Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S7

by Banshee531

Once Upon A Zepplin

It was another peaceful day in Ponyville now that the last Trial attack had passed. The worst that had happened was Zecora getting Swamp Fever and almost turning into a tree. Luckily, Fluttershy and Twilight had discovered the cure and she was soon back to full health. Grand Hoof was still in the hospital, though he was scheduled to be released in a few days time. Being one Defender down wasn't a big deal, since there were still four more to pick up the slack, and luckily, it didn't bite too much into Flash's training of Heart or Springer's training of Ace and Mira.

Currently, Flash and Springer had just met up and were heading back to the castle. Flash was flapping his wings weakly, not enough to pick himself up, wincing as he did so. "Problem with your wings?"

"Nah," he replied, "Just a little stiff. I guess I've been overdoing it on the flying with the aerial patrols and training Heart. We've been working on aerial hoof to hoof combat so he can learn to divide his focus between his opponent and the area around him."

"Sounds tough," Springer responded.

"Yeah...it was tough for me back when Soarin taught me. What about you?" He asked, "Ace and Mira been doing okay?"

"Well...they can finally form an Aura Blast on their own," Springer replied, "That's good, but its still...smaller versions of Aura Blasts. But I wanna try to have them go for something else...maybe Bone Breaker since that was the first new move I learned."

"Awesome," Flash chuckled as they pushed open the castle's doors. And as they stepped inside, he stretched out his wings and Springer could hear them cricking.

"You know, maybe you should just...not fly on your next day off. Your wings sound hurt."

"Who says I get a day off?" Flash replied, "When I'm not on patrol, I'm training with Heart. And if Heart's at school during my off day, I'm helping Twilight, or Applejack, or anypony else that needs a helping hoof."

Springer blinked at this, his mind now going back to all the time he's been with Flash...and he couldn't remember the last time he had seen Flash inactive. His memory shot back to the early days, not long after Springer and he had met. He remembered the afternoons Flash would spend, on the Golden Oak Library's balcony, happily strumming his guitar. When was the last time Flash even played that thing?

"You need a serious break," Springer commented, "And needs to be someplace that's not here. If you don't get out of Ponyville, you're just gonna find something to stop you from relaxing."

"Oh, sure." Flash laughed, "Like the chance to up and leave for a few days is just gonna walk right through the door."

As he said this, Spike's voice rang out from the library, only to then hear Twilight let out a cry of surprise and the two ran to the door. But when they got there, they saw Spike pushing Twilight out of the room, "You need a vacation!" The little dragon growled, only to notice the duo, "Oh hey. Great timing." He used his fire magic to pick up a scroll that was on the floor. "Check this out." He stuffed it in front of Flash's face and the pony read it over before going wide-eyed.

"Your parents won a cruise?!" He asked, getting a nod from Twilight. "Awesome!"

"And Twilight's going on it," Spike chimed in, "Heck, you can probably go too. Scootaloo as well."

"Great!" Springer nudged Flash in the shoulder. "See? The universe it telling you to take some time off." He turned to Twilight, "You two are definitely going. It's perfect."

"Listen to the jakhowl," Spike added.

"I don't know," Twilight frowned before turning back to the large stack of papers currently on the library desk.

"You're going," Spike said while pointing at her, "I can keep track of the friendship log, boost community morale, and answer fan mail for a few days."

Twilight grimaced at this, "But Spike, you're as much a part of my family as anypony! I can't just leave you here to do all that work!"

"What?!" Spike asked loudly with a smirk, "I can't hear you! You're on vacation!"

Flash and Springer chuckled at this, Twilight sighing before saying, "I guess I could use a little time off from being a princess," She tapped her chin before smiling. "You're the best, Spike!"

"I know," Spike replied.

"I'm gonna go pack everything neatly into one suitcase!" With that, she happily trotted out of the room. Springer was about to speak, but Spike's voice beat him to it.

"Wait for it..." A moment later, Twilight called out again.

"Cruises have activities, right?! I should probably make a schedule?!"

"There it is." They all laughed, Springer then turning to give Flash a knowing look.

The pegasus rolled his eyes, "Fine. If Iron and Lightning agree to cover for me, I'll go. But I'm betting they won't let me off..."

---

"Sure," Iron said while Lightning nodded. The four defenders had just met up outside Sugarcube Corner, Flash telling them about the cruise and asking if they could cover for him. "We can do that. Won't be any different from when you go off on a friendship quest."

"You sure?" Flash asked, "Because with Grand still in the hospital-"

"You and Springer used to defend this place all on your own, and according to Iron, that's when the crusaders were really crazy." Lightning interrupted while waving his hoof, "The three of us can handle it. Go on, have fun. Just bring me back a souvenir."

"Me too," Iron added.

"I don't say this enough, but you all are awesome." Flash was met with a round of 'we knows' before leaping into the air. "Whelp, better grab the kids and get them back to start packing."

He shot off for the school house, the bell ringing just as he landed. The young ponies ran out, Flash leaning beside a tree and staring at the colts and fillies. There he saw Heart and Soul frowning as they walked out, along with grinning Scootaloo. "Hey there," he said as he walked up to them, his apprentice trying to change to a smile as Flash added, "What's with the frowny faces?"

Heart let out a huff, "This weekend's gonna be super boring." Flash raised an eyebrow at this, "Button's uncle's taking him to a games convention in Fillydelphia, and Rumble's brother's taking him to go see family at Rainbow Falls."

"Diamond and Silver's parents are taking them to Silver Shoals for the weekend," Soul continued, "They said they'd ask if I could come, but they're not hopeful." She then noticed the smile that appeared on Flash's lips, "What?"

"Don't worry, you'll hardly miss them at all. Because we're going on vacation too." Heart, Soul and Scootaloo all gasped at this.

"Really?!"

Flash nodded, causing them to cheer as he spread his wings. "Come on. We've got a lot of packing to do." He took off and the three followed, soon getting to the castle. When they got there, they all started packing as much as possible. Soul originally wanted to take six suitcases worth of stuff, Scootaloo telling her she had been spending way too much time with Rarity, but they eventually managed to convince her to take the bare essentials.

---

"Are you sure you don't wanna come?" Flash asked Springer as he, Ace and Mira prepared to see them off on their trip to Canterlot.

"Yeah," Twilight nodded, "You all are just as much family as anypony else."

"Thanks," Springer replied, "But somepony needs to keep Ponyville in one peace. If something happens and Iron and Lightning are left the deal with it...those two might start arguing and end up doing more damage than what they're trying to stop." Flash and Twilight nodded. "Besides, this'll give me an excuse to go on my own vacation whenever I want. Luna's been looking into something she said she wants to take us once she's ironed out all the details."

They both raised an eyebrow at this, only for Soul and Heart to walk up to them with their luggage. Twilight and Soul were both carrying a suitcase while Flash, Heart and Scootaloo intended to make do with saddlebags, and then they headed for the train station.

"Do you really need to take that?" Mira asked Flash when she pointed to his Celestic Gear.

"Yup," Flash nodded. "There's still one last Trial out there, and I don't intend to get taken by surprise without my sword again."

"How'd you know there's only one left?" Heart asked, Flash and Twilight flinching at the question, only for Scootaloo to ask another question.

"If we're gonna be in a zeppelin, how would a Trial attack?"

"It could be a clone of Skybreaker," Twilight replied as the train's whistle filled the air. "Or they could attack the zeppelin and shoot it down." The younger ones grimaced at this, but the princess quickly waved her hoof, "I'm not saying it will happen, but Flash is better safe than sorry."

The train soon arrived after this, the group getting on board while Springer, Ace and Mira all waved them off as it left the station. It was a quick trip to Canterlot, made even quicker thanks to the kid's constant questions about what they would be doing on the cruise. Twilight was happy to answer, telling them all about the different activities, mentioning something everypony was interested in as the train pulled into the station. There, Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart were waiting for them eagerly.

"Twilight!" Velvet pulled her daughter into a hug before doing the same to Flash. "Oh, I'm so glad you could all come."

"This is gonna be great," Night hugged Twilight before looking around. "No Spike?"

"No," Twilight shook her head, "He insisted on staying behind and dealing with my workload."

"It was the only way to get her to agree to this," Flash added, the parents giggling before the defender turned to Cadance and Shining. "So, how's my favorite niece doing?" Flurry let out some happy cries from her hover-stroller, Twilight instantly turning on the little alicorn and giving her some much loved attention.

"Well, we'd better get going," Night added, "The ship's not gonna leave for a while, but I'd like to get settled into our cabin before it takes off." They all nodded and began to make their way through the city toward the zeppelin docks. Along the way, Velvet and Night began talking to Heart and Soul exclusively. They had met the pair before, but it was a good while ago and they hadn't really gotten to learn much since the twins were still adjusting to life in a new world.

That all changed now, the older ponies happily asking them about how much they enjoyed their new lives, what hobbies and school subjects they enjoyed and what their plans for the future were. The twins were happy to reply, the four laughing and getting along swimmingly until they arrived the at zeppelin dock, which they were then greeted to a giant ship even larger than the Mighty Leviathan being held in the air by a massive balloon.

"Wow..." Scootaloo gasped as the family got in line before turning to Twilight, "Say, what if the gas inside accidently ignites? Wasn't there another zeppelin that did just that?"

"That was a long time ago," Twilight replied, "Ponies would be silly to give up an excellent means of transport because of just one tragedy. Besides, the gas filling modern balloons is a magically created kind that doesn't ignite."

"Cool..." Scootaloo commented as they reached the gangplank and began to trot on board.

"Oh, gee." Velvet looked more excited than ever, "I am really looking forward to a relaxing vacation."

"Watch out," Night Light told Flash and Twilight. "She won't admit it, but when your mother says relaxing vacation, she means doing something crazy. Last time, she ended up bungee-jumping over Luna Bay!" Flash smirked, hoping he could sign up for something like that.

"What was that, hon?" Velvet asked Night, who instantly glanced away.

"Oh, I was uh...just telling Twilight about my new...bingo strategy book! It's a, heh, real page-turner!" He gave them a wink as they smirked, Velvet just rolling her eyes.

Shining clapped his hooves at this, "Alright! I can't wait to get on this zeppelin and fly like a Pegasus!"

"Really?" Twilight giggled, "I remember you getting airsick on Admiral Fairweather's Wild Ride at Pony Island."

Flash shivered at this memory, since he had been in the same cart as him when that had happened. "I didn't feel clean for a month."

Shining blushed at this, the kids laughing as he grumbled, "Twilight...I grew out of airsickness a long time ago."

"I hope you're right," Flash added as they walked onto the ship. "Because if I see even one hint of green in your face, I'm not coming near you with a twenty foot pole." Everypony, minus Shining, began to laugh their manes off. And before Shining could retort, feedback from the loudspeakers filled the air.

"I hope you ponies feel welcomed aboard, BECAUSE! YOU! ARE!" The Sparkle family all shared a glance, Twilight then saying what they were all thinking.

"Well, that was an...assertive welcome." They all nodded and started to make their way to their cabin. But as they did this, Flash couldn't help but get the feeling he was being watched. He glanced behind him, now seeing a pair of ponies smiling and waving like a pair of eager kids. Flash responded by waving back, though not as enthusiastically, the pair squealing as he did so before running off.

"I got a bad feeling about this..." Flash commented as they went down a corridor, soon being guided by an employee to a deluxe cabin. Once Velvet tipped the pony, they stepped inside and were gasping, seeing the place was as big as a house with four bedrooms, comfy chairs, a piano and shelves of books. It was amazing.

They all began to explore the cabin, Flurry even getting out of her stroller and flying around as Heart ran off to grab one of the rooms. "I call this bed!" He exclaimed as he jumped onto one, Soul and Scootaloo rolling their eyes since they would be sharing the other one.

"Guess this is what it's like to be big-time prize winners," Night Light laughed before turning to Velvet. "I just wish I could remember what contest we won."

Velvet nodded back, only for Twilight to ask, "Wait, you don't know where this prize came from?"

Her mother shrugged back, "When somepony offers you a free vacation, you just sign the paperwork and don't ask questions!"

Night placed a hoof on her back. "Especially when it means we all get to fly off together." Everypony gathered together, smiling at Night's words. "What should we do first?"

"You have to ask?" Flash smirked before turning to Twilight, "Where is it?"

"Where's what?" Twilight replied.

"You know what I mean. Where's the chart or schedule?" Twilight giggled before taking a folded up piece of paper from her saddlebag.

"Well," she unfolded the large piece of paper, "I did categorie the ship's activities and make a schedule organized by each of our interests." She pulled out a pointer and tapped it against the paper. "Dad, you're easy. Bingo competition right here."

"Oh?" Night glanced over at the paper, "I just love how the numbers and letters are organized in their little boxes. It's so satisfying."

Twilight then pointed to another section, "Shining Armor, they've got a tiny boat race in a tiny pool here."

"Aw, sis." He patted Flurry on the head, "Only you would remember I love tiny things."

"And Cadance," she showed her the schedule. "There's a Peewee Princess Playtime here that Flurry's gonna love!"

Flurry laughed at this, clapping her hooves as Cadance smiled. "Oh, wonderful!"

Velvet then grabbed the schedule and looked it over, "Hmm...this barrel jumping at Neighagra Falls sounds interesting."

Heart, Soul and Scootaloo took the paper next, Heart speaking up first, "Oh, nice! There's gonna be a video game tournament. I'm gonna rock that!"

"And there's a skate park," Scootaloo added, clapping her hooves.

"And Flash, there's mini-golf."

Flash's eyes went wide before slinging a hoof around her, "Twilight, you are the best."

"Eh," Twilight shrugged before placing the schedule on the wall and pinning it up. "I just want to see you all have a good time. And this works out perfectly, because we have room for the one thing I wanna do!" She took out a book and opened it up, showing them images of old drawn shooting stars. "Our ship passes the Frozen North at sunset, which is the only time you can see the astrological phenomenon known as the Northern Stars. It's like the stars are shooting out of the setting sun!"

"Well, we definitely don't want to miss that," Cadance chuckled.

"Then it's settled," Twilight put the book away and turned to the schedule. "Though...we don't have anything to do right now." She looked back at them, "Any suggestions?"

Flash was about to say something, but the loudspeaker in the cabin buzzed before he could. "Attention, cruise ponies!" The super masculine voice called out, "Don't let this zeppelin be a bore! Leave your room and see the tour!"

It switched off and Cadance turned to them, "A tour could be fun." They all nodded and headed out of the room, leaving their bags and quickly making their way through the corridors. They got to see the game room, dining area, skate park and so much more.

They then headed up on deck, Shining running to the front of the boat and looking out at the open sky. "I'm flying!" He cheered, "I'm-" He suddenly stopped as his face turned green, the stallion quickly covering his mouth.

"Oh boy," Flash and the kids backpedaled, "Quick, before he starts blowing chunks. Anypony have an umbrella?"

Cadance rolled her eyes and moved over to Shining Armor. "I'm afraid Flurry may be airsick. Since I know that isn't a problem for you, would you mind taking her below?" Shining didn't need to be asked twice and grabbed his daughter before disappearing downstairs, the others laughing until the loud speaker beeped again and the super mescaline voice rang out.

"Far to our right, you can just make out the white tufts of Cloudsdale, where Princess Twilight Sparkle once toured the weather factory." The ponies all moved over to that side of the ship, Twilight turning to her family with a raised eyebrow.

"How'd he know that? And why announce it on a cruise?"

"Maybe Cloudsdale doesn't have many interesting things to announce," Heart replied, the others giving him 'are you crazy?' look, only to then hear a murmured conversation and turned to see the ponies looking at them in awe.

"Why don't we move to the other side of the deck?" Cadance suggested, the group nodding and started to move, only for the voice overhead to speak up again.

"We are now high enough to see all of Canterlot, even the royal tree where Princess Twilight and her brother Shining Armor were born!"

"What?!" Twilight yelped, "That's not right!" But the others ponies didn't seem to hear her, the group running to the side and looking over the edge. Even Velvet and Night did so, despite both being present when their children were born in a hospital. "Um..." Twilight stepped over to them, "You two know that's not where we were born. What are you so excited about?"

Her parents just shrugged. "Well, it is a really nice tree sweetheart," Night told her while Velvet nodded. Flash and Twilight shared a frown, both glancing around to see some ponies staring at them with creepy smiles.

"This is just getting weird," Flash gulped, now getting flashbacks to his first visit to Starlight's Village.

But before Twilight could say anything, one of the ponies ran up and got her face a little too close for comfort. "We just wanted to say how excited we are to be here!" She ended up spitting into Twilight's face, the alicorn looking creeped out as she wiped the slobber off of her.

"Um..." Twilight pulled back, "Yeah. Us...too."

"On our route north," the voice called out, "We will pass the spires of the Crystal Empire, where Princess Cadance rescued her Alicorn baby Spike from a monster made of fire!"

"Now that doesn't even make sense." Cadance commented.

"Where is this guy getting his info?" Heart added before they heard Night Light speak up.

"Well, Royal Grandparents sounds a bit fancy, but of course you can take our picture." He and Velvet smiled as multiple ponies started snapping photos.

"What?!" Twilight yelped as a pony ran over to Soul.

"Look!" she pointed at the alicorn filly, "It's the newest princess."

"I heard she's the same age as Celestia," another one stated.

"What's her secret?" Another asked as Soul raised an eyebrow. Meanwhile, Twilight and Cadance were taking a proper look around the deck at all the ponies on it. Some were wearing T-shirts with Twilight and Cadance's faces, while others were wearing either fake wings and horns, or coverings to go over their real ones. Cadance then felt a tap on her shoulder and looked down to see a filly wearing a horrifying mask of her face, which caused her to cry out and backpedal as the filly asked for an autograph.

"Okay, that's it!" Twilight yelled, "Does anypony know where the cruise announcer is?!" Everypony quickly responded, pointing to the control room. Flash and Twilight both flew up to the zeppelin's control room door and strode inside. "Excuse me, sir." They looked inside and went wide-eyed as they saw a certain bipedal figure.

And before they could say anything, the being spun around. "You can call Iron Will, Iron Will!" He flexed his arms, Flash and Twilight gasping at the sight of him. They had never met this minotaur before, but they had heard all about him. An assertiveness speaker, who had once convinced Fluttershy that the only way to be heard by others was to be mean.

"What are you doing here?" Twilight yelled while pointing at him, "And why do you keep announcing random things about me and my family?!"

"Yeah!" Flash added, "Shouldn't you be in Manehatten or something, tricking insecure ponies into being total jerks?!"

"Iron Will never tricked anypony," the minotaur barked before getting into Twilight's face. "The assertiveness seminar market dried up, so Iron Will started a new career organizing themed vacation packages!"

Twilight glared back at him, only for his words to reach her ears and ask, "Wait...don't tell me the theme of this vacation is..."

Iron Will hit the loudspeaker button and spoke into it. "Everypony, stomp your hooves if you are here for the premiere Cruise of the Princesses Experience!" This was met with the sound of many ponies stomping their hooves on the deck. As they did, banners with Twilight, Cadance and a few of even Soul unfurled.

"This is gonna be good..." was all Flash could say as Twilight spotted her family getting swarmed. She reacted quickly and teleported herself down there and then teleported them away. A moment later, she returned and teleported Flash and Iron Will down to their cabin. Cadance happened to be by the door and when she looked outside, she saw many ponies rushing for the cabin with princess memorabilia. She quickly shut the door as Flash and Heart barricaded it while Twilight glared at the minotaur.

"Iron Will, I'm not sure it was entirely honest of you to offer this cruise to my family without telling us that ponies bought tickets just to see Cadance, Soul and me!"

The minotaur didn't seem at all phased by this, quickly taking out several sheets of paper that Flash noticed had Night Light and Velvet's signatures on. "Iron Will outlined all the details of the cruise in the Prize Acceptance and Consent Form that you signed."

Velvet took the paper in her magic and looked a little sheepish, "Well, when somepony offers you a free vacation, who reads the fine print?"

"You're lucky Iron Will only wanted this," Flash added, "Maybe next time you should read the fine print so you don't accidently sign the deed to your house over!"

Iron Will then spoke up, "Iron Will prides himself on providing a quality vacation experience. But if Twilight Sparkle and her family don't want it, Iron Will can cancel the cruise and break the hearts of every princess-adoring pony on board." He flexed with that last statement, making Twilight groan before a pony leapt onto the glass of their porthole.

"I love you, Princess Twilight!" She screamed before Twilight shut the curtain with her magic.

"I just have one question," Soul raised a wing. "Why am I a part of this? I'm not a princess."

"You're an alicorn, ain't ya'h?" Iron Will asked, pointed at her horn and wings.

"Having a horn and wings doesn't automatically make you a princess. If that were true, most dragons and even Discord would count as a princess."

"Well, don't worry too much," Iron Will replied, "Iron Will's research shows you barely have much of a following. Even if you hadn't show up, Iron Will wouldn't have gotten many complaints."

"Yay me," Soul huffed as Cadance moved over to Twilight.

"As much as I want a family vacation, I don't think I could entertain all these cruise ponies. My hooves are pretty full taking care of Flurry Heart."

"I could help with that," Flash chimed in as Flurry flew over and landed on his head. "I was able to look after her before, even with an evil clone out for my blood."

"No Flash," Cadance shook her head, "I couldn't let you do that. You're supposed to be enjoying this vacation too."

Velvet sighed at this, "I guess we were just so excited by the idea of a family cruise...."

Night Light slumped over before glancing up at Iron Will, the minotaur saying, "All right. I guess we better turn this ship around."

Everypony frowned at this, Twilight seeing the disappointment on their faces. And as Iron Will went to leave, "Wait!" He stopped and spun around, "Iron Will, what if I offered you a deal?" She trotted up to him, "If I agree to do whatever princess activities you want, will you promise that my family gets to do the activities they want?"

"Sis..." Shining walked up to her, "You don't have to do that. We want you to enjoy yourself, too."

Twilight nodded back, "I know. But I don't want the vacation to end now or let down all these ponies who were looking forward to seeing us." She flew up so she and Iron were at eye-level. "So what do you say, Iron Will? Do we have a deal?" She held out her hoof, Iron Will not even needing a moment to think before shaking.

"Princess Twilight has a deal!" He grabbed her hoof so hard her eyes went wide, the princess quickly pulling it out and rubbing the almost broken bone.

"Great!" She turned to the others, "So it looks like we have some time before Dad plays Bingo."

But before she could say anything else, Iron grabbed her and started pushing her toward the door. "Actually, we have just enough to pick the winner of our grand-prize raffle."

"Oh," Twilight tried to keep a calm face, "Well..." She chuckled, "Who doesn't like prizes?"

The others watched her leave the room, Flash commenting with crossed hooves, "I don't like this. Twilight was the one who needed this vacation more than anypony. If she's forced to do anything Iron Will wants her to do, she might end up more stressed than she was before getting on the boat."

"I agree with him," Cadance added, "It isn't right for Twilight to have to do so much when she's supposed to be relaxing."

"Do you honestly think Twilight's gonna back down from this?" Shining asked, "She's a pony that doesn't go back on her word."

They all grimaced at this, the family soon going on deck, where all the excited ponies were waiting to see who would win the grand prize. Iron Will and Twilight were there as the minotaur spoke into to the microphone. "All right, cruise ponies! When the zeppelin flies, it's time for a prize!" The ponies all cheered at this, Iron Will placing the microphone in front of Twilight.

"Thank you all for being so gracious and respectful to me and my family," she gestured to them before turning to a barrel next to her. It was full of papers that Twilight put her hoof in, "And now, without further ado, the winner is..." She randomly grabbed a slip and pulled it out before reading aloud, "Star Tracker!"

They stared at the crowd and saw a dark blue earth pony with yellow hair and a star cutie mark. The pony looked shocked by this as the ponies around him started clapping.

"Congratulations, Star Tracker!" Twilight cheered, "Enjoy your prize!" She then turned to her father and walked away from the stage. "Okay Dad! Bingo time!" But before she could get too far, the pony known as Star Tracker suddenly appeared in front of her. "Uh..." She raised an eyebrow at this before a thought entered her head. "Oh. I'm sorry. I don't have the prize." But before she could say anything else, Iron Will leapt up and yelled into the microphone.

"Congratulations to Star Tracker, who wins the grand prize...spending the day with Twilight as an honorary member of her family!"

Fireworks went off as the ponies cheered, Twilight yelping, "That's the prize?!"

Star Tracker nodded at this, blushing as he muttered out, "Uh-huh..."

"Oookay," Twilight slowly said, "Well...I guess you should come with us, honorary family member."

"Sure!" Night Light laughed as he stepped up next to Tracker. "There's always room at the bingo table!"

But before they could leave, Flash shot over to them, "Hey," he grabbed Tracker with a small smile, "Give me a minute. I just wanna have a friendly chat with our grand prize winner." They all raised an eyebrow at this, but Flash quickly pushed Tracker away before they could ask what he was doing. Once they were out of earshot, Flash tapped the colt's chest, "Listen, I'll make this quick and clear. Try anything with her...and I throw you overboard. Comprende?" Tracker went wide-eyed, only to furiously nod, "Good. Stay at least a leg's width away and we'll be good."

"Okay..." Tracker squeaked before Flash turned to smile at Twilight. "He's all yours." He pushed the earth pony over to her and Twilight took him and Night over to the bingo area.

As they left, Cadance moved over to him. "I hope you didn't scare him too much," she gave him a stern but fair look. "Getting possessive of the pony you're with can be very dangerous for your relationship."

"I was just letting him know that trying anything with her wouldn't be a good idea," he replied, "Would you just let somepony you can tell likes Shining get too close?" Cadance opened her mouth, only to close it, "See? Besides, we both know Twilight's too nice to ask somepony to back off until she's pushed to the limit. Hopefully, this'll stop that from happening." Cadance nodded as Flash turned to Scootaloo, Heart and Soul. "Alright gang, why don't we see what fun stuff we can do while Twilight and Night enjoy the bingo."

"YEAH!" They all cheered before the ponies headed below deck.

The first place they walked into was a room with a giant fan in the floor, which a bunch of unicorns and earth ponies were using to see what it was like to fly. "Awesome!" Scootaloo exclaimed before leaping and getting swept upward in the wind. She cried out happily as she hovered in the air, feeling like she was flying for the first time.

The others smiled at her and decided she would likely stay there for a good while, so they headed off to find another activity. The next thing they found was a room for babies, which they saw Cadance and Flurry were in. The room after that was what looked like a dark warehouse filled of boxes and walls, which ponies were running wearing strange vests and firing laser pistols that made the vest beep when they hit them.

Heart's eyes filled with stars and he instantly ran in, grabbing a vest and gun before charging into the battle. "Try not to blow anything up in excitement!" Flash called out to him before he and Soul left to find their own thing. "What do you wanna try and do?"

Soul hummed for a moment. "I...can't think of anything off the top of my head."

They then arrived at another room, seeing it was an arts and crafts room. Soul instantly let out a sequel and zipped inside, Flash laughing as she joined some other ponies her age as they started cutting things up.

"Princess!" a filly cheered as Soul grabbed some modelling clay.

"I'm not a princess," she grumbled.

"Yet," Flash laughed before leaving. He thought about going to see how the bingo game was going, or to see if Shining had thrown up yet. But then he came across a room with a sign above the door that made his eyes go wide. "Putt putt?" he smirked before heading inside, now seeing a mini golf course...and then he saw the theme. "Dinosaur golf," he cheered at the seeing the many different ancient creatures that made up the course. "Oh yeah..." he chuckled, only to come to a stop and frown, "This game's no fun on your own."

He slumped over at this, Flash remembering when Twilight would play with him back in the day. The pegasi remembered how the two would play differently, Flash just looking at a course and guess the best way to get the ball into the hole, which usually succeeded seven out of ten times, while Twilight would use geometry and physics to win her matches.

But now Flash was on his own. There were several other ponies currently playing a game, but Flash didn't feel like joining them. So, he just grabbed a club and ball and began to play on his own. By hole seven, he was doing pretty well, managing to get his ball sunk in three putts or less every time. But as he was about to start hole eight, placing his ball down and preparing to gently knock it, the doors of the room shot open. "Flash!" The shock made Flash accidently slam the ball and sent it flying. Everypony in the room had to duck and cover to avoid getting hit by the ball, the only one not ducking being a blue and yellow earth pony that the sphere was about to hit.

Luckily, a purple aura appeared around the ball and stopped it inches from his face. "Everypony okay?" Twilight asked as the golfers all stood up, frowning at Flash as he sheepishly laughed.

"Sorry." He turned to Twilight, noticing she had a cowpony hat on. "What's with the get-up? We stopping at Appaloosa?"

"Nope," Twilight replied, "I was just taking some pictures with the cruise ponies. They were Appaloosa themed." Star Tracker smiled at this, though he kept lifting his hoof up to make sure he was a full length away from the mare in question. "So...having fun?"

"Yeah," Flash said halfheartedly, "but it'd be more fun if you were playing with me." He reached over and grabbed a golf club, holding it out to her. "You want a round? I don't mind starting again so I can beat your flank." Twilight smirked and looked ready to grab the club, only for Iron Will to appear through the door.

"Princess Twilight, it's time for the trivia contest."

Twilight glared back at the minotaur, "And let me guess, I'm the one that's gonna be asking the questions?" Iron Will nodded, Flash unsure how to feel about this. On one hoof, Twilight was clearly not having any fun. On the other, Flash was relieved Twilight wasn't the pony playing the trivia considering how competitive she got at it.

"Why don't you give her a break?" Flash told the minotaur. "She's not a machine, and even actual princess work isn't this back-to-back."

"It's okay Flash!" Twilight exclaimed, "I made a deal, and I'm gonna stick to it." She let out a sigh at this, soon following Iron Will out the room. Flash watched them leave and frowned, only to put the golf club down before leaving the room.

He checked the room he had seen Cadance in, but she and Flurry were gone. So, he headed for their cabin and when he stepped inside, he spotted the Princess of Love putting Flurry down in her crib. "Hey Flash," she said before noticing the look on his face. "Problem?"

"Twilight's starting to have some issues. She hasn't gotten a second to enjoy herself since she got on board."

"I know," Cadance sighed, "I tried talking to her, but she's desperate to make sure we all have fun."

"Think you can take over for her for a little bit. I don't mind looking after Flurry until you get back." Cadance blinked at him before nodding, "Thanks. Twilight's doing the trivia contest...someplace."

"I'll find it," she assured him before magically grabbing the diaper bag and passing it to him. "You remember how to do one of these, right?"

"Sure," Flash took the bag, "You know if this cabin has any sticky tape?" Cadance laughed and left the room, Flash raising an eyebrow. "What about that was funny? I really need some sticky tape." A few seconds later, he found that he couldn't find any, and hoped that Flurry wasn't packing heat yet. He sat down on one of the sofas, listening to the happy sounds of the baby's breathing. That is, till he heard Iron Will scream over the loudspeaker.

"We're now docking at Neigh-agra Falls!" Flurry was awakened by this and started crying, Flash running over to comfort her and missing the rest of Iron Will's announcement. He glared up at the speaker once it was done yelling, and when the baby had stopped crying, he grabbed some pillows, towels and cords he had found before and used them to gag the speaker.

As he finished tying the last knot, the doors flew open and Heart, Soul and Scootaloo trotted inside. They let out a laugh at something one of them had said until they heard a loud shushing sound from Flash, seeing him pull the knot tight before pointing to the baby cot.

"Sorry," they all whispered, now seeing Flurry drifting in and out of sleep, but it was clear she wasn't gonna be fully asleep for the rest of the day.

"So..." Flash asked once he was done with the speaker, "You all have fun?"

They all nodded back, Scootaloo asking, "Do you think we could get one of those wind tunnels for the castle? And not let it be a small one."

"Just use the training room," Heart told her, "That's what I'm gonna do to play laser tag."

"That arts and crafts room was great," Soul added, "I got to make a clay model of the ship. I'm so taking it home once it's done drying." She then turned to Flash, "What about you? Find something fun to do?"

"Yeah!" Heart continued, "Why are you here with Flurry Heart?"

"Cadance has gone to take over for Twilight. Hopefully, that'll give her the chance to have some fun." As he said that, the doors opened before Cadance and a still green around the gills Shining trotted inside. "Hey Cadance," he smirked at the sight of Shining. "You okay there?"

"I'm fine," he responded before his cheeks inflated. "Totally fine."

The others laughed as Flash turned to Cadance. "How'd the trivia contest go?"

"Pretty well. I'm glad I took over for Twilight, since that last question was a two parter that probably would have taken a while." She trotted over to Flurry and picked the baby up, the little alicorn happily giggling at the sight of her daddy's face. "I hope Twilight managed to have some fun. She said she was gonna go barrel riding with Velvet."

Flash raised an eyebrow at this, "Over the falls?" She nodded. "That...sounds like something she'd wanna do."

"Aww..." Heart moaned, "I knew I was forgetting something! I wanted to try that too."

"Well, it's not too late," Soul added, "Maybe we can see Twilight and Velvet go over the side." They all then headed up above deck, the group of seven going for the gangplank, only to see Velvet and Night Light. Velvet's mane looked like she had just gotten out of a shower, making them raise an eyebrow as they looked around.

"Hey, where's Twilight?"

The two shrugged back, "No idea. She never showed." Velvet sighed at this, "It's a shame really. I know she would have loved the barrel ride."

Flash frowned and quickly spread his wings, taking to the air and flying as high as he could to see the entire ship without hitting the balloon. And as he did this, he saw Twilight at the back end of the zeppelin with Star Tracker. The pair were sitting behind a table which had a long line of ponies in front, each pony stepping up to the table and putting a book or piece of paper down for Twilight to sign. "Oh, come on!"

He flew down and landed in front of the table before another pony could do so. "Hey!" A pony yelled, "Back of the line." Flash shot him a glare that made him recoil, letting out a whine that sounded like something you'd hear a dog make.

Flash turned back to Twilight, "What are you doing here?! Cadance took over your trivia duty so you could have a break!"

"I know," Twilight sighed, "But Iron Will decided to use the extra time to do a signing." Flash growled at this, only for Twilight to add, "It's fine. He said this was the last thing I had to do today. Once it's done, I'm free to spend time with you all."

Flash looked at the line and seeing how long it was, he glanced back at her, "Twilight, don't let him push you around like that! Didn't you want to see the Northen Stars."

"I won't miss it." she assured him. "Now if you don't mind, the sooner you move, the sooner I can get this done." Flash rolled his eyes and moved aside to allow the next pony in line to step up and get his book signed. Instead of going to join the others, he decided to lean against the side of the zeppelin and watch to make sure Twilight didn't miss her one wanted piece of enjoyment. If this signing went on to long, he would but in and tell the ponies to wait until after sunset to get something sighed.

As so he waited...and waited...and waited. Twilight continued to sign everything and anything she could, her quills breaking one after the other with Star Tracker handing her a new one every time. Flash could tell she was slowly getting more and more bored, the chair she was on growing uncomfortable with how long she had to sit on it.

Eventually, Flash felt himself drifting off and finally fell asleep. One minute he was staring at Twilight work, the next he felt himself getting shaken awake. "Flash!" He jolted up and looked up to see Twilight staring down at her, the pegasus looking around and seeing the sun was close to setting.

"You done?" He asked, Twilight nodding with a smile.

"Just in time." Flash nodded, only to see Twilight's eyes all bloodshot and exhausted. "Come on," she pulled him up, only to accidently bump into Star Tracker behind her. "Oh, sorry."

"It's fine," Tracker replied, only to trot back until he was a leg's width away. The three then headed over to the front of the ship, where many other ponies were sitting, Iron Will and his goat crew-mates being up on the upper deck.

The minotaur smirked at her. "Ah, Princess Twilight. Why don't you and Iron Will go discuss the plans for tomorrow's events while the ponies are all enjoying the show?"

Twilight's eyes went wide at this, but Flash huffed and flew up to Iron Will. "No way," he prodded his chest. "Twilight's been working all day, and I refuse to let her miss out on the one thing she wants to see. You can wait."

"What?! How dare you-"

"You. Can. Wait." Flash hissed, flexing his hoof to show muscle that made Iron Will flinch.

The minotaur let out a snort, "Very well. Iron Will shall allow the princess the chance to see this wondrous spectacle."

"Allow?!" Flash yelled, "She's the princess! She could lock you up and throw away the key if she wanted too. Be thankful she's not that vindictive."

He flew back to Twilight and pushed her over to her family, the other ponies staring at him in shock until he shot them a glare. "Thanks Flash," Twilight said as he joined their family in sitting down.

"No problem," Flash replied, "Now just sit back, relax and let's enjoy this awesome show." Twilight nodded and they all watched as the sun began to dip towards the horizon. Twilight stared intently at it, waiting second by second for the stars to appear.

But as she did, she felt her eyelids beginning to grow heavier. The others didn't seem to notice this, leading Twilight to have to fight a losing battle against her own exhaustion. She wished she had a cup of coffee or something, only to nod off in her sitting position.

It wasn't until a bright flash of light occurred followed by several ponies crying out in amazement that she shot up and her eyes opened. "What?!" She yelped, only for her family to turn to her. It was here that she turned to the horizon...only she was too late. The sunset was over and the northern lights were gone. "NO!" She cried, standing up and looking close to tears.

"Twilight?" Flash got up, "What's wrong?"

"Were the Northern Stars not what you were expecting?" Velvet asked, but then noticed tears begin to fall down her daughter's face, "Oh, honey."

"I fell asleep," she cried, "I fell asleep and missed them." They all flinched at this as Twilight sniffed and wiped her face. "How could this happen?!"

"We're sorry," Heart chimed in, "We should have noticed you were asleep."

The others nodded as Night Light stepped up. "We're really sorry. I know today has been really hard for you." He then gestured to Star Tracker, "But we're sure you're making a whole bunch of cruise ponies happy." He wrapped his arm around the earth pony, who began to tear up.

"I'm so happy I could cry!"

This seemed to be the final straw for Twilight, the mare's sad face vanishing and being replaced by one of indignation. "Oh, yeah," she yelled, "The cruise ponies are happy. My family is happy. Even Iron Will is happy." She pointed up at the minotaur, who simply smiled while his goat crew-mate ate part of the cup he was drinking from. "You know who isn't happy? Me!" With that, she ran off, looking ready to start bawling her eyes out.

"Twilight!" Flash yelped, flaring his wings to chase her, only for Cadance to hold up a wing in his face.

"I think you should let me talk to her. This is something only another princess would understand." Flash nodded and they all watched Cadance walk off before looking back at them. "Why don't you head to our cabin? I'll bring Twilight over once we've had our little chat."

They all nodded as she disappeared around the other side of the zeppelin, while they headed below deck. They soon arrived, nopony saying anything as Heart, Soul and Scootaloo went into their room and laying on their beds while the adults sat on the couch. "I feel awful," Velvet looked ready to cry. "We put Twilight through this. We were so happy about this vacation we let Twilight go through all that and not get to have any fun at all."

"We should have done more to help her," Flash sighed as he leaned against the wall. "She just kept pushing me away..."

"I don't get it," Star Tracker told them, "Why was Twilight so upset? I thought she agreed to do all that stuff?"

"Seriously?!" Flash yelled, making the colt flinch, "You were with her all day! How'd you not know she was upset when she couldn't do any of the things she was looking forward to doing with us?!"

"But...she said she was okay?" Tracker pointed out before Night spoke up.

"When she says everything's okay, she really means 'I'm super upset but don't want to ruin everypony else's fun so I'll buck up for now'." The others nodded, "The only problem is Twilight would refuse to let us help in anyway. We're just lucky her little blow up wasn't as bad as it could have been."

"Be glad you took my advice and kept your distance from her," Flash added, "You could have been the target of her outburst if you hadn't." The colt slowly nodded back as Flash turned to stare out a window. "Everypony thinks princesses are absolutely perfect, but the fact is, they're just as pony as anypony else. I mean, Luna once turned into an evil tyrant because she got upset. Celestia can be a major glutton and Cadance..."

"Snores," Shining decided to speak up and everypony laughed at this.

Flash controlled his chuckles and kept going. "My point it, I get princesses do a lot of amazing things. But one of the things they all hate is being put up on some massive pedestal. Treating them like you would any other pony is one of the best things you can do for them. That includes letting them have time off to enjoy themselves every now and again."

Star Tracker looked down at this, "Oh...gosh, I feel awful. I came on this cruise because I wanted to meet Equestria's greatest ponies, but all I've been doing is making things hard for them." As he said that, the door opened to show Twilight and Cadance. "Uh...I think I should go!" He jumped off the couch and headed for the door, but Twilight flared a wing in front of him.

"No, Star Tracker. You should stay. I have something to tell you." She then turned to the rest of the ponies in the room, "All of you." Everypony now had their undivided attention focused squarely on Twilight. "I'm glad you all got to do the things you wanted, but I should have stood up for myself so that I could do what I wanted, too."

"I'm sorry too," Star Tracker added, "I had no idea this was bothering you so much. I was just so excited to meet the pony I'd idolized for so long it didn't even occur to me that I was making you uncomfortable."

"Don't worry about it," Twilight sighed while shaking her head, "Honestly, you were perfectly fine. If you'd done something weird like get super creepily close to me all the time, I probably would have been annoyed, but you kept your distance so we're all good." Star Tracker smiled, glancing at Flash who gave him an approving nod. Twilight then turned to the rest of her family. "What do you say we do something off the schedule?"

This suggestion was met with gasps from the entire family, unable to believe Twilight was willingly going off schedule.

"Who are you?" Star Tracker asked, clearly seeing he didn't know Twilight as much as the papers, books and stories had him believing.

"Yup! We're gonna do something I want us to do, as a family." She then turned to Tracker, "Honorary members, too." With that, the princess led her family back up on deck. The zeppelin had taken off once again and was now heading back to Canterlot. Up on the deck, a pony was manning an ice cream station.

The family smiled as they picked their favorite scoop and got a cone of it. Twilight gave Star Tracker's to him before moving over to offer another to Shining. They all laughed when Shining looked ready to throw up, Twilight giving the ice cream to Flurry. The ponies all continued to laugh and talk, Star Tracker watching them with a smile on his lips. It was clear just by looking that even though some of them weren't related by blood, this was a strong family. "You and your family have been really kind to include me, but you deserve your own vacation together." She smiled as Twilight trotted over to him, then let out a nervous laugh. "And I'm really glad we met, too!"

Twilight pulled him into a hug, the colt thanking her before pulling away. And as Twilight waved him goodbye as Star Tracker walked away...only to slam face first into Iron Will. He fell to the floor, his ice cream hitting the ground as the minotaur pointed to the ice cream cart. "Attention, cruise ponies!" He screeched into the microphone. "If it's your dream, come to the deck for ice cream!"

He started bench-pressing the cart as Tracker stood up and glared at him. "No! Leave the princess alone!" But his courage quickly faltered when Iron Will turned to hiss at him.

"What did you say to Iron Will?" Tracker shrunk back at this, Flash reaching for his sword until he heard Twilight speak up.

"It's okay, everypony." She then used her magic to grab Iron Will's headset, clearing her throat through it as she took to the air. "First, I want to thank all of you for coming. It means a lot that you're spend your hard-earned bits just to be with us. But I honestly came on this cruise to take some time off from being a princess. I'm just a pony too, after all. And even though I want everypony here to be happy, I'd really like to spend the rest of the cruise relaxing with my family." She stopped and landed, the ponies in the crowd letting this info sink in before a mare spoke up.

"Of course, Princess Twilight."

Another mare then asked what they were all thinking, "But why was this trip advertised as a Cruise of the Princesses if you just wanted to get away?" With that, every eye on the cruise turned to Iron Will. The minotaur calmly whistled as the ponies all glared at him, then pulled out a bunch of papers.

"Iron Will's Cruise of the Princesses makes no guarantees as to the participation of actual princesses!"

"What?!" A pony at the back yelled, the group then beginning to complain.

"But Iron Will learned his lesson before," he slowly trotted back until he reached the edge of the deck. "Satisfaction not guaranteed!" With that, he leapt over the side. "No refuuuuuuunds!" They all gasped and ran to the side, looking over the edge just in time to see Iron Will pull the chord of a backpack he hadn't been wearing when he jumped.

From it, a parachute flew out and opened up, the image of Iron Will surrounded by fire emblazoned on it. "Huh," Shining turned to the others. "He may be pushy and manipulative, but nopony can say that minotaur isn't prepared."

Flash took out his sword and pointed it at the parachute, "I've got a shot."

"Flash!" Twilight yelped, quickly pulling his sword away from him.

"What?! Don't tell me you're not tempted!"

Twilight rolled her eyes at this, deciding not to dignify that claim with a response. After this, the ponies all decided to head back to their cabins. Some even invited Twilight to a trivial pursuit tournament, not as a princess, but as a pony that looked like she needed to have some fun. Twilight happily agreed and trotted off with them, her family watching her go and smiling as they did.

Then, Cadance spoke up, "Everypony, I just got an idea that'll make Twilight happier than she's ever been before." They all raised an eyebrow at this, only to smile as Cadance explained her idea.

---

When the trivial pursuit tournament ended, with Twilight's victory of course, the alicorn found Cadance waiting for her at the exit. "Hey," she said before taking out her schedule. "So...got any ideas on what we should do for the rest of the trip?" She looked it over as the two got back up on deck. "There's still plenty of activities. We pass Fillydelphia on the way back. I could give Flurry Heart a quick history tour."

"That's very thoughtful," Cadance replied, "But right now, the family and I have something scheduled for you."

Twilight was about to ask what she meant, only for her father's voice to call out, "Behold!" Cadance pulled the schedule down so Twilight could see her dad holding up a paper sun, "The Northern Stars!" With that, Flash, Shining, Velvet, Flurry, Heart, Soul and Scootaloo flew out from behind the sun. Flash, Heart, Soul and Flurry were all flying while Soul and Velvet used their magic to lift the non-fliers into the air. They were all dressed like stars, making Twilight's eyes go wide.

"You did all this for me?" They nodded, Twilight stepping up to them, "This is amazing! Thank you! And Shining Armor, I can't believe you're up there even though you're airsick!"

"I am not air-urk!" His face went green again, making him cover his mouth. "Oh, okay. Maybe I'm not feeling great!" Everyone laughed as Velvet put her son down on a bench, the group gathering around him as Twilight sat next to him.

Twilight looked around at all the ponies that she cared so much about, magically pulling them all into a hug. "Now this is the only activity I need." The rest smiled and hugged her back, happy that she had gotten to enjoy something on this trip. It might not have started off great, but no doubt the rest of the vacation would be amazing. Because nothing was better than spending quality time with one's family.

Author's Note:

I know this isn't much different from the canon, but seeing Twilight's family is always fun in my opinion. Hope you enjoyed.

Comments

[mdwyer]

Flash took out his sword and pointed it at the parachute, "I've got a shot."

DO IT!

[Ragnarok17]

I like that Flash look out for Twilight and unlike the canon, her family, especially her parents are more remorseful after Twilight missed out on Northern Lights.

Too bad Iron Will got away with all money… bummer.

Overall, it's nice chapter, especially the last chapter was emotional.

Here's highlights

Flash nodded, causing them to cheer as he spread his wings. "Come on. We've got a lot of packing to do." He took off and the three followed, soon getting to the castle. When they got there, they all started packing as much as possible. Soul originally wanted to take six suitcases worth of stuff, Scootaloo telling her she had been spending way too much time with Rarity, but they eventually managed to convince her to take the bare essentials.

Rarity has been rubbing on you, Soul?

"Thanks," Springer replied, "But somepony needs to keep Ponyville in one peace. If something happens and Iron and Lightning are left the deal with it...those two might start arguing and end up doing more damage than what they're trying to stop." Flash and Twilight nodded. "Besides, this'll give me an excuse to go on my own vacation whenever I want. Luna's been looking into something she said she wants to take us once she's ironed out all the details."

Why do I have a feeling we would come back to this part? Foreshadowing?

"You're lucky Iron Will only wanted this," Flash added, "Maybe next time you should read the fine print so you don't accidently sign the deed to your house over!"

Damn…

Misty and Trail: Welcome to "Being yelled by your son" club.

But before they could leave, Flash shot over to them, "Hey," he grabbed Tracker with a small smile, "Give me a minute. I just wanna have a friendly chat with our grand prize winner." They all raised an eyebrow at this, but Flash quickly pushed Tracker away before they could ask what he was doing. Once they were out of earshot, Flash tapped the colt's chest, "Listen, I'll make this quick and clear. Try anything with her...and I throw you overboard. Comprende?" Tracker went wide-eyed, only to furiously nod, "Good. Stay at least a leg's width away and we'll be good."

PROTECTIVE BOYFRIEND MODE ON!

As they left, Cadance moved over to him. "I hope you didn't scare him too much," she gave him a stern but fair look. "Getting possessive of the pony you're with can be very dangerous for your relationship."

Well, excuse me, Miss Flashlight shipper!

[Kayceejr91]

I really enjoyed this one especially when Flash Sentry goes into boyfriend mode.

Flash Sentry Best boyfriend!

[SpikeSmolder fan]

Despite not having much changes from canon I loved that Flash was able to curb down Iron Will's crap somewhat! Glad you left on the beginning bit with Spike there, showing why he's always best dragon!

Announcer : And if you look to your left you'll see this chapter's Highlights!

"Who says I get a day off?" Flash replied, "When I'm not on patrol, I'm training with Heart. And if Heart's at school during my off day, I'm helping Twilight, or Applejack, or anypony else that needs a helping hoof."

Springer blinked at this, his mind now going back to all the time he's been with Flash...and he couldn't remember the last time he had seen Flash inactive. His memory shot back to the early days, not long after Springer and he had met. He remembered the afternoons Flash would spend, on the Golden Oak Library's balcony, happily strumming his guitar. When was the last time Flash even played that thing?

Actually that's a very good question, feels like ages!

"Your parents won a cruise?!" He asked, getting a nod from Twilight. "Awesome!"

"And Twilight's going on it," Spike chimed in, "Heck, you can probably go too. Scootaloo as well."

"Great!" Springer nudged Flash in the shoulder. "See? The universe it telling you to take some time off." He turned to Twilight, "You two are definitely going. It's perfect."

"Listen to the jakhowl," Spike added.

"I don't know," Twilight frowned before turning back to the large stack of papers currently on the library desk.

"You're going," Spike said while pointing at her, "I can keep track of the friendship log, boost community morale, and answer fan mail for a few days."

Twilight grimaced at this, "But Spike, you're as much a part of my family as anypony! I can't just leave you here to do all that work!"

"What?!" Spike asked loudly with a smirk, "I can't hear you! You're on vacation!"

Flash and Springer chuckled at this, Twilight sighing before saying, "I guess I could use a little time off from being a princess," She tapped her chin before smiling. "You're the best, Spike!"

"I know," Spike replied.

"I'm gonna go pack everything neatly into one suitcase!" With that, she happily trotted out of the room. Springer was about to speak, but Spike's voice beat him to it.

"Wait for it..." A moment later, Twilight called out again.

"Cruises have activities, right?! I should probably make a schedule?!"

"There it is." They all laughed

Purple dragon being awesome, 'nuff said!

Shining clapped his hooves at this, "Alright! I can't wait to get on this zeppelin and fly like a Pegasus!"

"Really?" Twilight giggled, "I remember you getting airsick on Admiral Fairweather's Wild Ride at Pony Island."

Flash shivered at this memory, since he had been in the same cart as him when that had happened. "I didn't feel clean for a month."

One word......EWWWWWWWW!!!!

"On our route north," the voice called out, "We will pass the spires of the Crystal Empire, where Princess Cadance rescued her Alicorn baby Spike from a monster made of fire!"

"Now that doesn't even make sense." Cadance commented.

"Where is this guy getting his info?" Heart added

A better question Heart would be *What the heck's this guy smoking?*

Fireworks went off as the ponies cheered, Twilight yelping, "That's the prize?!"

Star Tracker nodded at this, blushing as he muttered out, "Uh-huh..."

"Oookay," Twilight slowly said, "Well...I guess you should come with us, honorary family member."

"Sure!" Night Light laughed as he stepped up next to Tracker. "There's always room at the bingo table!"

But before they could leave, Flash shot over to them, "Hey," he grabbed Tracker with a small smile, "Give me a minute. I just wanna have a friendly chat with our grand prize winner." They all raised an eyebrow at this, but Flash quickly pushed Tracker away before they could ask what he was doing. Once they were out of earshot, Flash tapped the colt's chest, "Listen, I'll make this quick and clear. Try anything with her...and I throw you overboard. Comprende?" Tracker went wide-eyed, only to furiously nod, "Good. Stay at least a leg's width away and we'll be good."

Glad that Flash put a stop to that quickly!

But as she did, she felt her eyelids beginning to grow heavier. The others didn't seem to notice this, leading Twilight to have to fight a losing battle against her own exhaustion. She wished she had a cup of coffee or something, only to nod off in her sitting position.

It wasn't until a bright flash of light occurred followed by several ponies crying out in amazement that she shot up and her eyes opened. "What?!" She yelped, only for her family to turn to her. It was here that she turned to the horizon...only she was too late. The sunset was over and the northern lights were gone. "NO!" She cried, standing up and looking close to tears.

"Twilight?" Flash got up, "What's wrong?"

"Were the Northern Stars not what you were expecting?" Velvet asked, but then noticed tears begin to fall down her daughter's face, "Oh, honey."

"I fell asleep," she cried, "I fell asleep and missed them." They all flinched at this as Twilight sniffed and wiped her face. "How could this happen?!"

Awww man, she still missed it anyway, stupid minotaur!

From it, a parachute flew out and opened up, the image of Iron Will surrounded by fire emblazoned on it. "Huh," Shining turned to the others. "He may be pushy and manipulative, but nopony can say that minotaur isn't prepared."

Flash took out his sword and pointed it at the parachute, "I've got a shot."

Yes yes, take it!!!!!!

"Flash!" Twilight yelped, quickly pulling his sword away from him.

"What?! Don't tell me you're not tempted!"

Twilight rolled her eyes at this, deciding not to dignify that claim with a response.

You wuss!!!

Quite an enjoyable outing, till the next one Banshee & Happy New Year!

[Foxhelm]

A nice take, but Once Upon A Zeppelin is one that can normally be skipped. Could have added some dimensions to Iron Will, but glad that Star Trackee didn't come off as a creepy fan.

[SuperSonicHeroes]

I love this episode! You're right, Twilight's family is always fun. I think people give her family a lot of hate in this episode for enjoying the Nortern Stars without her, but really I feel like they didn't do anything wrong since they constantly said they wanted her to enjoy herself but she kept insisting she was fine.

Getting Flash, Scootaloo, Fire Heart, and Soul to join them was great too since they get to enjoy themselves and show they are part of the family too. It is too bad the Jakhowls couldn't join them, but what Springer said about what Luna's been looking into sounds interesting. Maybe we will get another Springer focused chapter soon, or maybe a Jakhowl focused chapter?

At first I thought Flash was a bit harsh on Star Tracker, since Star Tracker didn't really come off as having a crush on Twilight or anything, just being a really big fan who gets too close when excited. But I think he may have actually done the kid a favor since it ended up sparing him from Twilight's anger here. It was a big yank from the chain though when Twilight managed to join her family for the Northern Stars but fell asleep without getting to see them.

"Think you can take over for her for a little bit. I don't mind looking after Flurry until you get back." Cadance blinked at him before nodding, "Thanks. Twilight's doing the trivia contest...someplace."

"I'll find it," she assured him before magically grabbing the diaper bag and passing it to him. "You remember how to do one of these, right?"

"Sure," Flash took the bag, "You know if this cabin has any sticky tape?" Cadance laughed and left the room, Flash raising an eyebrow. "What about that was funny? I really need some sticky tape." A few seconds later, he found that he couldn't find any, and hoped that Flurry wasn't packing heat yet.

Thank goodness Flurry didn't go through twelve diapers at once like last time.

He flew down and landed in front of the table before another pony could do so. "Hey!" A pony yelled, "Back of the line." Flash shot him a glare that made him recoil, letting out a whine that sounded like something you'd hear a dog make.

He's a Royal Knight and Twilight's boyfriend fool! Lines don't apply to him.

"Be glad you took my advice and kept your distance from her," Flash added, "You could have been the target of her outburst if you hadn't." The colt slowly nodded back as Flash turned to stare out a window. "Everypony thinks princesses are absolutely perfect, but the fact is, they're just as pony as anypony else. I mean, Luna once turned into an evil tyrant because she got upset. Celestia can be a major glutton and Cadance..."

"Snores," Shining decided to speak up and everypony laughed at this.

Okay, that was pretty funny. But be thankful Cadance wasn't around to hear that.

[Fan-Flashlight]

I loved the chapter! He is one of my favorites!

[Godslittleprincess]

"That was a long time ago," Twilight replied, "Ponies would be silly to give up an excellent means of transport because of just one tragedy. Besides, the gas filling modern balloons is a magically created kind that doesn't ignite."

Okay, that's some serious shade being thrown there. Also, if only a light, un-ignitable gas actually existed in real life.