arabia finished on the Summerstar. That alone would've taken me a fortnight if I waited till Canterlot."
Lightning Dust hovered in the air, and nuzzled against Radiant's neck.
"You don't have to worry about a thing, big guy." she told him. "I can help ya with whatever ya need me to."
"Thanks, Lightning." said Radiant Dawn.
He started to pant as Lightning held onto him even tighter. Lightning's face started to redden as she stuck out her tongue, and it reached towards Radiant's cheek. She leaned in even closer...
"Lightning?" asked Radiant.
Lightning Dust pulled her tongue back, and sheepishly let go. She shrugged her front legs, and started whistling.
"There was...a question I've wanted to ask you." he told her, half-stammering.
Lightning stopped whistling.
"Really?" she said. "What's on your mind, chief?"
"HEY, YOU!" hollered a very loud voice from behind them.
Radiant and Lightning jumped in surprise. Radiant fell over like a log , and then quickly got back up. As soon as he did, he turned to face Lightning Dust...who appeared to be engaged in conversation with another pegasus mare. A pegasus mare that seemed to be identical in appearance to Lightning Dust, except that she had a tan coat and black-and-green mane.
"What the heck are ya doing in Baltimare, sis?" said the doppelganger. "I finally find you, and you're sightseeing like a softie. C'm here, will ya?"
She grabbed Lightning Dust, and gave her a very aggressive noogie.
"Who the heck are you?" asked Radiant Dawn.
The pegasus lowered her eyelids.
"Wow, your boyfriend's a real hunk." she told Lightning.
"Uh...Radiant?" Lightning Dust rushed to his his side. "Let's get outta here."
"Who are you?" Radiant asked the pegasus again.
"Oh, Lightning didn't tell you about me?" the pegasus told him, her hooves on her hips as she hovered. "The name's Zap. Indigo Zap, and I'm Lightning Dust's way-past-cool twin sister."
"Oh, she's way-past-cool, all right..." muttered Lightning under her breath.
"What's the matter with you, sis?" asked Indigo. "I thought you were living in Fillydelphia?"
"I moved out." said Lightning.
"I wondered why you weren't there the last fifty-something times I tried to visit last month."
"You've been looking for me?" asked Lightning.
"Sure." said Indigo. "I just wanted to pay you a visit. So tell me, sis. What have you been doing lately? I mean, besides avoiding me...again."
"Uh..." Lightning hesitated, then sprayed out frantically: "Nothing you need to worry about. I'm okay. So nice talking to ya, sis. So sorry ya gotta go. Bye?"
She pushed Indigo away as she said this, even as they were both in mid-air.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...whoa." said Indigo, as she wrestled out of Lightning's grip. "I ain't gotta go! I ain't seen ya in four years, sis, and you're just gonna brush me off?"
"No, it's not like that?" Lightning chuckled with her eyes closed...before nodding repeatedly. "Okay, it is! Could you please go? You're kinda killing the mood."
"What mood? Oh, did I spoil the big moment for your date? Just talk to me, sis. Just for a minute. C'mon, we barely talk to each other as it is."
Lightning opened her eyes, and scoffed.
"Fine..."
Radiant Dawn looked at the two sisters, blankly.
"Wow." he droned under his breath. "Twins..."
Frosty and Nose Nip were mulling over the wreckage of the Summerstar. Nose Nip could barely say a word, and Frosty's eyes were welling up with tears. Accompanying them were Sunflower, Teddy, and Trixie.
"Man, I still can't believe what those stupid mercs did!" growled Frosty. "And I just before I was gonna get 'er a new paint job and everythin'!"
"Not to mention that I was thinking about hosting a dinner theatre on there." said Trixie. "Karaoke nights, live entertainment, and all the best food in Equestria...all ruined in one fell swoop!"
"I have to admit, I was almost getting used to it." said Teddy. "Just traveling all over the world in that thing. We spent a lot of time in the two months we had it."
"It's like losin' a very good friend." frowned Sunflower. "One dat wuz always dere ta getcha outta a jam when ya needed 'em the most."
"If it weren't for the Summerstar, I don't think we'd be so tightly-knit." said Teddy. "We all left Las Pegasus and went to Saddle Arabia and back on it...together."
"Teddy, as much as it pains Trixie to say..." Trixie said. "You're right."
"I hear ya, sistah." Frosty added. "Let's have a moment of silence for what was once the best friggin' airship---or any vehicle--in all of Equestria."
The five bowed their heads in respective silence.
"And now it's all spare parts." groaned Nose Nip, after what seemed like a half-hour of silence.
Frosty raised his head.
"Hey, you're right!" he said, with a slight optimistic tone.
"Whatcha talkin' about?" Sunflower asked.
"The Summerstar may be gone...but most of the parts ain't!" said Frosty.
He approached the wreckage, and started inspecting it.
"Ya know, if we had the right time and folks to help us, I bet we could make somethin' brand-new outta all dis stuff."
"Like what?" asked Nose Nip.
"Well...maybe like a seaplane or a helicopter." Frosty said. "I'm sure there's enough of the engines left, and plenty of metal for propellers or rotary blades."
"Frosty, are you nuts?" asked Nose Nip. "Actually, you don't even need to answer that. No matter what Sunset might've told us about the human world's technology, I'm pretty sure even the latest in Equestria's transportation hasn't caught up yet. Trains and airships are one thing, but--"
"Hey, Equestria's got gyrocopters, don't it?" asked Frosty.
"Yeah, but most of them are tiny and pedal-powered." said Nose Nip. "So how do you expect us to make one that actually runs on fuel, let alone is capable of holding a dozen or so passengers? And don't say 'Sunset Shimmer'. She's a smart mare, for sure. But I doubt that CHS ever gave students instructions on how to assemble aircraft made of anything stronger than construction paper."
"I bet those Neo-Templars could make it." grumbled Frosty. "C'mon, Nips. Can'tcha think positive for once? We made it through the impossible in the past, even before we started hanging around Sunset. Or maybe somepony at that University here in town could. They got all kind'za geniuses over there. Right, guys?"
He turned around, and saw that the other three ponies weren't even paying attention: Sunflower was adjusting the sunflower she wore in her mane, but Teddy and Trixie were out of sight.
"Where'd they go?" Frosty asked.
"They went around the other side." said Sunflower. "Said something about a private chat."
"Well, this I gotta see."
"By the way, I knew from the beginning that those other mercs were going to walk right through those doors." said Teddy. "Where there's two, there were bound to be even more. And you know what? I would've gotten rid of every single one of them in a whole minute...tops, if they didn't sabotage the engines."
"Oh, I know, Teddy." Trixie smirked, exhibiting a smarmy posture.
She had a front leg around Teddy's neck, was leaning forward, and had a hind leg bent backwards. Teddy was flexing one of his own front legs, while making a cocky grin.
"Yep, I'm just awesome." said Teddy.
"But those mercenaries would have never lasted a minute against the Great and Powerful Trixie, either." Trixie said, boastfully. "For she is too well-versed in the magic arts."
Frosty, Nose Nip, and Sunflower all got chairs out from the wreckage of the Summerstar, and sat down to watch the show.
"Not as well-versed as I am with brawling, my vain sorceress." Teddy told her smoothly. "Did I mention I run a gang back in Canterlot? The biggest, baddest gang in all of existence?"
"Baddest, hmm?" Trixie mused. "But what sort of bad are we talking about, Mr. Fearless Gang Leader?"
She leaned in even closer, so that her face was almost touching Teddy's. Her smirk was turning into a grin.
"The 'We-make-the-Changelings-look-like-a-buncha-wimps' kind of bad." said Teddy. "I'm talking bad!"
"Goodness me!" Trixie gasped, feigning shock. "Then even the Great and Powerful Trixie cannot hope to match up to you! If there is anything Trixie can do to appease you, Mr. Fearless Gang Leader, just say the word."
Teddy chuckled.
"Well, I have been looking for a leading lady to help me run my gang of super ruthless tough-guys." he told her. "What king's complete without a queen? So tell me, O Great and Powerful Trixie, would you care to look past your vanity just this once, and accept my humble proposal to you?"
Trixie batted her eyes ever so fluidly.
"Oh, how could I ever deny you what your heart desires?" she asked. "Especially when you're so tough, so strong, so commanding, so..."
Suddenly her grip on Teddy's neck tightened, and she flipped him over so that his back was against the ground, and Trixie had him pinned in an instant.
"Pathetic." she said, her smarmy grin changing to a cocky one. "Honey, you're so lucky you're a good actor, or I wouldn't have taken you seriously for even a minute. I'm honestly surprised you had this kind of attitude in you. I'm surprised you didn't ever try becoming a showpony like yours truly."
She snickered, and closed her eyes. Suddenly, Teddy grabbed her neck, flipped her over, and pinned her down in the grass.
"Because I'm not some showpony." said Teddy. "I'm the real deal, baby."
"Do go on." Trixie snickered some more, her expression still as smug as before.
"I'm not a stupid buffoon anymore, Trixie." said Teddy. "I've just been acting that way for weeks. I'm coming clean to you now, so that you get a real understanding of me. Trixie, I'm only going to say this once:"
He put his muzzle against Trixie's.
"How do you like me now?"
"Perfect." Trixie said.
Teddy's blue eyes dilated. Trixie's horn glowed, and Teddy was levitated off of her body, and hung suspended in the air. Trixie got back up, and approached him, still smug in the face.
"Trixie knows an actor when she sees one." she told him. "I knew there was another side to you, Teddy, that you've been hiding from me. I had no idea that this was the side. So impressed, Teddy. So impressed."
Teddy blushed, even as Trixie telekinetically held him in place.
"Though I still doubt that you will ever be able to live up to my superior reputation, the Great and Powerful Trixie does not feel ashamed to admit that you and I..."
she whispered to him in a sultry tone:
"...Should be together."
Teddy's ears twitched like crazy as Trixie kissed him, slabbing her tongue up and down his closed mouth. Her horn stopped glowing, and Teddy was free to move. He was blushing even deeper than before.
"You...kissed me?" his entire head was reddening.
"Oh, sorry about that." Trixie said, feigning shame. "I do all kinds of stupid things when I get excited."
"...What?"
"Sound familiar, Teddy?" Trixie told him. "Now you know exactly how I felt, handsome."
She seized Teddy again.
"But don't think for a minute that I've forgiven you for what you did." she said, threateningly. "I'm going to be watching your every trot, Teddy. And don't you dare think for a second that you are my better half; I am yours. Don't try kissing me again without my consent, either, or I'll seal your mouth shut permanently."
"All right..." Teddy muttered, uneasily. "Basically, how's it been to begin with."
"Exactly. I knew you'd catch on. Other than that, Teddy..." Trixie mused on. "Congratulations. You are now Trixie's special somepony."
Trixie leaned against Teddy, and started nuzzling against him.
Frosty, Nose Nip, and Sunflower just sat there blankly for ten minutes straight.
"Wow...I guess anything is possible." Nose Nip said. "Okay...let's get to work on the helicopter...or seaplane."
"Uh...right." Frosty said.